Northwest Ordinace enacted
July 13, 1787
US Postage Stamp: Ordinance of 1787, Issue of 1937
In direct disregard to the requests of the United Indian Nations aka the Northwest Confederacy, US Congress enacts the Northwest Ordinance which establishes the Northwest Territory. This established the process by which the US government would enable westward expansion. It also created the Ohio river as the boundary between what would become free states and slave states.