Ohio History Journal

50        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

On motion,

Resolved, That Congress accept the said deed of cession,

and that the same be recorded and enrolled among the acts of

the United States in Congress assembled.

 

 

 

ORDINANCE OF 1787.

(THE CONFEDERATE CONGRESS, JULY 13, 1787.)

An ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States

northwest of the river Ohio.

SECTION 1. Be it ordained by the United States in Congress

assembled, That the said territory, for the purpose of temporary

government, be one district, subject, however, to be divided into

two districts, as future circumstances may, in the opinion of

Congress, make it expedient.

SEC. 2. Be it ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That the

estates both of resident and non-resident proprietors in the said

territory, dying intestate, shall descend to, and be distributed

among, their children and the descendants of a deceased child

in equal parts, the descendants of a deceased child or grandchild

to take the share of their deceased parent in equal parts among

them; and when there shall be no children or descendants, then

in equal parts to the next of kin, in equal degree, and among col-

laterals, the children of a deceased brother or sister of the intestate

shall have, in equal parts among them, their deceased parent's

share; and there shall in no case be distinction between kindred

of the whole and half blood, saving in all cases to the widow of

the intestate, her third part of the real estate and this law relative

to descents and dower, shall remain in full force until altered

by the Legislature of the district.  And until the governor and

judges shall adopt laws as hereinafter mentioned estates in the

said territory may be devised or bequeathed by will in writing,

signed and sealed by him or her in whom the estate may be,

(being of full age) and attested by three witnesses; and real

estates may be conveyed by lease and release, or bargain and

sale, signed and sealed and delivered by the person, being of

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Ordinance of 1787.                 51

 

full age; in whom the estate may be, and attested by two wit-

nesses, provided such wills be duly proved, and such conveyances

be acknowledged, or the execution thereof, duly proved, and be

recorded within one year after proper magistrates, courts and

registers, shall be appointed for that purpose; and personal prop-

erty may be transferred by delivery, saving, however, to the

French and Canadian inhabitants and other settlers of the Kas-

kaskies, Saint Vincents, and the neighboring villages, who have

heretofore professed themselves citizens of Virginia, their laws

and customs now in force among them relative to the descent and

conveyance of property.

SEC. 3. Be it ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That there

shall be appointed, from time to time, by Congress, a Governor,

whose Commission shall continue in force for the term of three

years, unless sooner revoked by Congress; he shall reside in

the district, and have a freehold estate therein, in one thousand

acres of land, while in the exercise of his office.

SEC. 4. There shall be appointed, from time to time, by

Congress, a Secretary, whose commission shall continue in force

for four years, unless sooner revoked; he shall reside in the dis-

trict, and have a freehold estate therein in five hundred acres

of land, while in the exercise of his office. It shall be his duty

to keep and preserve the acts and laws passed by the Legislature,

and the public records of the district, and the proceedings of

the Governor in his executive department, and transmit authentic

copies of such acts and proceedings every six months to the

Secretary of Congress.  There shall also be appointed a court,

to consist of three judges, any two of whom to form a court,

who shall have a common law jurisdiction and reside in the

district and have each therein a freehold estate, in five hundred

acres of land, while in the exercise of their offices; and their

commissions shall continue in force during good behavior.

SEC. 5. The Governor and Judges, or a majority of them,

shall adopt and publish in the district such laws of the original

States, criminal and civil, as may be necessary, and best suited

to the circumstances in the district and report them to Congress,

from time to time, which shall be in force in the district until

the organization of the General Assembly therein unless disap-

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52        Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

proved by Congress; but afterwards the Legislature shall have

authority to alter them as they shall think fit.

SEC. 6. The Governor, for the time being, shall be the

commander-in-chief of the militia, appoint and commission all

officers in the same below the rank of general officers; all gen-

eral officers shall be appointed and commissioned by Congress.

SEC. 7. Previous to the organization of the General As-

sembly the Governor shall appoint such magistrates and other

civil officers in each county or township as he shall find neces-

sary for the preservation of the peace and good order in the

same. After the General Assembly shall be organized, the pow-

ers and duties of magistrates and other civil officers shall be

regulated and defined by the said Assembly; but all magistrates

and other civil officers not herein otherwise directed, shall, dur-

ing the continuance of this temporary government, be appointed

by the governor.

SEC. 8. For the prevention of crimes and injuries the laws

to be adopted or made shall have force in all parts of the district,

and for the execution of process, criminal and civil, the Governor

shall make proper divisions thereof; and he shall proceed, from

time to time, as circumstances may require, to lay out the parts

of the district in which the Indian titles have been extinguished,

into the counties and townships, subject, however, to such alter-

ations as may thereafter be made by the Legislature.

SEC. 9. So soon as there shall be five thousand free male

inhabitants, of full age, in the district, upon giving proof thereof

to the Governor, they shall receive authority, with time and

place, to elect representatives from their counties or townships,

to represent them in the General Assembly; Provided, That for

every five hundred free male inhabitants there shall be one rep-

resentative, and so on, progressively with the number of free

male inhabitants, shall the right of representation increase, until

the number of representatives shall amount to twenty-five; after

which the number and proportion of representatives shall be

regulated by the Legislature; Provided, That no person will be

eligible or qualified to act as representative, unless he shall have

been a citizen of one of the United States three years, and

be a resident in the district, or unless he shall have resided

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Ordinance of 1787.                 53

 

in the district three years; and, in either case shall likewise

hold in his own right, in fee simple, two hundred acres of land

within the same; Provided also, That a freehold in fifty acres of

land in the district, having been a citizen of one of the States, and

being resident in the district, or the like freehold and two years

residence in the district, shall be necessary to qualify a man as

an elector of a representative.

SEC. 10. The representatives thus elected shall serve for

the term of two years; and in case of the death of a representative,

or removal from office, the Governor shall issue a writ to the

county or township, for which he was a member, to elect another

in his stead, to serve for the residue of the term.

SEC. 11. The General Assembly, or Legislature, shall con-

sist of the Governor, Legislative Council, and a House of Rep-

resentatives. The Legislative Council shall consist of five mem-

bers, to continue in office five years, unless sooner removed

by Congress; any three of whom to be a quorum; and the mem-

bers of the Council shall be nominated and appointed in the fol-

lowing manner, to wit: As soon as Representatives shall be

elected the Governor shall appoint a time and place for them to

meet together, and when met they shall nominate ten persons,

resident in the district, and each possessed of a freehold in five

hundred acres of land, and return their names to Congress, five

of whom Congress shall appoint and commission to serve as

aforesaid; and, whenever a vacancy shall happen in the Council

by death or removal from office, the House of representatives

shall nominate two persons, qualified as aforesaid, for each va-

cancy, and return their names to Congress, one of whom Con-

gress shall appoint and commission for the residue of the term;

and every five years, four months at least before the expiration

of the time of service of the members of the Council, the said

House shall nominate ten persons, qualified as aforesaid, and

return their names to Congress, five of whom Congress shall

appoint and commission to serve as members of the Council

five years, unless sooner removed. And the Governor, Legis-

lative Council, and House of Representatives shall have authority

to make laws in all cases for the good government of the dis-

trict, not repugnant to the principles and articles in this ordinance

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established and declared. And all bills, having passed by a

majority in the House, and by a majority in the Council, shall be

referred to the Governor for his assent; but no bill, or legislative

act whatever, shall be of any force without his assent. The

Governor shall have power to convene, prorogue, and dissolve

the General Assembly when, in his opinion, it shall be expedient.

SEC. 12. The Governor, Judges, Legislative Council, Sec-

retary and such other officers as Congress shall appoint in the dis-

trict, shall take an oath or affirmation of fidelity and of office; the

Governor before the President of Congress, and all other officers

before the Governor. As soon as a Legislature shall be formed

in the district, the Council and House assembled, in one room,

shall have authority, by joint ballot, to elect a delegate to Con-

gress, who shall have a seat in Congress, with a right of debating,

but not of voting during this temporary government.

SEC. 13. And for extending the fundamental principles of

civil and religious liberty, which form the basis whereon these

republics, their laws and constitutions are erected, to fix and

establish those principles as the basis of all laws, constitutions

and governments, which forever hereafter shall be formed in the

said territory; to provide, also, for the establishment of States,

and permanent government therein, and for their admission to

a share in the federal councils on an equal footing with the orig-

inal States, at as early periods as may be consistent with the

general interest:

SEC. 14. It is hereby ordained and declared, by the author-

ity aforesaid, that the following articles shall be considered as

articles of compact between the original States and the people

and States in the said territory and forever remain unalterable

unless by common consent, to wit:

 

ARTICLE I.

No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly

manner, shall ever be molested on account of his mode of wor-

ship, or religious sentiments, in the said territories.

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Ordinance of 1787.                  55

 

ARTICLE II.

The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled

to the benefits of the writs of habeas corpus, and of the trial

by jury; of a proportionate representation of the people in the

Legislature, and of judicial proceedings according to the course

of the common law. All persons shall be bailable, unless

for capital offences, where the proof shall be evident, or the

presumption great. All fines shall be moderate and no cruel

or unusual punishments shall be inflicted.  No man shall be

deprived of his liberty or property, but by the judgment of his

peers, or the law of the land, and should the public exigencies

make it necessary, for the common preservation, to take any

person's property, or to demand his particular services, full com-

pensation shall be made for the same. And, in the just pre-

servation of rights and property, it is understood and declared,

that no law ought ever to be made or have force in the said

territory that shall, in any manner whatever, interfere with or

affect private contracts, or engagements, bona fide, and without

fraud previously formed.

 

ARTICLE III.

Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good

government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means

of education shall forever be encouraged. The utmost good faith

shall always be observed towards the Indians; their lands and

property shall never be taken from them without their consent;

and in their property rights and liberty they shall never be

invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized

by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall,

from time to time, be made, for preventing wrongs being done

to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.

 

ARTICLE IV.

The said territory and the States which may be formed therein

shall forever remain a part of this confederacy of the United

States of America, subject to the articles of Confederation, and

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56       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

to such alterations therein as shall be constitutionally made; and

to all the acts and ordinances of the United States in Congress

assembled, conformable thereto. The inhabitants and settlers

in the said territory shall be subject to pay a part of the federal

debts, contracted, or to be contracted, and a proportional part

of the expenses of government to be apportioned on them

by Congress, according to the same common rule and measures

by which apportionments thereof shall be made on the other

States; and the taxes for paying their proportion shall be laid

and levied by the authority and direction of the Legislatures of the

district or districts, or new States, as in the original States, within

the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress assembled.

The Legislatures of those districts, or new States, shall never

interfere with the primary disposal of the soil by the United

States in Congress assembled, nor with any regulations Congress

may find necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona

fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on lands the property

of the United States; and in no case shall non-resident propri-

etors be taxed higher than residents. The navigable waters

leading into the Mississippi and Saint Lawrence, and the carry-

ing places between the same, shall be common highways, and

forever free as well to the inhabitants of the said territory, as to

the citizens of the United States and those of any other States that

may be admitted into the confederacy, without any tax, impost,

or duty therefor.

ARTICLE V.

 

There shall be formed in the said territory not less than

three nor more than five States; and the boundaries of the States,

as soon as Virginia shall alter her act of cession and consent

to the same, shall become fixed and established as follows, to

wit: The western State, in the said territory, shall be bounded

by the Mississippi, the Ohio and the Wabash Rivers; a direct

line drawn from the Wabash and Post Vincents due north to

the territorial line between the United States and Canada; and

by the said territorial line to the Lake of the Woods and Missis-

sippi. The middle State shall be bounded by the said direct

line, the Wabash from Post Vincents to the Ohio, by the Ohio,

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Ordinance of 1787.                 57

 

by a direct line drawn due north from the mouth of the great

Miami to the said territorial line, and by the said territorial line.

The eastern State shall be bounded by the last mentioned direct

line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania and the said territorial line; Pro-

vided however, And it is further understood and declared that

the boundaries of these three States shall be subject so far to

be altered, that, if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient they

shall have authority to form one or two States in that part of

the said territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn

through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan. And

whenever any of the said States shall have sixty thousand free

inhabitants therein, such State shall be admitted, by its delegates,

into the Congress of the United States on an equal footing of

the original States in all respects whatever, and shall be at lib-

erty to form a permanent constitution and state government;

Provided, The constitution and government so to be formed shall

be republican and in conformity to the principles contained in

these articles, and, so far as it can be, consistent with the general

interests of the confederacy, such admission shall be allowed at

an earlier period and when there may be a less number of free

inhabitants in the State than sixty thousand.

 

ARTICLE VI.

There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in

the said territory otherwise than in the punishment of crimes,

whereof the party shall have been duly convicted; Provided,

always, That any person escaping into the same, from whom labor

or service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original States,

such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the

person claiming his or her labor or service as aforesaid.

Be it ordained by the Authority aforesaid, That the resolu-

tions of the 23d of April, 1784, relative to the subject of this ordi-

nance, be, and the same are hereby repealed and declared null

and void.

Done by the United States, in Congress assembled, the 13th

day of July in the year of our Lord 1787, and of their sovereignty

and independence the twelfth.

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58       Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.

 

 

DECISIONS REFERRING TO THE ORDINANCE.

Wallace v. Parker, 6, Pet. 680; Pollard v. Hagan; Parmoli

v. First Municipality, 3, How., 212, 589; Jones v. Van Zandt,

5, How., 215; Strader v. Graham, 10, How., 82; Pennsylvania

v. Wheeling Bridge Company, 18, How., 421; Bates v. Brown,

5, Wall., 710; Messenger v. Mason, 10, Wall., 507; Clinton v.

Engelbrecht, 13, Wall., 434; Langdean v. Hanes, 21, Wall., 521

Packett Company v. Keokuk, 95, U. S., 80; Spooner v. Mc-

Connell, 1, McLean, 336; Palmer v. Cuyahoga Co., 3, McLean,

226; Hogg v. Zanesville, etc., Co., 5, 0., 410; Perry v. Tor-

rence, 8, 0., 522; Hutchinson v. Thompson, 9, 0., 52; Cochran

v. Loring, 17, 0., 409.

 

 

 

DEED OF CESSION FROM VIRGINIA-1784.

To all who shall see these presents, we, Thomas Jefferson,

Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee, and James Monroe, the underwritten

delegates for the commonwealth of Virginia in the Congress of

the United States of America, send greeting:

WHEREAS, The General Assembly of the commonwealth

of Virginia, at their session begun on the 20th day of October,

1783, passed an act, entitled "An act to authorize the delegates

of this State in Congress to convey to the United States in Con-

gress assembled all the right of this commonwealth to the territory

northwest of the River Ohio, in these words following, to-wit"

(here follows the act of cession:); and,

WHEREAS, The said General Assembly, by their resolution

of June 6, 1783, had constituted and appointed us, the said Thomas

Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee, and James Monroe, dele-

gates to represent the said commonwealth in Congress, for one

year from the first Monday in November then next following,

which resolution remains in full force:

Now, therefore, know ye, that we, the said Thomas Jefferson,

Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee, and James Monroe, by virtue of the

power and authority committed to us by the act of the said General

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