ORDINANCE OF 1784

One of the most important constitutional questions of the founding era was that of the status of the western TERRITORIES. In 1783, as a concession to secure ratification of the ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION, states with claims to western lands ceded them to Congress. In April 1784 Congress adopted an ordinance of government for the ceded territory drafted by THOMAS JEFFERSON. That ordinance, although it never went into effect, embodied the principle that the territories were not to be mere colonies but would become states within the Union. The principle was fulfilled under the NORTHWEST ORDINANCE and the Constitution.

The Ordinance of 1784 created eight "states" in the West and prescribed for them three stages of evolution culminating in full equality with the original thirteen states. But, unlike the Northwest Ordinance, which provided for gradual advance toward self-government by the settlers, the Ordinance of 1784 conferred self-government immediately. Jefferson's proposal to ban SLAVERY from the territories was defeated in Congress by a vote of seven states to six.

Rather than allow squatters to benefit, Congress made the Ordinance effective only when the western lands were officially offered for sale, and that did not happen until after the Ordinance was superseded.