|
|
|
Place Name
|
Northwest Territory
|
|
Place Status (Type)
|
territory
|
|
Location
|
Ohio, United States, North America
|
|
Latitude
|
unknown
|
|
Longitude
|
unknown
|
Northwest Territory
, first possession of the U.S., comprising
the region known as the Old Northwest, S and W of the Great Lakes, NW
of the Ohio R., and E of the Mississippi R., including the present
states of Ohio, Ind., Ill., Mich., Wis., and part of Minn. Men from New
France began to penetrate this rich fur country in the 17th cent.; in
1634, the Fr. explorer Jean Nicolet became the 1st to enter the region.
He was followed by explorers and traders: Radisson and Groseilliers,
Duluth, La Salle, Jolliet, Perrot, and Cadillac, as well as by
missionaries such as Jogues, Dablon, and Marquette. The Great Lakes
region was controlled by a few widely scattered Fr. posts, such as
Kaskaskia, Vincennes, Prairie du Chien, and Green Bay; links were
established bet. the Northwest settlements and those in Fr. Louisiana
(St. Louis, New Orleans). The two chief posts of the Old Northwest were
Detroit and Mackinac (Michilimackinac), but Fr. influence spread among
the Native Amer. groups E to the Iroquois country. In the 18th cent.
the NW was coveted not only by the Br. colonists in Canada, but also by
those in the Amer. seaboard colonies, who organized the Ohio Company in
1747 for the purpose of extending the Va. settlements westward. At the
same time, the French sought to strengthen their hold on the NW by
building forts. The clash of Br. and Fr. interests culminated in the
expedition led by George Washington that resulted in the loss of Fort
Necessity and the outbreak of the last of the Fr. and Indian wars. The
wars ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris, by which the British
obtained Canada and the Old Northwest. Almost immediately after the
British took over, Pontiac, an Ottawa chief, led an uprising against
them. The Ottawa were somewhat appeased by the Br. Proclamation of 1763
that closed the region W of the Allegheny Mts. to white settlement in
an attempt to protect the Native Amer. fur trade and lands; yet this
action caused resentment among the Amer. frontiersmen and contributed
to the Amer. Revolution. The mysterious machinations of Robert Rogers,
an Amer. frontiersman, further endangered the Br. hold on the Old
Northwest. During the Revolutionary War, an expedition led by the Amer.
general George Rogers Clark penetrated deep into the region in
1778-1779, in one of the most daring and valuable exploits of the war.
The Old Northwest, which became U.S. territory in 1783 by the Treaty of
Paris ending the Revolution, soon became one of the most pressing
problems before the U.S. Congress. The 4 so-called landed
states—Va., Mass., N.Y., and Conn.—claimed portions
of the Old Northwest, while states with no W land claims, esp. Md.,
argued that if the claims of the landed states were recognized, the
wealth and population of the other states would be attracted to the W
lands. The final solution was the cession of all the lands to the U.S.
govt., which was thus greatly strengthened; N.Y. made its cession in
1780, Va. in 1784, Mass. in 1785, and Conn. in 1786. Two reserves were
kept, the Va. Military Dist. and the Conn. Western Reserve in Ohio. The
Ordinance of 1785 established the Township System for surveying, which
used a rectangular grid system in order to divide the land. The
Ordinance of 1787 set up the machinery for the organization of
territories and the admission of states. Its terms prohibited slavery
in the Northwest Territory, encouraged free public education, and
guaranteed religious freedom and trial by jury. The Ohio Company of
Associates, the most active force in early colonization, was followed
by later companies that brought settlers into the territory. Br.
traders, however, opposed Amer. expansion, and the Native Americans
were also hostile to their encroachment. A series of campaigns against
the Native Americans culminated in 1794, when Gen. Anthony Wayne won an
Amer. victory at Fallen Timbers; his victory was solidified by the
Greenville Treaty of 1795. Meanwhile, Jay's Treaty and subsequent
negotiations smoothed out some of the Br.-Amer. difficulties.
The Northwest posts were transferred to Americans in 1796, although Br.
influence remained strong among the Native Americans. Settlers poured
into the S part of the territory, and in 1799 a legislature was
organized. In 1800 the W part was split off as Ind.
Territory, and by 1802, the E portion was populated enough to seek
admission as a state; it was admitted as Ohio in 1803. Other
territories were then formed—Mich. in 1805, Ill. in 1809, and
Wis. in 1836. The Br. traders, however, wanted the Northwest set aside
as Native Amer. land. Unrest led Tecumseh and Shawnee Prophet to seek a
permanent foothold for the Native Americans. Some W Americans,
meanwhile, sought to extend the Northwest to Canada. The quarrel over
the Northwest was a major cause of the War of 1812. The Treaty of
Ghent, which ended the war, solved the problem of the Northwest.
Despite opposition from Br. merchants in the region, Great Britain
irrevocably gave the Northwest to the U.S.
|
