Equal Footing Doctrine

[Keith Broaders]

The Land Ordinance of 1784, authored by Thomas Jefferson, established a framework for organizing and governing the vast territories acquired by the United States after the Revolutionary War. It called for the division of these lands into self-governing districts and outlined a process for them to eventually become states. The ordinance also included provisions for protecting individual rights and promoting education. While the 1784 ordinance was a foundational document, it was later superseded by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which provided a more detailed plan for territorial governance and statehood. 

Befrore ratifying the Condtitution in 1788 Virginia had a claim to 192 million acres of land known as the Northwest Terriroty that became the states of Ohio, Indiana, Ilillinois,Michigan and a portion of Minnesotathe were ceded to the Uniyed Staes in the Land Ordinance of 1784.

Thomas Jefferson significantly shaped the Land Ordinance of 1784, which proposed a plan for organizing western territories into states. He envisioned a system where these territories would eventually become equal members of the Union, not colonies, and proposed dividing the land into self-governing districts. This ordinance, while not fully implemented, laid the groundwork for later land policies and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. 

[Keith Broaders]