The "Ordinance" of 1784?

Abstract

HE so-called Ordinance of I784 presents some intriguing problems. Although it has long drawn attention because of its identification with Thomas Jefferson, its primacy among plans for governing the western territory, and its relationship to the more famous Northwest Ordinance, some of its most interesting features remain obscure. Others have been misrepresented. It is not my purpose in this brief note to deal comprehensively with the substance of the enactment. That mission has been ably undertaken by many others, although their interpretations have been anything but congruent.' My purpose is quite limited; it is confined to explicating the form, rather than the content, of the measure. To do so is to probe the matters of how the Confederation Congress struggled to define its ambiguous authority and how it chose to frame its decisions. The first scheme for the government of the West was drafted by a committee chaired by Jefferson. After its report had been revised and amended, the Congress agreed to it on April 23, I784, with only South Carolina opposed. The plan called for the division of the ceded, and as yet unceded, lands beyond the Appalachians into distinct states and fixed their boundaries.2 Settlers in a state could form a temporary government