=Western Problems at the End of the Revolution.=—­The treaty of peace, signed with Great Britain in 1783, brought the definite cession of the coveted territory west to the Mississippi River, but it left unsolved many problems.  In the first place, tribes of resentful Indians in the Ohio region, even though British support was withdrawn at last, had to be reckoned with; and it was not until after the establishment of the federal Constitution that a well-equipped army could be provided to guarantee peace on the border.  In the second place, British garrisons still occupied forts on Lake Erie pending the execution of the terms of the treaty of 1783—­terms which were not fulfilled until after the ratification of the Jay treaty twelve years later.  In the third place, Virginia, Connecticut, and Massachusetts had conflicting claims to the land in the Northwest based on old English charters and Indian treaties.  It was only after a bitter contest that the states reached an agreement to transfer their rights to the government of the United States, Virginia executing her deed of cession on March 1, 1784.  In the fourth place, titles to lands bought by individuals remained uncertain in the absence of official maps and records.  To meet this last situation, Congress instituted a systematic survey of the Ohio country, laying it out into townships, sections of 640 acres each, and quarter sections.  In every township one section of land was set aside for the support of public schools.

=The Northwest Ordinance.=—­The final problem which had to be solved before settlement on a large scale could be begun was that of governing the territory.  Pioneers who looked with hungry eyes on the fertile valley of the Ohio could hardly restrain their impatience.  Soldiers of the Revolution, who had been paid for their services in land warrants entitling them to make entries in the West, called for action.

Congress answered by passing in 1787 the famous Northwest Ordinance providing for temporary territorial government to be followed by the creation of a popular assembly as soon as there were five thousand free males in any district.  Eventual admission to the union on an equal footing with the original states was promised to the new territories.  Religious freedom was guaranteed.  The safeguards of trial by jury, regular judicial procedure, and habeas corpus were established, in order that the methods of civilized life might take the place of the rough-and-ready justice of lynch law.  During the course of the debate on the Ordinance, Congress added the sixth article forbidding slavery and involuntary servitude.