    [United States Senate Manual, 107th Congress]
    [S. Doc. 107-1]
    [Historical Documents]
    [Pages 949-956]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 949]]

                                           [1232]

                ____________________________________________________________

                                      ORDINANCE OF 1787

                ____________________________________________________________

                  AN ORDINANCE FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF THE
                          UNITED STATES NORTHWEST OF THE RIVER OHIO

                          [The Confederate Congress, July 13, 1787]

        1232.1      Section 1. Be it ordained by the United States in
                Congress assembled, That the said Territory, for the purpose
                of temporary government, by one district, subject, however,
                to be divided into two districts, as future circumstances
                may, in the opinion of Congress, make it expedient.
        1232.2      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 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
                parent's 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

    [[Page 950]]

                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, 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.
        1232.3      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.
        1232.4      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 district, 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.
        1232.5      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 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

    [[Page 951]]

                by Congress; but afterwards the legislature shall have
                authority to alter them as they shall think fit.
        1232.6      Sec. 6. 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.
        1232.7      Sec. 7. 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 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.
        1232.8      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 shall have been extinguished, into counties
                and townships, subject, however, to such alterations as may
                thereafter be made by the legislature.
        1232.9      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 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

    [[Page 952]]

                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.
       1232.10      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.
       1232.11      Sec. 11. 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, 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
                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 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, 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

    [[Page 953]]

                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.
       1232.12      Sec. 12. 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 of voting, during this temporary government.
       1232.13      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 original
                States, at as early periods as may be consistent with the
                general interest:
       1232.14      Sec. 14. 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:

       1232.15                            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 territories.

       1232.16                           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

    [[Page 954]]

                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 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.

       1232.17                           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 never shall 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.

       1232.18                           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 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

    [[Page 955]]

                and measure 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 proprietors be taxed higher
                than residents. The navigable waters leading into the
                Mississippi and Saint Lawrence, and the carrying 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.
                [Sands v. Manistee River Imp. Co., 123 U.S. 288.]
       1232.19                            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 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

    [[Page 956]]

                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 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.

       1232.20                           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 in 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 service
                as aforesaid.
       1232.21      Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the
                resolutions of the 23d of April, 1784, relative to the
                subject of this ordinance, 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 12th.

                                                            Charles Thomson,

                                                                      Sec'y.
                              constitution of the united states