Northwest Ordinance

The Northwest Ordinance was a plan created a long time ago in the United States to help organize new states and territories that were being added to the country. It was kind of like a set of rules to follow when you're setting up a new club or group.

When the United States was still pretty new, it was starting to expand into new areas in the north and west. But there were already Native American tribes living in some of these areas, so the government had to figure out a fair way to take over the land without hurting or hurting them. They also wanted to make sure that when new people moved into these areas, they would have the same rights and opportunities as people in other parts of the country.

So they came up with the Northwest Ordinance, which was split into three parts. The first part talked about how new territories would be created, and how they would eventually become states. This part also said that the government couldn't just take land from Native American tribes without their permission.

The second part talked about how people could move to the new territories and become settlers. It said that there should be schools and that everyone should have the freedom to practice their own religion.

The third part was really important because it banned slavery in the new territories. At the time, many people in the United States still believed it was okay to own other people and force them to work without pay. But the Northwest Ordinance said that this wouldn't be allowed in any new areas.

Overall, the Northwest Ordinance was an important guideline for how the United States added new states and territories to the country fairly and equally.