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What qualifications does a territory need to meet in order to become a state, according to the Northwest Ordinance of 1787?

The Northwest Ordinance dealt with the land that made up the Northwest Territory. This law laid out the steps a territory needed to follow if it wanted to become a state. Five states were created from the Northwest Territory. The states were Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan.


A governor and three judges ruled the Northwest Territory. When the population of the territory reached 5,000 people, the people could elect an assembly to work with the governor and the three judges. However, the governor still had a lot of power. For example, the governor could veto any laws. When the population of the territory reached 60,000, they could ask to join the Union as a state. They had to write a state constitution as part of the requirement for becoming a state. The state constitutions had to ban slavery, allow for freedom of speech and religion, and have jury trials.


If a territory wants to become a state today, a majority of the people in the territory has to vote to become a state. If this happens, then the territory would ask Congress to allow the territory to become a state. The people of the territory would have to a write a state constitution. Then a majority of both houses of Congress would have to approve a resolution that would accept the request to become a state, The President would have to sign the resolution of both houses of Congress. Today, the territory that is closest to possibly becoming a state is Puerto Rico.

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