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JEFFERSON, THOMAS, 1743-1826, President. Printed document signed ("Th: Jefferson") as Secretary of State: Congress of the United States....An Act for Granting Lands to the Inhabitants and Settlers at Vincennes and the Illinois Country, in the Territory north-west of the Ohio [River]...Philadelphia: [Childs & Swaine, 1791]. 2 pages, folio, 407 x 248 mm. (16 x 9 3/4 in.), uncut and untrimmed, slight separations at a few folds. Evans, American Bibliography, 23853 (two copies).
THE OPENING OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
An Act of Congress of 6 December 1790, approved by President Washington on 3 March 1791 and signed by Secretary of State Jefferson, which specifies the procedure for settlement and land grants by the territorial governors in the newly opened Northwest Territory, officially defined as the lands northwest of the Ohio River and embracing all or part of the present states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787, in which Jefferson played an important role in drafting, had outlined a framework for the government of these vast and sparsely settled frontier lands, preparing them for eventual admission into the union; it also contained a crucial clause banning the institution of slavery. The Native American population was far larger than the European settlers, and their resistance remained a serious issue until Anthony Wayne's victory at Fallen Timbers.
THE OPENING OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
An Act of Congress of 6 December 1790, approved by President Washington on 3 March 1791 and signed by Secretary of State Jefferson, which specifies the procedure for settlement and land grants by the territorial governors in the newly opened Northwest Territory, officially defined as the lands northwest of the Ohio River and embracing all or part of the present states of Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787, in which Jefferson played an important role in drafting, had outlined a framework for the government of these vast and sparsely settled frontier lands, preparing them for eventual admission into the union; it also contained a crucial clause banning the institution of slavery. The Native American population was far larger than the European settlers, and their resistance remained a serious issue until Anthony Wayne's victory at Fallen Timbers.