The Northwest Law, also known as the Northwest Ordinance (officially An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio was an act of the United States Confederation Congress. The law was passed unanimously in July 13, 1787. The main effect of the decree was the creation of the Northwest Territory as the first organized territory in the United States outside the southern Great Lakes region, north and west of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi River. August 1789, the United States Congress passed the decree with slight modifications to the constitution.
