Westward Movement

Westward Movement and the Northwest Ordinance

Why Did Americans Move West?

As the population of the United States grew,

land became more expensive, and some

Americans began to feel crowded. By the

early 1800s, the promise of new farmland

and other work opportunities brought a

flood of new emigrants from settled areas in

the East to the lands west of the Appalachian

Mountains.

The Northwest Ordinance

The Northwest

Territory was the area north of the Ohio

River and east of the Mississippi. Colonists

had been moving into this area since before

the American Revolution. When the United

States acquired this land from the United

Kingdom, the flow of settlers increased.

The Northwest Ordinance

One of the first tasks of the new federal

government was to organize how the territory was to be settled. In a series of three acts, passed between 1784 and 1787, Congress created the Northwest Ordinance. It applied specifically to the Northwest Territory at first. Later, the principles of the Ordinance were extended to other territories. The Ordinance allowed individuals to buy land in 640-acre tracts. That much acreage was too expensive for most settlers. Soon, developers were buying land and dividing it into smaller parcels that were more affordable and more manageable.

The Northwest Ordinance

The sale of land attracted settlers, but it also provided needed revenue, or income, for the U.S. government. The money was needed to pay off debt from the American Revolution. Another part of the Ordinance outlawed slavery in the

territories. This provision would cause many sectional disputes.

Multiple Choice

How many acres did the Ordinance originally allow settlers to buy?

• 300 acres

• 640 acres

• 100 acres

• 235 acres

Multiple Choice

What is revenue?

• debt

• gold

• income

• land

Multiple Choice

What did revenue from land sales help the government pay off?

• Treaties with Native Americans

• Debt from the War of 1812

• Debt from the American Revolution

• The Charter from the National Bank

Multiple Choice

What did the Ordinance outlaw in the territories?

• Native American settlement

• White settlement

• Gold speculation

• slavery