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July 2011: The Northwest Ordinance

Lithograph of Chicago in 1820
Lithograph of Chicago in 1820
Image courtesy of the Lbrary of Congress

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Northwest Ordinance on July 13, 1787. The ordinance paved the way for westward expansion and established the policy for admitting future states into the Union, ensuring that they would be on “equal footing” with the 13 original states. The ordinance also established a territorial government, provided for public education, protected civil liberties, and outlawed slavery in the Northwest Territory. These provisions foreshadowed the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Census data played an important role in the Northwest Ordinance. Once the population of an area reached 5,000 “free male inhabitants of full age,” the area could elect a legislature that would have one representative for every 500 free men. When the population reached 60,000, the legislature could submit a state constitution for approval to Congress. Once approved, the state would enter the Union. Eventually, the territory became divided into five states: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Here are a few facts about the Northwest Territory collected by the U.S. Census Bureau:

  • The first census, conducted in 1790, included only the original 13 states, plus the districts of Kentucky, Maine, and Vermont, and the Southwest Territory (Tennessee). There is no evidence of a census of the Northwest Territory in 1790.
  • Effective July 4, 1800, the Northwest Territory was separated into the Ohio Territory and the Indian Territory in preparation for Ohio statehood. The 1800 census recorded 45,365 people in the Ohio Territory (comprising the current state of Ohio and part of Michigan) and 5,641 in the Indiana Territory (which included land that is currently Indiana, Illinois, and part of Michigan).
  • Illinois and Michigan were counted as separate areas for the first time in the 1810 census. Illinois, which became a state in 1818, had a population of 12,282; Michigan had 4,762 inhabitants.
  • Wisconsin was counted as a separate territory for the first time in the 1840 census, when it had a population of 30,945.
  • Census data show that the center of the U.S. population has continued to move westward ever since the first census. In 1790, the center of the population was in Chestertown, MD. Today, the center of the population is in Plato, MO.

Photograph of Chicago in 1917
Photograph of Chicago in 1917
Photograph courtesy of the National Archives


This Month in Census History

The Jeffersonville, IN, Census Operations Office, located across the Ohio River from Louisville, KY, opened on July 1, 1958. The facility was first used to process the 1960 census and the agriculture and economic censuses. In 1998, it changed its name to the National Processing Center.

Did You Know?

July 21, 2011, marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil War battle of Bull Run/1st Manassas. The battle took place in Prince William County, VA. According to the 1860 census, the county was home to 2,356 slaves and 6,209 free persons. By 2010, the total population had grown to 402,002.

Contact Us

Questions or comments? E-mail the History Staff.

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Source: U.S. Census Bureau | Census History Staff | Last Revised: June 27, 2011