Northwest Ordinance
July 13, 1787
 |
| Arthur St. Clair Ninth President of the United States in Congress Assembled February 2, 1787 to January 21, 1787 |
After a decade of intense debates focusing on state western land claims in the Continental Congress and the United States in Congress Assembled (USCA), the approval of an ordinance for governing the Northwest Territory became imminent. The financial situation was dire, with the treasury empty and the United States having defaulted on loan payments to France. Instead, payments were redirected to Holland to avoid the risk of impressments of its ships. This challenging economic context set the stage for the establishment of a governance framework for the Northwest Territory.
U.S. State 1776-1781 claims on land east of the Mississippi River.
Students and Teachers of US History this is a video of Stanley and Christopher Klos presenting America's Four United Republics Curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. The December 2015 video was an impromptu capture by a member of the audience of Penn students, professors and guests that numbered about 200. - Click Here for more information
On April 14, 1785, the United States in Congress Assembled (USCA) engaged in a debate to expand the Ordinance of 1784. The discussion, heavily influenced by Thomas Jefferson's survey method, led to a significant motion made by William Grayson, seconded by James Monroe. The motion proposed a change from seven miles square to six miles square in the ordinance, marking a crucial moment in the birth of the current U.S. survey system. This adjustment laid the foundation for the rectilinear survey system that eventually became integral to the Land Ordinance of 1785, shaping the organization and distribution of federal lands in the United States.
Richard Henry Lee, then USCA President, wrote to his friend and colleague Samuel Adams:
I hope we shall shortly finish our plan for disposing of the western Lands to discharge the oppressive public debt created by the war & I think that if this source of revenue be rightly managed, that these republics may soon be discharged from that state of oppression and distress that an indebted people must invariably feel. [23]
The States had relinquish their rights to a "test tract" of land and the USCA's Western Land Ordinance of 1785 was passed on May 20, 1785.
 |
| Exhibited is the Pennsylvania Packett and Daily Advertiser, Monday, May 30, 1785, full printing of the Western Land Ordinance dated May 20, 1785 and signed in type by Richard Henry Lee as President of the United States in Congress Assembled and Charles Thomson as Secretary of the United States in Congress Assembled. |
The Western Land Ordinance operationalized the earlier 1784 Land Ordinance by establishing a system for selling and settling the land in the Northwest Territory. Federal surveyors meticulously divided the land into square townships, each side measuring six miles, encompassing thirty-six square miles in total. Within these townships, one-square mile sections were designated, each receiving a unique number and comprising 640 acres. Section sixteen was reserved for a public school, while sections eight, eleven, twenty-six, and twenty-nine were allocated to provide Revolutionary War veterans with land as compensation, thereby reducing the war debt. The government then auctioned the remaining sections, with a minimum bid of 640 dollars per section or one dollar per acre of land within each section. This structured approach aimed to facilitate the organized settlement and development of the Northwest Territory.
Under the Western Land Ordinance of 1785, the Federal Government faced challenges in managing the newly surveyed Northwest Territorial lands. Insufficient resources were available because Native Americans resisted relinquishing a significant portion of the surveyed land, and much of the territory remained too perilous for settlement. This situation presented a dilemma, requiring either military intervention to remove Native Americans or financial resources to fairly purchase their land, ensuring peaceful sale and settlement.
Moreover, the federal land that was not in dispute by Native Americans was being occupied by western settlers who had little faith in or respect for the authority of the United States in Congress Assembled (USCA). These settlers claimed the land as squatters, and the USCA lacked the funds for magistrates, let alone troops, to enforce the required $1.00 per acre fee for a clear federal land title. With the states no longer in control of the lands and the absence of federal authorities to enforce laws, a wave of western squatters entered the Northwest Territory. Tract sales were minimal, and the anticipated revenue from Northwest Territorial land sales became a significant liability.
In 1787, the United States in Congress Assembled (USCA) was inclined to explore plans for bringing government lands into the market, facilitated by the Ohio Company's willingness to purchase millions of acres for private development. Earlier, in 1786, Delegate James Monroe's committee on the Western government suggested replacing Thomas Jefferson's 1784 plan, which involved eleven states, with a system that would result in no fewer than three and no more than five states. This marked a shift in approach and signaled a readiness to address the organization and sale of government lands, particularly in the context of private development and state delineation. [36]
During the negotiations for the purchase of 1,000,000 acres of western land, the Ohio Company replaced General Samuel Holden Parsons with the Reverend Manasseh Cutler. Cutler, aligning himself with William Duer, the secretary of the U.S. Treasury Board [37], became part of a determined group of New York speculators eager for the settlement of the Northwest Territory. With the U.S. Treasury facing severe pressures, and with the influence of Duer and Massachusetts Delegate Nathan Dane, President Arthur St. Clair and key delegates allowed Dr. Cutler to work directly with the committee tasked with drafting the Northwest Ordinance. The economic strain, combined with the influence of key figures, played a role in this decision, emphasizing the importance of financial considerations in the development of the Northwest Territory.
 |
National Collegiate Honor’s Council Partners in the Park Independence Hall Class of 2017 students at Federal Hall National Historic Park with Ranger holding the 1789 Acts of Congress opened to the 12 Amendment Joint Resolution of Congress issued September 25th, 1789. The only amendment in the "Bill of Rights" that was not ratified is Article the First, which is still pending before Congress. Cintly is holding an Arthur St. Clair signed Northwest Territory document, Imani is holding the First Bicameral Congressional Act establishing the U.S. Department of State and Rachael is holding a 1788 John Jay letter sent to the Governor of Connecticut, Samuel Huntington, transmitting a treaty with France. – Primary Sources courtesy of Historic.us |
The Committee tasked with drafting a plan for the territory northwest of the Ohio government initially consisted of only Virginia Delegate Edward Carrington and Massachusetts Delegate Nathan Dane. James Madison and Rufus King were absent from the Committee as they were attending the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention. In the afternoon, the United States in Congress Assembled (USCA) appointed three new members—former USCA President Richard Henry Lee, John Kean [41], and Melancton Smith [42]—to replace the three absent delegates, outnumbering the old delegates who had been working on the measure for over a year. Edward Carrington was elected as the Chairman, and together with Ohio Company Agent Cutler, they took up James Monroe's 1786 Ordinance draft. Importantly, this committee did not simply revise the ordinances of 1784 and 1785; instead, they followed Monroe's lead and began expanding and ultimately drafting an entirely new plan for the government of the Northwest Territory.
The committee, animated by the presence of Lee, went to its work in good earnest. Dane, who had been actively employed on the colonial government for more than a year, and for about ten months, had served on the committee which had the subject in charge, acted the part of scribe. Like Smith and Lee, he had opposed a federal convention for the reform of the constitution. The three agreed very well together, though Dane secretly harbored the wish of finding in the West an ally for " eastern politics." They were pressed for time, and found it necessary finally to adopt the best system they could get. At first they took up the plan reported by Monroe; but new ideas were started; and they worked with so much industry that on the eleventh of July their report of an ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States north-west of the river Ohio was read for its first time in congress.[43]
Dr. Cutler played a significant role in shaping the Northwest Ordinance. He added an educational provision, which was then revised by the committee and ultimately became part of Article III stating:
"Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."
This provision underscored the importance of education for the well-being of society and emphasized the perpetual encouragement of schools and educational resources in the Northwest Territory. It reflected the belief that an educated populace was essential for the success of self-governance and the overall happiness of the people.
Other revisions were made based on input from the President. Dr. Cutler, content with the changes, did not stay in New York for the vote in Congress and departed for Philadelphia that evening. His contributions, including the educational provision, left a lasting impact on the final form of the Northwest Ordinance.
 |
| North West Territory Map 1783 by Thomas and Andrews Boston |
When Delegate Dane initially read the ordinance on the 11th of July, it did not include the provision abolishing slavery. Dane, credited with primary drafting the ordinance alongside Cutler, believed it prudent to omit the anti-slavery language at first. He, along with other anti-slavery delegates, thought this approach would allow southern delegations to focus more clearly on the favorable aspects of the ordinance.
However, on July 12th, when the ordinance was read again by Dane, the anti-slavery provision was added to the text:
"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."
This article, taken from Jefferson's Ordinance of 1784 draft, explicitly prohibited slavery and indentured servitude in the Northwest Territory, making it a landmark document in the movement towards the abolition of slavery in the United States.
This change in strategy ensured that the critical anti-slavery stance was presented during the final reading, potentially garnering more support for the ordinance.
In a strange twist of events on July 12th, as the all-important Northwest Ordinance bill was being debated on the floor, President St. Clair decided to take a three-day leave of Congress along with what surely would have been a yes vote from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Eight states remained, evenly divided and neither the President nor the Ohio Company was present to effectuate the required seven state passage of the ordinance. On July 13th to Dane’s surprise, the ordinance passed unanimously.
The events on July 12th during the debate on the Northwest Ordinance took a surprising turn. As the crucial bill was being discussed on the floor, USCA President Arthur St. Clair decided to take a three-day leave of Congress. Additionally, a potential yes vote from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was absent. With eight states remaining, evenly divided, and neither the President nor the Ohio Company present to secure the necessary seven-state passage of the ordinance, the situation seemed uncertain.
However, on July 13th, to the surprise of Nathan Dane and others, the Northwest Ordinance passed unanimously. [44]
On July 16th, Nathan Dane wrote to Rufus King, who was attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia: "When I drew the ordinance which passed (in a few words excepted) as I originally formed it, I had no idea the States would agree to the sixth Art. prohibiting Slavery---;as only Massa. of the Eastern States was present---;and therefore omitted it in the draft---;but finding the House favourably disposed on this subject, after we had completed the other parts I moved the art---;which was agreed to without opposition."
William Grayson, writing to James Monroe on August 8, 1787 informed him about the passage highlighting differences from the version Monroe drew up in 1786. Grayson emphasized the need for Virginia's consent and encouraged Monroe to work towards aligning the state's act of cession with the new Ordinance. Grayson specifically addresses Article VI, writing: "The clause respecting slavery was agreed to by the Southern members for the purpose of preventing Tobacco & Indigo from being made on the N.W. side of the Ohio, as well as for sevl. other political reasons."
It is noteworthy that both USCA President Arthur St. Clair and Dr. Cutler left New York on July 11th, despite an imminent vote the following day on the Northwest Ordinance. Allegations have arisen regarding the reasons for their departure just before the vote.
Historian William Frederick Poole contends that this was an attempt to conceal backroom dealings related to St. Clair's appointment to the governorship. Poole suggests that Cutler, representing the Ohio Company's interests, aimed to have General Parsons of Connecticut appointed as Governor but needed St. Clair's influence, leading to a negotiated arrangement. St. Clair's biographer, William Henry Smith, disputes these claims, asserting:
On the 13th of July he [President Arthur St. Clair] did not preside. He had gone the day before to New Jersey to visit a friend, and he did not return until two days after the passage of the Ordinance. Only eight States out of thirteen voted for that instrument: Pennsylvania was one of the five not represented. When St. Clair returned to New York, he was accompanied by General Irvine, one of his colleagues. In a letter of the latter, written 19th July, and addressed to Colonel Richard Butler, he refers to the Ordinance which had passed two days before his return, and adds: "Who the officers of that government will be I have not heard, nor inquired."
If the name of General St. Clair had been canvassed, or, if he had had any understanding with the New England people, as is alleged, it would have been known to a friend as intimate as General Irvine. But, furthermore, we have his own testimony, which is of the best, to sustain us. In a letter to the Hon. William B. Giles, he says that the office of Governor was, in a great measure, forced upon him by his friends, who thought there would be in it means to compensate for his sacrifices to his country, and provide for his large family. But it proved otherwise. He had "neither the taste nor genius for speculation in land; nor did he consider it consistent with the office." He declared the accepting of the Governorship the most imprudent act of his life, for he was then in possession of a lucrative office, and his influence at home was very considerable. But he had the "laudable ambition of becoming the father of a country, and laying the foundation for the happiness of millions then unborn."[45]
 |
TREATY OF PARIS 1783 MAP entitled ETATS UNIS DE L'AMERIQUE SEPTENTRIONALE avec le Canada et la Floride, by Jean Lattre, is on exhibit with the Northwest Ordinance. This 18th century copperplate engraved map was dedicated and presented to his Excellence Mr. Benjamin Franklin, Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America at the Court of France. The map clearly shows the States' land claim challenges to the Northwest Territory that were still hotly debated in Congress. - Loan Courtesy of Klos Yavneh Academy Collection.
|
On the day of the ordinance’s passage, Chairman Dane, sent a copy to Rufus King with this letter shedding more light on the negotiations on the land purchase:
We have been much engaged in business for ten or twelve days past for a part of which we have had eight States. There appears to be a disposition to do business, and the arrival of R. H. Lee is of considerable importance. I think his character serves, at least in some degree, to check the effects of the feeble habits and lax modes of thinking in some of his Countrymen. We have been employed about several objects; the principal ones of which have been the Government enclosed and the Ohio purchase.
The former you will see is completed and the latter will be probably completed tomorrow. We tried one day to patch up M; Systems of W. Government; Started new Ideas and committed the whole to Carrington, Dane, R. H. Lee, Smith, & Kean; we met several times and at last agreed on some principles at least Lee, Smith & myself. We found ourselves rather pressed, the Ohio Company appeared to purchase a large tract of the federal lands, about 6 or 7 million of acres; and we wanted to abolish the old system and get a better one for the Government of the Country; and we finally found it necessary to adopt the best system we could get.
All agreed finally to the enclosed except A. Yates; he appeared in this Case, as in most other not to understand the subject at all. I think the number of free Inhabitants 60,000, which are requisite for the admission of a new State into the Confederacy is too small, but having divided the whole territory into three States, this number appeared to me to be less important, each State in the Common Course of things must become important soon after it shall have that number of Inhabitants. The eastern State of the three will probably be the first, and more important than the rest; and, will no doubt be settled chiefly by Eastern people, and there is, I think, full an equal chance of it adopting Eastern politics. When I drew the ordinance which passed (in a few words excepted) as I originally formed it, I had no idea the States would agree to the sixth Article prohibiting Slavery; as only Massa. of the Eastern States was present; and therefore omitted it in the draft; but finding the House favorably disposed on this subject, after we had completed the other parts I moved the article; which was agreed to without opposition.
We are in a fair way to fix the terms of our Ohio sale, &c. We have been upon it three days steadily. The magnitude of the purchase makes us very cautious about the terms of it, and the security necessary to ensure the performance of them.[46]
The contract between the Board of Treasury of the United States (which then administered land affairs), and the Ohio Company stipulated the sale to the company of 1,500,000 acres in what is now southeast Ohio for $1,000,000. The contract acknowledged the payment of one-half the purchase price, the second $500,000 to be paid one month after the completion of a survey of the exterior lines of the tract. Within seven years the company was to provide the federal government an internal survey of the grant "Laid out and divided into Townships [six miles square] and fractional parts of Townships and also divided into Lots," according to the Land Ordinance of 1785. In addition to the company’s purchase, Congress granted lot (that is, section) sixteen in each township for schools, lot twenty-nine for purposes of religion, and two townships for a university. Sections eight, eleven, and twenty-six remained “Congress lands.” Samuel Osgood and Arthur Lee signed the contract for the Board of Treasury; Cutler and Winthrop Sargent for the Ohio Company …
Appointed superintendent of the Ohio Company, Putnam arrived at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers on 7 April 1788 with a company of men to found a settlement, subsequently named Marietta. While the work of surveying, clearing, and building went on, the company's directors attempted to raise the remaining $500,000 owed to the government. In October 1789 Richard Platt, a New York merchant and the company’s treasurer, reported that shareholders were almost $300,000 in arrears for their subscriptions of company stock, but had all of them paid up, the company still would have been short of the money that was owed. In addition, trouble with the Indians on the company's land meant the hiring of guards, the building of fortifications, and the curtailing of settlements. In 1790 Congress accepted a plan proposed by Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, to fund all outstanding federal and state debts, a plan that effectively raised the depreciated currency to par value.[47]
 |
[NORTHWEST ORDINANCE] – Exhibited here is the full printing of “An ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States, north west of the river Ohio". The American Museum, or Repository of Ancient and Modern Fugitive Pieces, &c. prose and poetical. For August, 1787. Volume II., Number II. Philadelphia: Mathew Carey, 1787., This is the first US Magazine printing of the ordinance appearing in print only two weeks after it was enacted.
The "Northwest Ordinance", based on an area originally laid out in 1784 by USCA Delegate Thomas Jefferson in his "Report of Government for Western Lands", concerned the land north of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi (now the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin). It was one of the most significant achievements of the United States in Congress Assembled.
In its six "Articles of Compact", largely written by Rufus King and Nathan Dane of Massachusetts, the ordinance contained provisions for the advancement of education through land grants, the maintenance of civil liberties and the exclusion of slavery. It provided a legal mechanism for citizens to formulate the state of Ohio in 1803 thus accelerating the westward expansion of the United States. The ordinance, in fact established the laws for the admission of all US states since 1787.
Also in this August 1787 "the American Museum" are published "Resolutions of congress for the establishment of a new money of account for the united States."; "An ordinance for the establishment of the mint of the united States of America; and for regulating the value and alloy of coin"; and a number of letters by scientist and politician Hugh Williamson (1735-1819) as "Sylvius", an ".effective analysis of the domestic economy, the federal debt, the problems of paper currency, the necessity for industrial development, and the need for an excise tax" - Loan Courtesy of KlosYavneh Academy Collection.
|
The passage of the Northwest Ordinance under Arthur St. Clair's Presidency was rightfully praised, in the 19th Century, by U.S. Senator Daniel Webster:
We are accustomed to praise lawgivers of antiquity ... but I doubt whether one single law of any lawgiver, ancient or modern, has produced the effects of more distinct, marked, and lasting character than the Ordinance of 1787.[48]
In 1787, the world was now put on notice that the land north and west of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi would be settled and utilized for the creation of "… not less than three nor more than five territories." Additionally, this plan for governing the Northwest Territory included freedom of religion, right to trial by jury, the banishment of slavery, and public education as asserted rights granted to the people in the territory. This ordinance was and still remains one of the most important laws ever enacted by the government of the United States and it begins:
An Ordinance for the government of the Territory of the United States northwest of the River Ohio. Section 1. Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, That the said territory, for the purposes of temporary government, be one district, subject, however, to be divided into two districts, as future circumstances may, in the opinion of Congress, make it expedient. …[49]
Specifically, this ordinance was an exceptional piece of legislation because Article Five permitted the people North and West of the Ohio River to settle their land, form their own territorial government, and take their place as a full-fledged state, equal to the original 13. The Northwest Ordinance's Article Five became the principle that enabled the United States rapid westward expansion, which ended with the inclusion of Alaska and Hawaii as our 49th and 50th states. This ordinance also guaranteed that inhabitants of the Territory would have the same rights and privileges that citizens of the original 13 States enjoyed.
Equally important, Article Six provided that slavery and involuntary servitude were outlawed in the Northwest Territory.
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. [50]
Article Six was the first federal law that finally gave some merit to "... all men are created equal...” written 11 years earlier in the Declaration of Independence.
In 1865, when Congress submitted the 13th Amendment the language drew heavily from Article XI:
In 1865, when Congress submitted the 13th Amendment the language drew heavily from Article XI:
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
 |
Slave Emancipation Signed - Manuscript emancipation signed with the mark of David Enlow, dated September 20, 1810, Harrison County, Indiana Territory. Manuscript is 12 ½” x 7 ½” on laid rag-content paper which is toned with tiny holes framed and in fine condition. In part Enlow's emancipation of Sara reads:
… a my right, title, and interest in and to the said Negro woman Sarah … in consequence of her voluntarily bound herself to serve me and during the term of four years commencing from the first day of January in the year Eighteen hundred and Seven…
The Northwest Ordinance required Enlow to free Sarah and also forbade involuntary servitude. Whether's Sarah agreeing to "voluntarily bound herself to serve me and during the term of four years" as a condition of her freedom was legally enforceable is a matter of debate.
|
Religion, Morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, Schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged.[51]
This measure essentially legislated that religion and morality were indispensable to good government but it was not carried out by the federal government because the United States confederation was financially insolvent in 1788 and faded away in 1789. A second constitution emerged from Philadelphia that laid the legal foundation that Jefferson would refer to as "thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.” [52] Several western state governments adopted similar legislation to Article Three and provided financial assistance to the churches up and until the early 19th Century.
Article III also provided protection for the Native Americans stating:
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.
On August 7th, 1789, under the
Constitution of 1787, An Act to provide for the Government of the Territory Northwest of the
river Ohio passed by Congress was signed into law by President George
Washington. This bill was the reenactment of the Northwest
Ordinance passed by the USCA
in July 1787 so that “… may continue to have full effect, it is requisite that
certain provisions should be made, so as to adapt the same to the present Constitution
of the United States.” Former USCA Governor
Arthur St. Clair was re-appointed by President Washington and
confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
The law promising "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...", despite the Northwest Ordinance being re-enacted, were rendered meaningless when the US political situation changed with the release of Georgia's western lands and the acquisition of Louisiana territory in 1803. Native American sovereignty and the policy of peacefully mixing Indians and white settlements drastically change to relocating the eastern Indian tribes to the lands west of the Mississippi.
Additionally, Georgia agreed to cede its western lands reaching to the Mississippi only after extracting a promise from federal officials to "peaceably obtain, on reasonable terms," the Indian title to all land within new Georgia state borders. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson saw an opportunity to both appease Georgia and legitimize the controversial Louisiana Purchase by drafting a constitutional amendment authorizing Congress to exchange lands in the west for any and/or all eastern lands occupied by Indians. This constitutional amendment was never submitted because Congress authorized President Jefferson to administer an Indian removal and land exchange program that required Native Americans to sign relocation treaties that included allegiance to the United States.
As Euro-Americans poured into the United States, the new citizens sought to move westward claiming Indian land for settlement all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The hundreds of sovereign Native American nations, including the relocated eastern tribes, refused to willingly or voluntarily give up their lands west of the Mississippi. Consequently, the United States government concocted and executed hundreds of one sided treaties with Indian nations that were legitimized by a series of US Supreme Court Decisions. Additionally, Congress passed hundreds of laws designed to redefine relations between the federal government and Indian nations.
Article III of the Northwest Ordinance, within 40 years after its passage, was rendered impotent.
Congress proceeded to the election of a governor for the western territory pursuant to the Ordinance of the 13th of July last and the ballots being taken the honorable Arthur St Clair was elected. Congress proceeded to the election of a secretary pursuant to the said Ordinance and the ballots being taken Mr. Winthrop Sargent was elected.[67]
On October 21st, the USCA approved the sale of over one million acres to the Ohio Company. Governor St. Clair was now responsible for governing, settling and subdividing the territory of what are now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota whose lands, at that time, comprised more than one half the geographic area of the United States of America.
Arthur St. Clair would serve his country as governor for 13 years amidst controversy and the disgrace of losing more men in a battle against Native Americans than George Custer lost at Little Big Horn. By 1801, St. Clair would be the last federalist to wield any real power at the turn of the 19th Century. In his arrogance, he would challenge Republican President Thomas Jefferson on Ohio Statehood. It was Delegate Jefferson, whose committee in 1784 wrote the original ordinance for the vast territory proposing a mechanism for new States. President Jefferson would disregard Governor St. Clair's protest letters and heartedly back fellow Virginian Thomas Worthington who championed Ohio Statehood. In a sad end to St. Clair’s service, President Jefferson dismissed the Governor with this letter written by his from Secretary of State, James Madison:
The President observing, in an address lately delivered by you to the convention held at Chillicothe, an intemperance and in decorum of language toward the Legislature of the United States, and a disorganizing spirit and tendency of very evil example, and grossly violating the rules of conduct enjoined by your public station, determine that your commission of Governor of the Northwestern Territory shall cease on the receipt of this notification.[69]
On February 19, 1803, the Republican United States Congress approved Ohio's constitution and admitted Ohio as the 17th state. Thomas Worthington was hailed as the hero of the Ohio Constitutional Convention and usurped forever the moniker: "The Father of Ohio's Statehood" its founder. Arthur St. Clair returned to his farm in Western Pennsylvania and resided there for 15 years with his wife Phoebe as a private citizen.
St. Clair’s biographer wrote that in August, 1818:
… the venerable patriot, in his eighty- fourth year, undertook to go to Youngstown, three miles distant, for flour and other necessaries. He bade good-bye to his Louisa and started off with his pony and wagon, in good spirits. The authorities had changed the Stage road so that it passed along the Loyalhauna Creek, several miles north of the St. Clair residence, and the route to Youngstown was rough and dangerous. Pony and wagon moved safely along until within a mile of the village, when a wheel falling into a rut, the wagon was upset, and the aged General thrown with great force upon the rocky road. In the course of the day he was discovered lying where he had fallen, insensible, and the pony standing quietly at a short distance, awaiting the command of his old master — faithful to the last. He was carried tenderly back to the house, but neither medical skill nor the tender care of loved ones could restore him, and, on the thirty-first, Death came with his blessed message of peace forevermore.
On a neat sand-stone monument, erected by the Masonic Society, in the cemetery of Greensburg, is this inscription: The Earthly Remains Of Major-General Arthur St. Clair Are Deposited Beneath This Humble Monument, Which Is Erected To Supply The Place Of A Nobler One Due From His Country. [70]
Arthur St. Clair, Autograph Letter Signed dated March 4th, 1813 two sided thanking several women for sending him money in his poverty while reminding his benefactors that he "... made the people happy and laid a foundation for the continuance of the happinefs to millions yet unknown..." In part he states:
"... My Heart Is not yet so cold as to be insensible to female Praife (Praise) --- it conveyed a Balm to my wounded spirit. Wounded not by the loss of fortune and the need of pecuniary aid, but by confine obloquy and contumely whom I thought (and now since I have their approbation I say it boldly), I thought that I had least merited thanks, for to say nothing of my military services which they have so kindly eulogized. I had, in a great meafsive (massive) therefore at my own expense, raised up for the United States in fifteen years a colony from thirty men to upwards of sixty thousand -- amalgamation the most heterogeneous mafs -- Mafs of population --- carried Laws, Religion, Mounts and Manner to the extreme limits of New Territory --- made the people happy and laid a foundation for the continuance of the happinefs to millions yet unknown and in which every faculty of mind and Body has been overwhelmingly employed. ... "
Several months later the
legislature of
The Congressional Evolution of the United States of America
Continental Congress of the United Colonies Presidents
Sept. 5, 1774 to July 1, 1776
September 5, 1774 | October 22, 1774 | |
October 22, 1774 | October 26, 1774 | |
May 20, 1775 | May 24, 1775 | |
May 25, 1775 | July 1, 1776 |
Commander-in-Chief United Colonies & States of America
George Washington: June 15, 1775 - December 23, 1783
Continental Congress of the United States Presidents
July 2, 1776 to February 28, 1781
July 2, 1776 | October 29, 1777 | |
November 1, 1777 | December 9, 1778 | |
December 10, 1778 | September 28, 1779 | |
September 29, 1779 | February 28, 1781 |
Presidents of the United States in Congress Assembled
March 1, 1781 to March 3, 1789
March 1, 1781 to March 3, 1789
March 1, 1781 | July 6, 1781 | |
July 10, 1781 | Declined Office | |
July 10, 1781 | November 4, 1781 | |
November 5, 1781 | November 3, 1782 | |
November 4, 1782 | November 2, 1783 | |
November 3, 1783 | June 3, 1784 | |
November 30, 1784 | November 22, 1785 | |
November 23, 1785 | June 5, 1786 | |
June 6, 1786 | February 1, 1787 | |
February 2, 1787 | January 21, 1788 | |
January 22, 1788 | January 21, 1789 |
Presidents of the United States of America
D-Democratic Party, F-Federalist Party, I-Independent, R-Republican Party,
R* Republican Party of Jefferson & W-Whig Party
(1789-1797) | 1861-1865 | (1933-1945) |
(1797-1801) | (1865-1869) | (1945-1953) |
(1801-1809) | (1869-1877) | (1953-1961) |
(1809-1817) | (1877-1881) | (1961-1963) |
(1817-1825) | (1881 - 1881) | (1963-1969) |
(1825-1829) | (1881-1885) | (1969-1974) |
(1829-1837) | (1885-1889) | (1973-1974) |
(1837-1841) | (1889-1893) | (1977-1981) |
(1841-1841) | (1893-1897) | (1981-1989) |
(1841-1845) | (1897-1901) | (1989-1993) |
(1845-1849) | (1901-1909) | (1993-2001) |
(1849-1850) | (1909-1913) | (2001-2009) |
(1850-1853) | (1913-1921) | (2009-2017) |
(1853-1857) | (1921-1923) | (2017-2021) |
(1857-1861) | (1923-1929) | 2021-Present |
*Confederate States of America | ||
(1861-1865) | (1929-1933) |
United Colonies Continental Congress | President | 18th Century Term | Age |
Elizabeth "Betty" Harrison Randolph (1745-1783) | 09/05/74 – 10/22/74 | 29 | |
Mary Williams Middleton (1741- 1761) Deceased | Henry Middleton | 10/22–26/74 | n/a |
Elizabeth "Betty" Harrison Randolph (1745–1783) | 05/20/ 75 - 05/24/75 | 30 | |
Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830) | 05/25/75 – 07/01/76 | 28 | |
United States Continental Congress | President | Term | Age |
Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830) | 07/02/76 – 10/29/77 | 29 | |
Eleanor Ball Laurens (1731- 1770) Deceased | Henry Laurens | 11/01/77 – 12/09/78 | n/a |
Sarah Livingston Jay (1756-1802) | 12/ 10/78 – 09/28/78 | 21 | |
Martha Huntington (1738/39–1794) | 09/29/79 – 02/28/81 | 41 | |
United States in Congress Assembled | President | Term | Age |
Martha Huntington (1738/39–1794) | 03/01/81 – 07/06/81 | 42 | |
Sarah Armitage McKean (1756-1820) | 07/10/81 – 11/04/81 | 25 | |
Jane Contee Hanson (1726-1812) | 11/05/81 - 11/03/82 | 55 | |
Hannah Stockton Boudinot (1736-1808) | 11/03/82 - 11/02/83 | 46 | |
Sarah Morris Mifflin (1747-1790) | 11/03/83 - 11/02/84 | 36 | |
Anne Gaskins Pinkard Lee (1738-1796) | 11/20/84 - 11/19/85 | 46 | |
Dorothy Quincy Hancock Scott (1747-1830) | 11/23/85 – 06/06/86 | 38 | |
Rebecca Call Gorham (1744-1812) | 06/06/86 - 02/01/87 | 42 | |
Phoebe Bayard St. Clair (1743-1818) | 02/02/87 - 01/21/88 | 43 | |
Christina Stuart Griffin (1751-1807) | 01/22/88 - 01/29/89 | 36 |
Constitution of 1787 First Ladies | President | Term | Age |
April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797 | 57 | ||
March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1801 | 52 | ||
Martha Wayles Jefferson Deceased | September 6, 1782 (Aged 33) | n/a | |
March 4, 1809 – March 4, 1817 | 40 | ||
March 4, 1817 – March 4, 1825 | 48 | ||
March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829 | 50 | ||
December 22, 1828 (aged 61) | n/a | ||
February 5, 1819 (aged 35) | n/a | ||
March 4, 1841 – April 4, 1841 | 65 | ||
April 4, 1841 – September 10, 1842 | 50 | ||
June 26, 1844 – March 4, 1845 | 23 | ||
March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849 | 41 | ||
March 4, 1849 – July 9, 1850 | 60 | ||
July 9, 1850 – March 4, 1853 | 52 | ||
March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1857 | 46 | ||
n/a | n/a | ||
March 4, 1861 – April 15, 1865 | 42 | ||
February 22, 1862 – May 10, 1865 | |||
April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869 | 54 | ||
March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877 | 43 | ||
March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881 | 45 | ||
March 4, 1881 – September 19, 1881 | 48 | ||
January 12, 1880 (Aged 43) | n/a | ||
June 2, 1886 – March 4, 1889 | 21 | ||
March 4, 1889 – October 25, 1892 | 56 | ||
June 2, 1886 – March 4, 1889 | 28 | ||
March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901 | 49 | ||
September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909 | 40 | ||
March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913 | 47 | ||
March 4, 1913 – August 6, 1914 | 52 | ||
December 18, 1915 – March 4, 1921 | 43 | ||
March 4, 1921 – August 2, 1923 | 60 | ||
August 2, 1923 – March 4, 1929 | 44 | ||
March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933 | 54 | ||
March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945 | 48 | ||
April 12, 1945 – January 20, 1953 | 60 | ||
January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961 | 56 | ||
January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963 | 31 | ||
November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969 | 50 | ||
January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974 | 56 | ||
August 9, 1974 – January 20, 1977 | 56 | ||
January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981 | 49 | ||
January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989 | 59 | ||
January 20, 1989 – January 20, 1993 | 63 | ||
January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001 | 45 | ||
January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009 | 54 | ||
January 20, 2009 - January 20, 2017 January 20, 2017 - January 20, 2021 January 20, 2021 - Present | 45 46 47 |
Capitals of the United Colonies and States of America
Philadelphia | Sept. 5, 1774 to Oct. 24, 1774 | |
Philadelphia | May 10, 1775 to Dec. 12, 1776 | |
Baltimore | Dec. 20, 1776 to Feb. 27, 1777 | |
Philadelphia | March 4, 1777 to Sept. 18, 1777 | |
Lancaster | September 27, 1777 | |
York | Sept. 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778 | |
Philadelphia | July 2, 1778 to June 21, 1783 | |
Princeton | June 30, 1783 to Nov. 4, 1783 | |
Annapolis | Nov. 26, 1783 to Aug. 19, 1784 | |
Trenton | Nov. 1, 1784 to Dec. 24, 1784 | |
New York City | Jan. 11, 1785 to Nov. 13, 1788 | |
New York City | October 6, 1788 to March 3,1789 | |
New York City | March 3,1789 to August 12, 1790 | |
Philadelphia | Dec. 6,1790 to May 14, 1800 | |
Washington DC | November 17,1800 to Present |
Book a primary source exhibit and a professional speaker for your next event by contacting Historic.us today. Our Clients include many Fortune 500 companies, associations, non-profits, colleges, universities, national conventions, PR and advertising agencies. As a leading national exhibitor of primary sources, many of our clients have benefited from our historic displays that are designed to entertain and educate your target audience. Contact us to learn how you can join our "roster" of satisfied clientele today!
Hosted by The New Orleans Jazz Museum and The Louisiana Historical Center
Historic.us
A Non-profit Corporation
A Non-profit Corporation
Primary Source Exhibits
727-771-1776 | Exhibit Inquiries
202-239-1774 | Office
202-239-0037 | FAX
Dr. Naomi and Stanley Yavneh Klos, Principals
Naomi@Historic.us
Stan@Historic.us
Primary Source exhibits are available for display in your community. The costs range from $1,000 to $35,000 depending on length of time on loan and the rarity of artifacts chosen.
