THE ORDINANCE OF JULY 13TH, 1787.
THE
intrinsic merits of that organic law which
was enacted
by the old Continental Congress on the
13th of July, 1787,
"for the Government of the
Territory Northwest of the river
Ohio," have been so fully discussed
and are so well under-
stood that any attempt in that direction
would be little more
than a repetition of views already
familiar to an intelligent
audience. Its merits can now be measured by its fruits.
Results are its monument and its highest
eulogy.
It is not surprising that as a century
is rounded up, the
thoughtful inquirer should look back and
endeavor to trace
the beginnings and look up the extrinsic
circumstances as
well as personalities that were
connected with such an enact-
ment.
So far as organic law is concerned we
are sitting under
"vines and fig trees," are
"eating of the oliveyards and vine-
yards that we planted not." Who
were the planters? Why
was the planting done?
In pursuing this inquiry we are met with
the difficulty
arising from a lack of authentic historic material. One
hundred years ago the proceedings of
legislative bodies were
not kept with that plethora of
discussion, and detail of
motions, references and reports that
distinguish modern Con-
gressional Records. The wasting
processes of a century have
destroyed valuable family papers, and
memories of early
actors and listeners have faded out, so
that fragments of fact,
incident and history must be gathered up and carefully
applied.
Still the gleaner must be content with a
gleaner's share of the
harvest.
The passage of the ordinance at the time
has one peculiar
characteristic that is worthy of notice.
That is the leading
fact that it stands out in history as an
isolated effort on the
part of its authors to forecast a
complete system of govern-
1Read before the Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Society at its Third
Annual Meeting, February 23, 1887.
10
The Ordinance of July 13th, 1787. 11
ment and project it over a vast
territory in advance of its
actual occupation by future
inhabitants. When the May-
flower passengers neared their expected
haven of rest, they
solemnly agreed to observe certain
fundamental principles of
a future government; but those
principles were not firmly
and enduringly fixed upon Massachusetts
soil until the Con-
stitution of 1780. It required one
hundred and sixty years
to reach that advanced stage of free
institutions which was
foreshadowed by the Mayflower
declaration. But the Ordi-
nance of '87 was thrown forward into a
wilderness, carrying
with it not only organic principles, but
embracing the details
of a governmental autonomy that has
stood the test of a cen-
tury. This peculiarity is worthy of
notice, because the very
fact that such an organic law was
forecast, pre-arranged, and
pre-ordained by competent authority,
prior to territorial occu-
pation assists us in the inquiry as to
its origin, and helps to
explain the fact that it was largely the
work of pioneer settlers
seeking homes under its protection,
rather than of wise states-
men who had no such motive to guide
them.
There were two methods by which the
progress of civiliza-
tion moved westward from the Atlantic
base. One was by
the individual enterprise of the pioneer
venturing out either
alone or with a few neighbors and taking
possession of the
wilderness in advance of civil
institutions. The other was a
thoroughly organized system of
occupations, with pre-arranged
guaranties of protection based upon law
and order and com-
bining all the essential principles upon
which our Republic is
founded. Now it is necessary to keep
distinctly in mind that
there was a systematic and well
organized plan for taking
possession of the Ohio Valley and the
Northwest in the in-
terest of an advancing Christian
civilization, that the men
engaged in this effort were not mere
land buyers or home
seekers, but that from its incipiency
the Governmental idea
was part of the plan. They intended to found a Stale. This
original intendment bore fruit in the
Ordinance of July 13th,
1787.
The journals of Congress, although
extremely meagre in
details present some facts of great
value in tracing out the
12 Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
beginnings of a public policy in regard
to the Northwest
Territory. Even before its acquisition
under the terms of
the treaty of peace in 1783 the policy
of "independent
states" had been announced.
After all claims of particular States
had been quieted and
it could be treated as common property
it became a blank
sheet upon which the ideas and policies
then prevailing in the
old thirteen States could be indelibly
stamped. There was
a sufficient divergence then as now
between the Eastern and
Southern States to give rise to
controversy. In the land
system, range, town and section
prevailed against "indis-
criminate locations." The transition from extreme colonial
and state rights to a centralized power can
be traced in con-
nection with this "common
property." Social and industrial
policies came into conflict. The system of forced labor
which had been universal in the colonies
laid claim to this
new and vast area. Its advocates on
every trial of legislative
strength had triumphed until it was
disposed of finally by
the ordinance of July 13, 1787.
Subsequent interest in the
ordinance itself has been directed
largely to the problem
that of the eight States voting for it
five were slave States
and the ordinance contained a positive
prohibition of a system
of labor which at that time was
zealously guarded as the
basis of their own prosperity.
The subject was not a new one in
Congress. More than
once distinct action had been taken, and
every slave State
had resisted any efforts to exclude
slavery from new territory.
Even a prospective prohibition had been
denied when the
Resolutions of April 23d, 1784, were
adopted. Subsequently
a direct anti-slavery amendment was laid
over without action
and never called up. As late as the 9th
of May, 1787, about
two months before the passage of the
present anti-slavery
ordinance, a committee having a majority
from the free States
reported an ordinance for the government
of the Northwest
Territory that was silent on that
subject, showing plainly
enough that all effort at prohibition
had been abandoned.
What valid reason then was there that
under the leader-
ship of Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia
with Delaware
The Ordinance of July 13th,
1787. 13
should quietly give up that which they
held safely in their
own hands, and which had been virtually
surrendered to them
by their opponents? Why did Virginia
lead off in discard-
ing her own institutions and cordially
adopt those which pre-
vailed in Massachusetts? Why were New
England ideas and
policies enduringly stamped upon this
vast interior-the very
heart of the great Republic--at a time
when New England
had but one voice out of eight in
deciding that result?
I ask your indulgence in an effort to
answer these interest-
ing questions.
In the beginning of the Revolutionary
struggle Massachu-
setts was entitled to leadership in the
army. She yielded it
to Virginia. When Washington came to the
front as Com-
mander-in-Chief, that front was in
Massachusetts. He was
there brought into close personal
contact with her citizens and
her soldiers. His first success was the
evacuation of Boston
by the enemy, as a result of the prompt,
energetic, and de-
cisive support rendered to his plans by
a citizen soldiery. His
army was destitute of ammunition and
supplies. That want
was supplied by the bold privateering of
Whipple, Manly,
Tucker, and other Yankee seamen. His
disasters on Long
Island were offset by the skill and
daring that saved his army
in a retreat requiring water passages
which were conducted
by the sea-faring men of New England.
When driven from
the "Jerseys" and forced
across the Delaware, he decided
upon that bold effort to inspire
confidence by an attack upon
his enemies in mid-winter; it was
Glover's Brigade of Mar-
blehead fishermen that guided his craft
through the floating
ice of the Delaware on that Christmas
night, 1776. That
was a service which "land lubbers
" could not have performed.
In all these trying and difficult scenes
he was supported by
New England officers and men. Strong
attachments were
formed. Personal associations resulted
in lifelong friend-
ships. He could say with the utmost
sincerity-" God bless
the New England Troops."
But what has all this to do with the
first settlement of
Ohio, or with the Ordinance of '87?
I make the following extract from a
dingy, yellow piece of
14 Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly.
manuscript which I find among "old
papers," written by an
early pioneer to Ohio. The writer says:
"Anterior to this period-the
Revolutionary war-it is probable the great
body of the American and English people
knew about as much about the
interior of Asia or Africa, as of this
western region. With the exception of
General Washington and some other
individuals, who, by being engaged in
the war, commonly called the French war,
were entitled to locate lands on
the Ohio, it seems few or none others
had the means of obtaining knowledge.
We are told that during the
Revolutionary struggle the British established
a printing press in New York, entitled
'The Rivington Royal Gazette.' At
a very dark and gloomy period of that
momentous struggle there was a very
large number of papers scattered by
design, that gave an account of a treaty
of subsidy made with the Empress of
Russia--the ambitious Catharine-
which provided that a large number of
Russian troops should be furnished
the British for their American contest;
that the troops were expected early
next season. These papers with this
information fell into the hands of the
officers of the American army, and of
course became a matter of deep solici-
tude.
At General Washington's table it became
a matter of discussion: ' If this
be true, and we are driven from the
Atlantic seaboard, what then is to be
done?' 'We will retire to the Valley of
the Ohio,' says Washington, 'and
there we will be free.' This saying was
carried from the officers to the
soldiers, by them to wives, children,
and friends, and thus a spirit of enquiry
respecting Ohio was elicited."
This fragment of history is taken from
the lips of the men
who sat at Washington's table and were
members of his mili-
tary family-those old veterans of three
wars-the evening of
whose days were spent on the banks of
the Ohio and Mus
kingum, and who indulged in a veteran's
right of "fighting
his battles over again."
This traditional reminiscence finds
ample support in state-
ments made by Ramsay in his "
History of the American Rev-
olution," published in 1789. After
the loss of Fort Washing-
ton and the evacuation of New York City,
the American
forces were driven in hasty retreat
across New Jersey and
only escaped capture by crossing to the
west side of the
Delaware river. The period of enlistment
of the army had
expired. Whole regiments returned
homeward. With
2,000 or 3,000 men of a retreating,
half-naked army whose
unshod feet had marked the frozen soil
of Jersey with patri-
otic blood, the Commander-in-Chief was
compelled to look
this question of retreat fairly in the
face. The historian says:
The Ordinance of July 13th,
1787. 15
"Gen'l Washington about this time
retreated to Newark.
Having abundant reasons from the posture
of affairs to count
on the necessity of a further retreat he
asked Col. Reed:
'Should we retreat to the back part of
Pennsylvania will the
Pennsylvanians support us?' The Colonel
replied: 'If the
lower counties are subdued and give up,
the back counties
will do the same.' The General replied:
'We must retire
to Augusta county, Virginia. Numbers will be obliged to
repair to us for safety, and we must try
what we can do in
carrying on a predatory war, and if
overpowered we must
cross the Allegheny Mountains.'"
From the same historian we have also
another fragment of
history giving further evidence of the
estimation then placed
upon the Ohio Valley as a strategic base
in the grand strug-
gle for freedomand independence. As soon
as the British
Cabinet became aware that France was
determined to aid the
United States they dispatched messengers
to this country
with overtures of peace, making fair
promises and hoping at
least to divide the councils and weaken
the supports of the
cause. These overtures were met by
Congress with a posi-
tive demand for an acknowledgment of
independence or an
evacuation of the country as preliminary
steps to negotiation.
The following is an extract from a
letter dated June 14,
1778, written as part of a private
correspondence by Henry
Laurens who was then President of the
old Continental Con-
gress. He says to the King's
Commissioners: "You are
undoubtedly acquainted with the only
terms upon which
Congress can treat for accomplishing
this good end. Al-
though writing in a private character, I
may venture to assert
with great assurance, they never will
recede, even admitting
the continuance of hostile attempts and
that from the rage of
war the good people of these States
shall be driven to com-
mence a treaty westward of yonder
mountain."
But why should Washington point out that
distant region
as a base to fall back upon in case of
defeat? The answer is
found in the fact that he had been
there. He knew some-
thing of its fertility and boundless
resources. As early as
1770 he had acquired titles to over
20,000 acres of its choicest
16 Ohio Arcaeological and Historical
Quarterly.
lands. In 1773 he issued proposals for
colonizing those
lands, offering
liberal terms on the old English plan of paying
quit rents in lieu of
purchase. In a word Washington was a
pioneer of the pioneers to the Ohio Valley. The marks of
his
"little
hatchet" can be still traced upon the first land lines
ever run in the valley
or west of the Allegheny Mountains.
His knowledge of the
country thus obtained would be readily
accepted by all who
were engaged in the war, whether in the
army or in Congress.
It is quite evident
therefore that Washington knew and
his officers knew what
he was talking about when he said to
Colonel Reed: "If
we are overpowered, we must cross the
Allegheny Mountains." It is also evident that
Henry
Laurens understood the
situation when he boldly told the
British Ministry:
" Let the war rage on, sooner than accept
your insidious offers
of a humiliating peace our people will
commence
treaty-making westward of yonder mountains."
While Lord Howe was in
possession of Philadelphia he sent
out the threat to
Washington that he would "drive him be-
yond the
mountains."
Now let us pass from
this primitive scene-this real start-
ing point of inquiry
as respects that systematic occupation of
the Northwest which
was the occasion of its organic law-to
another period of that
intimate intercourse that had grown
up between the
Commander-in-Chief and his veteran officers.
The great conflict was
over, the pledge of life, fortune and
sacred honor had been
redeemed. Peace with the great
enemy was assured. But
other perils surrounded them.
The day for disbanding
the army approached. But there
were no
"greenbacks," no "silver dollars," no "gold
coins"
with which to meet
final payments. Washington applied
to Congress. The
officers petitioned that body for relief,
but its authority did
not protect it from insult, and it was a
fugitive from the
menaces of a squad of unpaid and clamor-
ous troops. The only
remedy for the army was to accept
certificates of
settlement-warrants upon a bankrupt treasury.
They called them "final
certificates," and they were final to
many of the holders,
as want and hunger forced them on to the
The Ordinance of July 13th,
1787. 17
market at "one in six,"
as they called it, or one-sixth of par
value. These old certificates must be
kept in mind, for while
they were "finals" of a
seven years' hard service, we shall
see that they were the beginning of
another and not less im-
portant enterprise.
Col. Pickering, their Quartermaster
General, thus describes
the condition of the Army while at
Newburg and New Wind-
sor, waiting for orders to return
penniless to their desolate
homes. He says: "To hear the
complaints of the officers
and see the miserable condition of the
soldiery is really affect-
ing. It deeply penetrates my inmost soul
to see men desti-
tute of clothing, who have risked their
lives like brave fel-
lows, having large arrears of pay due
them and prodigiously
pinched for provisions. It is a
melancholy scene." Again
he says: "Those brave and deserving
soldiers, many of
whom have for six years exposed their
lives to save their
country, who are unhappy enough to have
fallen sick, have
for a month past been destitute of every
comfort of life. The
only diet provided for them has been
beef and bread-the
latter generally sour." Such
was the testimony of their
Quartermaster, who was most familiar
with their condition."
In their petition to Congress the
officers say: "Our dis-
tresses are now brought to a point-we
have borne all that
man can bear. Our property is expended, our private re-
sources are at end, and our friends are
wearied out and dis-
gusted with our incessant applications.
We therefore most
seriously and earnestly beg that a
supply of money may be
forwarded to the army as soon as
possible." (Jour. of Cong.,
Vol. IV, p. 267.)
To such a state of exasperation were
those men brought
that one of their number addressed his
brother officers in
the following terms: "If this then
be your treatment while
the swords you wear are necessary for
the defense of Amer-
ica, what have you to expect from peace
when your voice
shall cease and strength dissipate by
division? when those
swords, the instruments and companions
of your glory shall
be taken from your sides, and no
remaining mark of military
distinction left you but your wants,
infirmities and scars?
18
Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
Can you then consent to be the only
sufferers by this revolu-
tion, and returning from the field grow
old in poverty,
wretchedness and contempt? Can you consent to wade
through the vile mire of dependency and
owe the miserable
remnant of that life to charity, which
has hitherto been spent
in honor? If you can-go, and carry with
you the jest of
Tories, the scorn of Whigs, the
ridicule, and what is worse,
the pity of the world-go, starve and be
forgotten."
Nothing short of a most desperate
condition of affairs
could have extorted such language from
one officer to his fel-
low officers, all of whom had served
faithfully through the
war. I have recalled these rugged and
unwelcome historical
items reluctantly and only because they
are necessary in ex-
plaining subsequent movements.
But this dark cloud in our country's
history had a " silver
lining.". A bright ray of sunshine
broke through the pre-
vailing gloom. Col. Timothy Pickering,
the Quartermaster
General, at this critical period,
writing to a friend under date
of April 7th, 1783, says: " But a
new plan is in contempla-
tion-no less than the forming of a new
State westward of
the Ohio. Some of the principal officers
are heartily en-
gaged in it. About a week since this
matter was set on foot
and a plan is digesting for the purpose.
Enclosed is a rough
draft of some propositions respecting it
which are generally
approved of. They are in the hands of
General Huntington
and General Putnam for consideration,
amendment and addi-
tion." Again April 14th he writes:
"General Putnam is
warmly engaged in the new planned
settlement over the
Ohio. He is very desirous of getting
Hutchins' map. Mr.
Aitken had them to sell. If possible
pray forward me one."
A petition was drawn up addressed to
" His Excellency the
President and Honorable Delegates of the
United States of
America in Congress assembled." The
petition was signed
by 285 officers of the army asking that
a " tract of land
abounded North on Lake Erie, East on
Pennsylvania, South
and Southeast on the Ohio river, West on
a line beginning
on that part of the Ohio which lies
twenty-four miles West of
the Scioto river, thence running North
on a meridian line till it
The Ordinance of July 13th, 1787. 19
intersects the River Miami which falls
into Lake Erie, thence
down the middle of that river to the
lake, might by formed
nto a distant government or colony of
the United States."
They ask that their bounty lands may be
assigned to them
in this district, and that
"provision may be made for a further
grant of land to such of the army as
wish to become adven-
urers in the new government, in such
quantities and on such
conditions of settlement and purchases
for public securities as
Congress shall judge best for the
interest of the intended
government and rendering it of lasting
consequence to the
American empire."
This petition was placed in General
Putnam's hands, who
addressed a letter to General Washington
asking him to pre-
sent it to Congress. Washington
presented it to Congress,
urging it upon their attention, and
subsequently "exerted
every power he was master of" to
secure a compliance with
the wishes of his associates in the
army.
Colonel Pickering drew up a plan for
organizing the new
government which embraced the following:
"The total ex-
clusion of slavery from the State to
form an essential and ir-
revocable part of the
Constitution." This was the first dis-
tinct proposition for the exclusion of
slavery Northwest of
the Ohio ever publicly presented or
discussed and was a part
of the original plan ultimately matured
in '87--four years
later. It must be borne in mind that
these men were not
dealing solely with land purchases or
their bounties. They
were intent upon a new "State
westward of the Ohio." They
tried their hands at Constitution-making
from the start. Put-
nam's "letter" outlined a
valuable governmental policy in
the West. Pickering's "plan"
embodied organic principles.
We thus find that the same class of men
who ate at Wash-
ington's table when the ugly question of
surrender or retreat
was discussed are again taking counsel
together over this
"Ohio scheme." Then the Ohio was a base for retreat-
now, for an advance. By the
failure of Congress to act upon
the petition the scheme was delayed but
not defeated. The
See page 38 for a copy of the petition
and a list of those who signed it.
20
Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly.
urgent necessities of the principal
movers compelled them to
disperse as soon as the army was
disbanded and seek em-
ployment. Putnam took a contract to
survey ten townships
for Massachusetts in her province of
Maine. General Tup-
per, another of the signers of the
petition, accepted a vacancy
made by Putnam's retirement from the
United States Sur-
veyors appointed to run out the seven
Ranges. But in 1786
they met again. Putnam could say from
personal observa-
tion of Maine: "That country in
general is not fit for culti-
vation, and when this idea is connected
with the climate a
man ought to consider himself curst even
in this world who
is doomed to inhabit there as a
cultivator of the lands only."
Tupper, returning from a visit to the
Ohio in 1785, could
say:
"The lands in that quarter are of a much better qual-
ity than any other known to the New
England people; the
climate, seasons, products, etc., are in
fact equal to the most
flattering accounts that have been
published of them."
With this addition to their stock of
knowledge as to loca-
tions, they issued on the 10th day of
January, 1786, a paper
headed "Information, " calling
a meeting of those who wished
to take an interest in the "Ohio
scheme" of settlement.
This resulted in the organization of the
"Ohio Company of
Associates" on the 3d day of March
following.
This company, composed almost entirely
of the officers of
the army, decided to make a purchase of
as much land in that
part of the western country that had
been indicated in the
officers' petition of '83 as could be
paid for with $1,000,000,
expecting to use bounty warrants and
public securities in
payment. This meant the conversion of
those old "Final
Certificates" into future homes
"westward of the Ohio." It
also meant the foundation of a "
new state." They appointed
Gen. Samuel H. Parsons, one of the
associates, to apply to
Congress for a purchase of lands. He
made the application
on the 9th of May, but after the 11th
there was no quorum
till the 4th of July. General Parsons
having returned home,
another agent, Dr. Manasseh Cutler, was
appointed. He
reached New York on July 5th, '87, found
a quorum of Con-
gress present and set about his work
immediately. From a
The Ordinance of July 13th,
1787. 21
private journal kept at the time we are
able to trace the
progress of his efforts and place a
fair estimate upon the in-
fluences that surrounded the whole
subject at that time.
The first subject to claim his
attention was the organic law
that was to govern the future
inhabitants of the country
he was commissioned to purchase.
That subject had been in the hands of
Congress for a long
period prior to this application for
purchase of lands. The
idea of "new states" or
"distinct government" was first
acted upon in Congressional proceedings
on October 10,
1780, although Maryland had called
their attention to the
subject in May, 1779. Before the war
the same idea had
matured into a grant not fully
consummated by the British
crown for establishing a colony west of
the Allegheny moun-
tains. The petition of the officers was
probably the first sub-
sequent movement in the same direction outside
of Congress.
As the Ohio Company were really
consummating the object
of that petition it became a part of
the duty of their agent to
look after the laws and constitution
that were to govern the
country.
In all this they would be acting in
harmony with the
known policy of the general government
on that subject?
It must be borne in mind that the whole
treatment of "va-
cant territory" at that time was a
change from the policy
that had generally prevailed among the
colonies prior to the
war. As a general thing land had not
been regarded as a
source of revenue to any of the
colonies or states. The
British crown reserved quit rents and
fixed six pence per
acre as the measure of revenue. The
Virginia plan fixed two
cents per acre and threw open her lands
to "indiscriminate
location." No cash revenue was
derived from the lands of
Kentucky, Tennessee or West Virginia.
To state the causes that led to the
adoption of a different
policy by Congress and the steps taken
to bring that policy
into effective operation would trespass
too much upon the
time of this occasion; but it is quite
obvious that if they ex-
pected to treat vacant lands as property-- as a source of future
revenue - it was indispensable to
organize a government for
22 Ohio
Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
the protection of that property as well
as the purchasers. So
that when the agent of the Ohio Company
went to New York
it was just as incumbent on him to look
after the organic law
as to make terms of purchase.
When he got there Ohio was a wilderness
without law.
Some surveys had been made under guard
of United States
troops, but there was no protection to
families or property.
This view of the matter brings up the
strong contrast as to
the consideration of an organic law by
statesmen and politi-
cians -however wise and justly esteemed
in other matters -
but who had no expectation of making a
personal application
of governmental principles, as compared
with a body of in-
telligent, cultivated, refined men and
families who expect to
"become adventurers," as they
termed it; that is to leave
all, risk all, endure all that lay
before them in that far off and
savage country. Members of Congress did
not expect to do
this. Before this agent of the
associates started from home
he had engaged over one hundred of his
friends and neigh-
bors to go, and he expected at that time
to go with them.
How did he find matters at New York?
Congress was offer-
ing to sell some of the seven Ranges,
but nothing that could
be called a government, suited to the
wants even of a pioneer
population had been extended over the
country. In one
form or other the subject had been
before them since its first
introduction in 1780. More than twenty different
members
of Congress had been appointed on the
various committees
that during this long interval had the
matter under their su-
pervision. This labor had brought forth
the resolutions of
April 23d, 1784, and a reported
substitute, which had been
ordered to a third reading when General
Parsons made his
application for lands. With some
valuable principles they
were mere skeletons; incomplete outlines
as compared with
the Ordinance of July 13th.
By keeping in mind this inchoate state
of legislation on the
subject and the urgency of motive that
controlled the appli-
cants for a land purchase we may
estimate the reason why an
organic law which has commanded
universal admiration was
promptly matured and unanimously
adopted.
The Ordinance of July 13th, 1787. 23
In dealing with Congress the agent was
sent without limi-
tations or instructions. In fact his own
views coincided fully
with those of his associates.
In presenting his business before
Congress he has left us
some records as to the lines of policy
upon which he based
his application. The following extract
from his journal in-
dicates the extent and comprehensiveness
of his views. He
communicated his plan to Mr. Osgood,
President of the
Board of Treasury, and we are thus
furnished with a contem-
poraneous estimate of its value.
"He (Osgood) highly ap-
proved of our plan and told me he
thought it the best ever
formed in America. He dwelt much on the
advantages of
system-said system had never before been
attempted-that
if the matter was pressed with spirit he
believed it would
prove one of the greatest undertakings
ever attempted in
America. He thought Congress would do an
essential ser-
vice to the United States if they would
give us the land
rather than our plan should be defeated,
and promised to
make every exertion in his power in our
favor." Such an
estimate from such high authority could
only have applied to
the organic law as well as the mere
purchase of land - the
two combined making the greatest
undertaking ever attempted
in America.
Here is an evidence that he understood
his mission to be
the founding of a future Commonwealth.
This accorded fully
with the declared policy of Congress as
well as the design of
the originators of the scheme. The "associates" were
nearly all officers of the army -men of
experience, intelli-
gence and correct principles - but they
selected their agent
from another calling in life. True he
had served as Chaplain
in the army, but his life and labors had
been identified and
spent with that remarkable class of men
known as the "New
England " or Puritan clergy. They
were as a body remark-
able because at that time and previously
they exerted a
greater influence in shaping the
character and giving direc-
tion to the active energies of a whole
people than any other
class of citizens. They had carefully
considered and con-
stantly presented to the people the
essential principles of
24
Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly.
human rights, of personal liberty, of
the necessity of
obedience to law, in a word all the firm
foundations upon
which a Republic can stand. As a support
to these princi-
ples they had organized and maintained a
system of popular
education, extending from the common
school to institutions
of highest culture. Their influence over
the people resulted
from religious convictions. That
influence flowed from Puri-
tan pulpits and permeated every fiber of
social, civil and polit-
ical life. They were founders and guides
of a people's con-
science. They were not politicians - did not claim to be
statesmen. Yet governmental institutions were molded by
their precepts.
Ramsay, in his " History of the
American Revolution,"
fully supports this view of the
prevailing influence of the clergy
at that time. He says, (Vol. I, p. 199),
"The clergy of New
England were a numerous, learned, and
respectable body,
who had a great ascendency over the
minds of their hearers.
They connected religion and patriotism,
and their sermons
and prayers represented the cause of America
as the cause of
Heaven. "
To their influence may be traced those
moral and educa-
tional principles that are a
distinguishing feature of the Con-
stitution of Massachusetts and other New
England Common-
wealths. It is only a fair inference
that one of their number
should improve the opportunity to insert
the same ideas and
policies into an organic law which was
to protect his family
and neighbors in their future homes.
The agent left his pulpit temporarily to
undertake the im-
portant service assigned to him. He was
compelled to deal
with governmental questions - questions
too, which Congress
had failed satisfactorily to solve. Land
was of no value to
him or his associates without law. He
was seeking homes
for intelligent, cultivated Christian
families. If then he acted
at all -if he suggested
or advised, it must be in a line with
his life time covictions. A New England
clergyman would
not forget or discard that which was
equivalent to his own
identity --his principles. As a
matter of history we find that
after his arrival in New York he spent
several days in con-
The Ordinance of July 13th,
1787. 25
stant intercourse with members of
Congress before he en-
tered fully upon negotiations for the
purchase of land-that
the governmental ordinance was submitted
to him-that
he suggested changes that were
adopted. Giving then a
proper weight to these preliminary
considerations, his agency
in preparing, and procuring the
insertion in the Ordinance of
July 13th, of Freedom, Civil Rights,
Religion, Morality,
and Knowledge, which are its
distinguishing characteristics,
can hardly be questioned. It is well
supported by traditional
evidences. It is also supported by the
fact that in his land
purchase subsequently made he secured
for the benefit of
settlers in each township a section of
land for both schools
and religion, and two whole townships
for a university; and
also by his subsequent personal efforts
to promote those im-
portant objects.
These principles and policies were just
the foundation that
himself and associates desired upon
which to build their own
future homes.
This much is due to the "truth of
history" in throwing
light upon a subject that has not been
well understood.
It remains to consider some reasons why
the views of the
agent were so fully and unanimously
accepted; why Congress
gave promptly all that was asked for.
It was incumbent on him to procure for
his constituents,
"the associates, " the best
terms practicable for safely pro-
secuting their scheme of settlement. But
decisions rested
with the sovereign power in Congress
assembled.
As we look back over the transaction,
the prohibition of
slavery occupies a prominent place in
popular estimation.
At that time it may be doubted whether
it was entitled to
that prominence.
The principal object of the Ohio Company
certainly was
not to abolish slavery northwest of the
river Ohio. It was
in their way and they simply brushed it
out of their way.
They wanted the best principles of civil
liberty and social
order all supported by morals and
education, and they
secured them. But they had broader views
even than these.
They had taken the dimensions of the
American Empire.
26 Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
They regarded the Northwest as its
heart. They forecast its
immense resources and planned for their
future growth and
full development. A brief notice of the
situation as it then
existed is necessary to give proper
weight to the reasons that
controlled Congress in yielding to the
Ohio Company sub
stantially all they asked for.
I have traced the connection of
Washington with the
" Ohio scheme" up to the
disbanding of the army. In his
farewell address he reminds his
companions of their prospects
in the West in the following words:
"The extensive and
fertile regions of the West will yield a
most happy competence
to those who, fond of domestic
enjoyment, are seeking for
personal independence." (Sparks, Vol. 8, p. 483.)
We have also the positive statement of
the Directors of the
Ohio Company entered upon their records
in the following
words: "The path to a competence in
this wilderness was
pointed out to us by the
Commander-in-Chief of the Ameri-
can Army." There can be no doubt therefore that the
initial steps of this organized system
of settlement of the
Northwest, embracing fully, States,
governments, laws and
constitutions, had been carefully
matured as between the
New England officers, with whom personal
contact had been
maintained throughout the war, and their
Commander-in-
Chief. But there is further evidence of
the identity of in-
terest which grew out of those personal
associations.
Washington's personal relations and
activities to the Ohio
Valley had just begun. Immediately on
resigning his com-
mand of the army he undertook a tour of
observation
through western New York, evidently with
an eye to its com-
mercial advantages, then a six weeks'
trip to the Ohio Val-
ley. On his return to Virginia he
addressed himself to or-
ganizing efficient lines of commercial
intercourse between
Virginia seaports and the Ohio Valley
and the lake region.
He sought from General Butler, then
Indian Agent, a solu-
tion of the problem of water
communications between Lake
Erie and the Ohio River. He accept the
oversight of a
chartered company for the improvement of
the Potomac. In
a long letter to Governor Harrison, of
Virginia, he discusses
The Ordinance of July 13th, 1787. 27
with great intelligence the true
commercial interests of that
State as connected with the fertile
West and urges action to
secure its trade and retain its loyalty
to the Union by the
cement of interest. "
In a letter to David Humphreys, dated
July 25, 1785, he
says: "My attention is more
immediately engaged in a
project which I think big with great
political as well as com-
mercial consequence to the States, especially the middle ones.
It is by removing the obstacles and
extending inland naviga-
tion of our rivers to bring the States
on the Atlantic in close
connection with those forming to the westward
by a short
and easy transportation." (Sparks,
Vol. 9, p. 114.) He
thus marks out a national line of
policy in regard to internal
improvements. All this was an object of
vigorous pursuit
and of earnest prosecution by Virginia
statesmen at the time
of the application of the Ohio Company
to Congress. In a
pamphlet published by Dr. Cutler, after
his visit to New
York, designed to give information
about the West, he dis-
cusses the same topics that were
engaging Washington's at-
tention. He foretells the use of steamboats on western
waters; Washington refers to an
invention of Rumsey's for
applying mechanical powers to boats.
Both discuss the
question of carrying-places or portages
between the Atlantic
rivers and the Ohio and the Lakes.
There is abundant
evidence that the productions and
commercial values of the
great West were at that time understood,
appreciated and
thoroughly canvassed by the intelligent
managers of the
Ohio Company and by Virginia statesmen.
Evidences of
this harmony of views and interests can
be found in the fol-
lowing sources of information: 1st, the
pamphlet prepared
by Dr. Cutler in 1787, and his other
writings; 2d, a letter
addressed by Gen. Putnam to Fisher Ames
in 1790,
discussing the question whether the
West was worth
retaining in the Union; 3d,
Washington's letter to Governor
Harrison, and other letters written by
him on that subject
after his resignation from the army and
prior to his election
as President of the United States.
In these papers, all worthy of a place
among State docu-
28
Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
ments, the true situation of the west at
that time, the views of
all parties, their expectations, their
plans, the motives that
controlled their decisions are all
presented and fully discussed.
From this hasty sketch it must be
evident that when the
agent of the Ohio Company appeared
before Congress he
could look for friendly co-operation
from one source outside
of any connected with his company. That
source was Vir-
ginia and Virginia statesmen. I know of
no evidence that
General Washington exerted any direct
influence favorable to
the plans of his old military comrades,
except as I have al-
ready stated, but he was earnestly,
ardently engaged in pro-
moting plans that would be greatly
enhanced in value by the
permanent occupation of the Ohio Valley,
adjacent to his
own lands, by an industrious,
intelligent and enterprising peo-
ple. His lines of water transit would be
of little value with-
out products for a commerce. It is but
reasonable to claim
that Virginia statesmen were interested
in the same way.
Accepting then the situation as it then
stood, we have an
explanation of the fact that the agent
went directly to Vir-
ginia and " members from the
Southward," and placed his
business in their hands.
The Carolinas and Georgia might well be
supposed to say
to Virginia, "This Northwest is too
far removed from our
borders to make it a matter of essential
interest to our States.
If you can secure protection to an
exposed frontier from In-
dian depredations; can invite industry
and good neighbors;
and can control commerce from a vast
interior -if the army
in this way can receive a benefit we
will yield our objection
to the prohibition of slavery, and will
accept that which pro-
motes your prosperity without injuring
us."
When the agent of the associates started
on his mission to
New York for the purpose of purchasing
lands in Ohio he
took numerous letters of introduction,
and among them, to
Carrington, Grayson, and Lee, members of
Congress from
Virginia, from their old military
comrades--Parsons and
Putnam - Directors of
the Ohio Company. This was like a
reunion of old veterans.
The Virginia Congressmen could sympathize
with the
The Ordinance of July 13th, 1787.
29
wants and wishes of their companions
with whom they had
served through the great struggle. This
accounts for the
fact that a new Committee on the
Governmental Ordinance
was formed with Carrington as chairman,
Lee as a member,
Grayson being temporarily President of
Congress, and at all
times a leader in all that pertained to
the Western country.
He thus alludes to these three Virginia
members, "Gray-
son, R. H. Lee, and Carrington are
certainly very warm ad-
vocates." " Mr. R. H. Lee assured me he was prepared for
one hour's speech, and he hoped for
success."
All this looks like a cordial and hearty
response to the
wishes of old comrades in arms, and that
Virginia interests
were involved in the result. If we had
Lee's "hour's
speech," and the tenor of the many
conferences held between
the agent and "members from the
Southward," especially
the Virginia delegation, the reasons
would be disclosed why
slavery quietly stepped down and out and gave place to the
coming empire of Religion, Freedom
and Knowledge.
I have thus endeavored to assign to
causes known to exist
at the time, their proper and legitimate
weight in determin-
ing questions of great importance as
connected with the first
settlement of the Northwest and the
formation of its organic
law.
I do not regard the exclusion of slavery
as resulting from a
sudden fit of philanthropy or as solely
due to personal views
on that subject. With the Associates its
positive prohibi-
tion was a "sine qua
non"-so also were the principles of
civil and religious liberty with the
supports of morals, religion
and knowledge. The trouble with Congress
was that while
they had a well defined policy of
establishing " new states"
-"distinct governments," they
failed in providing an or-
ganic law suited to the class of men who
proposed to occupy
the territory. This want was supplied by
one who had re-
ceived the training of that body of men
who had a most in-
telligent view of civil, social, and
political rights, who were
intimate with the real wants as well as
remedies of the masses
and had carefully studied the problems
of law, order and
right, in all their applications. While
he availed himself of
30
Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Quarterly.
all cotemporaneous influences to
accomplish his mission, the
essential elements that were necessary
for the foundations of
a commonwealth were at his command, and
he managed to
throw them forward in advance of
occupation over a territory
designed for Christian homes.
He secured the consent of Virginia and
other Southern
States for a transfer of. New England
principles, policies and
industrial customs to a new and virgin
soil. It was a happy
blending of important business interests
with correct gov-
ernmental principles; all combining to
secure unanimous ap-
proval of a grand result.
By tracing, thus hurriedly and
imperfectly, these prelimi-
nary steps we are brought to that crisis
in our Nation's life
that is characterized by Mr. Bancroft in
the following lan-
guage: "Before the Federal
Convention (then sitting in
Philadelphia) had referred its
resolutions to a committee of
detail, an interlude in Congress was
shaping the character
and destiny of the United States of
America. Sublime and
humane and eventful in the history of
mankind as was the
result it will not take many words to
tell how it was brought
about. For a time wisdom and peace dwelt
among men and
the great Ordinance which could alone
give continuance to
the Union came in serenity and
stillness. Every man that
had a share in it seemed to be moved by
an invisible hand to
do just what was wanted of him; all that
was wrongfully un-
dertaken fell by the wayside-whatever
was needed for the
happy completion of the mighty work
arrived opportunely
and just at the right time moved into
its place." Yes, it
came quietly, in "serenity and
stillness," for in eight days
a problem was solved that had occupied
the attention of Con-
gress for eight preceding years.1
From this view of the personal
influences and extrinsic
circumstances that surrounded the
beginnings of our Organic
1 On the 2d of May, 1779, the Delegates
from the State of Maryland re-
ceived instructions that were entered
upon the journals of Congress, claim-
ing that "the unsettled country if wrested from the common enemy by
the
blood and treasure of the Thirteen
States should be considered as common
property, subject to be parceled out by
Congress into free, convenient and
independent governments in such manner
and at such times as the wisdom
of that Assembly shall direct."
The Ordinance of July 13th, 1787. 31
Law, we may turn for a moment to one of
its important
characteristics that was shaped by those
surroundings.
The articles of the old Confederation
were little more
than a treaty between thirteen
independent States, and were
formed to meet the exigencies of the
contest with the mother
country. The weak point was the
inability of Congress to
enforce taxation as a basis of "public
credit." This weakness
very early drove them to the vast real
estate contained within
the bounds of the Territory Northwest of
the River Ohio, as
a basis for a credit resting upon common
property, that
could be used for common benefit. In
very many different
resolves and reports "vacant
territory" or the "back
country" is referred to in this
light. The numerous appeals
made to the States to surrender all
claims, so that the title
might rest absolutely in the United
States, rested upon this
ground. As early as September 5th, 1782,
a proposition
was submitted to regard these lands as a
means of paying the
"debts of these States." Mr. Witherspoon moved an
amendment so as to use the words "National
debt" instead
of the "debts of these
States." With the claim of common
proprietorship grew up the theory of
unity of control, or a
complete sovereignty, vested in the
United States in Con-
gress assembled over the territory, both
as property to be
disposed of for common benefit, and as
territory to be gov-
erned by a supreme power. Witherspoon
threw, as it were,
a mustard seed of nationality into
the virgin soil of our insti-
tutions.
On the 24th of April, 1783, Madison,
Ellsworth, and
Hamilton, in a report, refer to the
"national debt," and
state their reliance for its
extinguishment to be " vacant ter-
ritory." On the 13th of September,
1783, Mr. Carroll, of
Maryland, offered a proposition
asserting that "the United
States have succeeded to the sovereignty
over the Western
territory, and are thereby vested as one
undivided and inde-
pendent Nation, with all and every power
and right exercised
by the King of Great Britain over said
Territory." This
sounds like a declaration of
Nationality.
On the 5th of April, 1784, a grand
committee of one from
32
Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly.
each State report, "that Congress
still consider vacant terri-
tory a capital resource, and this too
is the time when our Con-
federacy, with all the territory
included within its limits,
should assume its ultimate and
permanent form." When
the resolutions of April 23d, 1783,
were under consideration,
Mr. Reed, of South Carolina, offered a
proposition that the
settlers should be governed by
magistrates appointed by Con-
gress and under laws and regulations as
"Congress shall
direct."
None of the above propositions were
adopted by Congress.
They only show that there was a sentiment
of nationality, and
that it gathered around the Northwest
Territory.
It was a plant of slow growth. The Land
Ordinance of
May 20th, 1785, distinctly recognized a
separate ownership
of each State in the western lands, and
provided that most of
the deeds to purchasers should be made
by loan officers of
the several States, and the purchase
money paid to them.
The resolutions of April 23d, 1784,
contained a very feeble
assertion of the absolute right of the
United States to govern
the inhabitants of the territory; but
the Ohio Company went
directly to the United States in
Congress assembled, made
their purchase of land from the Board
of the Treasury, and
on final settlement took their deed
from George Washington,
President. - This was the first
complete assertion of sover-
eignty by the United States over the
"vacant territory" as
property. The same is true as regards the governmental
Ordinance. The reasons for this must be
found in the pecu-
liar wants, views, and policy of the
Ohio Company in dealing
with Congress. They could not carry out
their plan by buy-
ing in the seven ranges, because in
that case they must deal
with thirteen different owners and
accept alternate townships
or sections of land. They wanted a
tract about equal in
amount to all the seven ranges, and
they wanted it in a com-
pact form.
Then again their views of Governmental
principles were
not satisfied with anything short of a
supreme authority so
lodged and regulated as to command obedience
to law. They
wanted order as well as law. At
that time the authority of
The Ordinance of July 13th, 1787. 33
the Confederacy sat very lightly upon
the pioneer settlers who
had pushed their fortunes into the
great west.
Washington said to Governor Harrison of
Virginia: "The
West stands, as it were, on a pivot
-the touch of a feather
may turn it any way." The views of
the Ohio Company
were very positive on this subject. Dr.
Cutler makes this
entry in his journal during his
negotiations with Congress:
"The uneasiness of the Kentucky
people with respect to the
Mississippi was notorious. A revolt of
that country from the
Union if a war with Spain took place
was universally ac-
knowledged to be highly probable; and
most certainly a sys-
tematic settlement in that country,
conducted by men strongly
attached to the Federal Government and
composed of young,
robust, hardy and active laborers who
had no idea of any
other than the Federal Government, I
conceived to be an
object worthy of some attention."
General Putnam subse-
quently discussed very fully with
Fisher Ames the question:
"Can we retain the West in the
Union?" and asks only pro-
tection to ensure its loyalty. The
Associates had no idea of
any other than the Federal Government,
but they wanted
that Government to assert its sovereign
rights in an Organic
Law that would protect them from any
wild scheme of dis-
union that might be sprung upon them.
There is abundant evidence that the
location at the right
time and at the true strategic point of
such a body of true
and loyal men, with whom Washington's
wishes and policies
were law, had much to do with
controlling and defeating in-
cipient steps toward disunion, in
turning the " pivot" in the
right direction. With these views on
the part of the associ-
ates it was essential to them that the
Organic Law should
assert those rights and powers that are
national in their char-
acter. The company, through their
agent, pledged a full
support to governmental authority in
advance. The result
shows that both as regards land as
property, and territory as
the subject of supreme governmental
authority, there was in
connection with this transaction as
full an assertion of nation-
ality as circumstances would permit.
All this was really out-
34
Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Quarterly.
side of any distinct authority conferred
upon Congress by the
articles of Confederation.
In that transition period from a jealous
adherence to state
rights to a full acceptance of national
sovereignty, this was an
important step taken in advance of the
fully matured asser-
tion of the same principle in the
Constitution. The influence
of this advanced step in deciding the
formation and adoption
by the States of the Nation's organic
law cannot be traced
with accuracy, but the men who secured
from Congress this
assertion of power outside of the
articles of the Confedera-
tion were all ardent friends of the
Constitution--then in
process of formation - and it is not
unreasonable to suppose
that the land sale with the governmental
Ordinance had an
influence in the right direction. Eight
States were com-
mitted to the principle of nationality,
and a large and influen-
tial body of citizens were thus pledged
to its support.1
Another feature of the Ordinance is
worthy of notice as
connected with Dr. Cutler's negotiation
for a large purchase
of land.
The Ohio Company had no charter,
although it was the
intention of its originators to procure
an act of incorporation
from one of the States or from Congress.
The land purchase
was therefore a private contract. The
following provision in
the Ordinance may be regarded as a full
equivalent for a public
charter: "That no law ought ever to
be made or have force
1 The following is an extract from a
letter written by Richard Henry Lee
to General Washington, dated July 15th, 1787, two days after the passage
of
the Ordinance. He says: "I have the
honor to enclose to you an ordi-
nance that we have just passed in
Congress, for establishing a temporary
government beyond the Ohio, as a measure
preparatory to the sale of lands.
It seems necessary, for the security of
property among uninformed and per-
haps licentious people, as the greater
part of them who go there are, that a
strong-toned government should exist,
and the right of property be clearly
defined." Mr. R. H. Lee was Dr.
Cutler's friend, who promised an " hour's
speech" to aid him. It is quite
evident that a "strong-toned government"
for the west was fresh in his mind two
days after the passage of the Ordi-
nance. He assigns the "uninformed
and perhaps licentious" character of
the people as a reason for such a
government-referring to settlers already
there-not to Dr. Cutler's proposed band
of emigrants. Dr. Cutler refers
in his Journal to the same uneasy
condition of Western affairs and proposes
as a remedy a colony of men of a
different character and who were strongly
attached to the Federal Government. This
coincidence of views between
Mr. Lee, who undoubtedly represented the
prevailing view in Congress, and
the agent of the Ohio Company shows
clearly enough that a "strong-toned
government" grew out of this systematic plan of settlement.
The Ordinance of July 13th, 1787.
35
in said Territory that shall in any
manner whatever interfere
with or affect private contracts or
engagements bonafide and
without fraud previously formed."
That Dr. Cutler regarded his land
purchase as a private
contract is very evident from an entry in his Journal, Oct. 26,
1787, when he paid over $500,000 to the
Board of Treasury.
He says it was "the greatest
private contract ever made in
America."
Mr. R. H. Lee refers to the Ordinance;
"as a measure
preparatory to the sale of lands. It
seemed necessary for
the security of property * * that a
strong-toned govern-
ment should exist and the rights of
property be clearly
defined."
The strong presumption is that this
valuable provision as
well as others relating to "rights
of property" were sug-
gested by Dr. Cutler as a protection to
his property in the
absence of a charter.
I have thus hastily passed over the
ground from which
sprung the elements of the first
settlement of Ohio and the
Northwest, and have assigned reasons why
some of the dis-
tinctive features of the Ordinance of
'87 were inserted. I
have done this solely in the interest of
the truth of history-
not to advance claims unsupported by
facts - but to award
to every actor in the important labors
of that primitive period
his full and just credit for work so
well done.
It may be claimed that the true thread
of history may be
traced in the course of that
"Providence that guides our
ways," and our nation's ways, "rough
hew them as we may,"
beginning with the early knowledge of
the Ohio Valley ob-
tained by the man who, as
Commander-in-Chief, was detached
from his native associations, thrown
early in the Revolution-
ary struggle with New England men,
imparting to them his
own observations, then pointing out to
them a "competence"
in the western "wilderness,"
as an alternative to the humilia-
tions of poverty, that he undertook on
behalf of his native
State a broad and comprehensive scheme
of internal improve-
ments, resting upon Virginia seaports as
one terminus, and
covering the Ohio Valley, the Lakes and
the Northwest, corn
36 Ohio Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly.
bining the highest motives of patriotism
with a most intelli-
gent appreciation of commercial
results. That there was in
all this a perfect harmony of
interests, a coincidence of views,
a co-operation of effort as between
Virginia statesmen and
the Ohio Company that readily accounts
for the unanimity of
consent in accepting freedom and
discarding slavery. It is
also evident that the religious, moral
and educational forces
that for a previous century had been
growing strong, resolute
and well prepared for activity and most
important service in
New England, were skillfully and
successfully transferred to
this Western Empire by that organized
and systematic method
of settlement which marked its
beginnings on the banks of
the Muskingum on the 7th of April,
1788. Massachusetts
and Virginia joined holy wedlock and
Ohio was their first
born. The ordinance was the child's
cradle. All this looks
like a chapter in the " Romance
of History."
It will thus be seen that Ohio was
a star of Hope among
the gloomy camp fires of Valley Forge;
that the "new State
westward of the Ohio " was a broad streak of sunshine in that
dark hour of poverty, discontent and
dissolution at the close
of the great struggle; that an
intelligent and systematic plan
of planting a new State in
perfect harmony with the policy of
Congress was wisely and well matured;
that cordial approval
of its organic principles resulted from
full equivalents to those
who held the power to make decisions;
that in all this there
was a kindly co-operation growing out
of personal associa-
tions; that a good degree of harmony as
between the North
and South then existed, resulting in
concessions for the com-
mon good; that patriotism was the rule,
and local jealousy
the exception; that organic foundations
were laid broad
enough and strong enough to bear up the
fabric of an
Empire.
Standing here, as we do, upon a
century's summit, looking
back with reverent gratitude upon the
work of its founders,
we may gather in as historical results,
that the 12,000,000 of
people composing the five great
Commonwealths now quietly
dwelling upon what then was the wild
surface of that old
"vacant territory," may claim
for themselves and their
The Ordinance of July 13th, 1787.
37
pioneer fathers, that in all the slow
and tedious processes of
building up, in cherishing organic ideas
and giving them
vitality, in supporting their Nation and
moulding its charac-
ter, in defending its life in time of
extremest dangers, they
have borne their full share of patriotic
service, and may now
pass that nation over, with a clean
record to posterity, send-
ing its ideas and principles onward in
their mighty mission of
dominion from sea to sea, and from
yonder beautiful river
(Ohio) to the ends of the earth.
WM. P. CUTLER.
ORIGIN OF THE OHIO COMPANY.
PETITION OF OFFICERS IN THE CONTINENTAL
LINE OF THE
ARMY.
[NOTE.-This valuable historical
document, referred to in the foregoing
paper by Mr. Cutler, has often been
printed, but frequently in an imperfect
form. The names of the petitioners,
though referred to by historical writ-
ers, have never before been published,
and are here printed in the belief
that the list will be interesting and
valuable, not only to residents of Ohio,
but to all citizens of the Northwest.
The list of petitioners here given was
copied from one in the hand-writing
of General Putnam, in the library of
Marietta College, and was then care-
fully compared by Dr. Andrews, of the
Editorial Committee, with his certi-
fied copy of the original names in the
State Department at Washington.
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE.]
THE original contract made by the Ohio
Company with
Congress was for 1,500,000 acres, for
which they paid down
as closing the contract $500,000. For various reasons they
found it impossible to make up the
remaining moiety of the
same amount. In 1792, Dr. Cutler and
General Putnam
were authorized by the Company to effect
a settlement with
Congress and secure a title to the lands
already paid for
The matter was referred to a Committee
of the House, who,
in their report, say: