Land Ordinance of 1784

The Ordinance of 1784 (enacted April 23, 1784) called for the land in the recently created United States of America west of the Appalachian Mountains, north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River to be divided into separate states.

It was adopted by the United States Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation.

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author. His original draft of the ordinance contained five important articles:

Land Ordinance

In U.S. land history, there are at least three land ordinances of note: