1787 The Northwest Ordinance
July 13, 1787
An Ordinance for the government of the Territory of
the
Be it ordained by the
Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the
estates, both of resident and nonresident proprietors in the said territory,
dying intestate, shall descent 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 where there shall be no children or descendants,
then in equal parts to the next of kin in equal degree; and among collaterals,
the children of a deceased brother or sister of the intestate shall have, in
equal parts among them, their deceased parents' share; and there shall in no
case be a 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 for
life, and one third part of the personal 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 wills 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,
sealed and delivered by the person being of full age, in whom the estate may
be, and attested by two witnesses, 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 property may be transferred by
delivery; saving, however to the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other
settlers of the Kaskaskies, St. 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.
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 1,000 acres of land, while in the exercise of his office.
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 district, and have a freehold
estate therein in 500 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 500 acres of land while in the
exercise of their offices; and their commissions shall continue in force during
good behavior.
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 of
the district, and report them to Congress from time to time: which laws shall
be in force in the district until the organization of the General Assembly
therein, unless disapproved of by Congress; but afterwards the Legislature
shall have authority to alter them as they shall think fit.
The governor, for the time being, shall be
commander in chief of the militia, appoint and commission all officers in the
same below the rank of general officers; all general officers shall be
appointed and commissioned by Congress.
Previous to the organization of the general assembly,
the governor shall appoint such magistrates and other civil officers in each
county or township, as he shall find necessary for the preservation of the
peace and good order in the same: After the general assembly shall be
organized, the powers and duties of the 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 during the
continuance of this temporary government, be appointed by the governor.
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 shall
have been extinguished, into counties and townships, subject, however, to such
alterations as may thereafter be made by the legislature.
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 a
representative 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 representative, 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 be eligible or qualified to act as a 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 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.
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.
The general assembly or legislature shall consist
of the governor, legislative council, and a house of representatives. The
Legislative Council shall consist of five members, to continue in office five
years, unless sooner removed by Congress; any three of whom to be a quorum: and
the members of the Council shall be nominated and appointed in the following
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, residents 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 vacancy, and return their names to Congress; one of whom
congress 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 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, legislative council, and house of
representatives, shall have authority to make laws in all cases, for the good
government of the district, not repugnant to the principles and articles in
this ordinance 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.
The governor, judges, legislative council,
secretary, and such other officers as Congress shall appoint in the district,
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 Congress, who shall have a seat in Congress, with a right of debating
but not voting during this temporary government.
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
original States, at as early periods as may be consistent with the general
interest:
It is hereby ordained and declared by the authority
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 worship or
religious sentiments, in the said territory.
Article II.
The inhabitants of the said territory shall
always be entitled to the benefits of the writ 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 offenses, 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 compensation shall be made for the same. And, in the just preservation
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
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
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 Mississippi. The middle State shall be bounded by the said
direct line, the Wabash from Post Vincents to the Ohio, by the Ohio, 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:
Provided, 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 with the original States in
all respects whatever, and shall be at liberty 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 interest
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
resolutions of the 23rd of April, 1784, relative to the subject of this
ordinance, be, and the same are hereby repealed and declared null and void.