Westward Movement

As the population of the United States grew,

land became more expensive, and some

Americans began to feel crowded. By the

early 1800s, the promise of new farmland

and other work opportunities brought a

flood of new emigrants from settled areas in

the East to the lands west of the Appalachian

Mountains.

The Northwest

Territory was the area north of the Ohio

River and east of the Mississippi. Colonists

had been moving into this area since before

the American Revolution. When the United

States acquired this land from the United

Kingdom, the flow of settlers increased.

One of the first tasks of the new federal

government was to organize how the territory was to be settled. In a series of three acts, passed between 1784 and 1787, Congress created the Northwest Ordinance. It applied specifically to the Northwest Territory at first. Later, the principles of the Ordinance were extended to other territories. The Ordinance allowed individuals to buy land in 640-acre tracts. That much acreage was too expensive for most settlers. Soon, developers were buying land and dividing it into smaller parcels that were more affordable and more manageable.

The sale of land attracted settlers, but it also provided needed revenue, or income, for the U.S. government. The money was needed to pay off debt from the American Revolution. Another part of the Ordinance outlawed slavery in the

territories. This provision would cause many sectional disputes.