Shooting for the Staar the Northwest Ordinance

Name:______Period:______

SHOOTING FOR THE STAAR– THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE!

Directions: Use the map and the passage to answer the following STAAR-like questions. Use your VETS too!

The Articles of Confederation often gets criticized for being an ineffective constitution, but the Congress working under the rules of the document did make some major achievements. These are the strengths of the Articles of Confederation:

• It fought and won the American Revolution.
• It negotiated the Treaty of Paris of 1783 that ended the American Revolution.
• It made sure that each state recognized the laws of the other states. For instance a couple that married in Georgia would also be recognized as being married in New York. A Virginian could travel to Massachusetts freely. The Articles of Confederation also allowed for the return of a prisoner from one state to another.
• The most significant law passed by the Congress under the Articles of Confederation was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. It gave the people in the northwestern lands – those just won in the Revolution, east of the Mississippi River, west of the Appalachians, south of the Great Lakes and north of the Ohio River, their own governments and right to self-rule. Once the people in these new territories had a certain population and had written their own constitutions, they could apply for statehood, and if accepted, could then become a state in its own right fully equal to the original 13. This law set the pattern for the future growth of the nation as territory after territory met the conditions of statehood, applied, and was accepted in to the United States as an equal state.

1._____The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was important because it –

A ensured universal suffrage for all males

B extended slavery north of the Ohio River

C provided a process for admission of new states to the Union

D established reservations for Native American Indians

2._____What did the Northwest Ordinance make possible?

A the creation of several new states

B the discovery of gold in the Yukon Territory

C the establishment of public hospitals

D the purchase of the Oregon and Washington territories

3._____The NORTHWEST TERRITORY was –

A known as the Western Reserve.

B established by Congress as a large tract of land for westward expansion.

C land set aside by Congress largely for the Indian nations.

D land settled by Americans who broke their ties to the federal government.

4,_____A LARGE AREA OF LAND governed by the United States, which is not a state, is usually referred to as a –

A colony.

B province.

C territory.

D dominion.

5.______The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established a model for later settlement by providing for the –

A legal expansion of slavery

B creation of national parks

C distribution of free land to war veterans

D process for territories to become states

Directions: Use the graphic to answer the following STAAR-like questions. Use your VETS too!

6.______The Northwest Ordinance was the first national document in the United States to –

A establish a national church.

B create states out of former American Indian lands with a treaty.

C stop the spread of slavery.

D give power to national judges who could govern the territories.

7,______Four years prior to the Bill of Rights being written, the Northwest Ordinance ensured that Americans living in the Northwest Territory had –

A their rights protected by law.

B a job in the steamboat industry.

C the right to own slaves should they so desire.

D the ability to make treaties for more land.

8._____ How many years did it take for one of the territories to become a full-fledged state?

A 5 years

B 7 years

C 12 years

D 16 years

9._____What principle or theme of US history can be seen by the establishment of a territorial Congress?

A The right to a trial by jury

B Republicanism or representative government

C free public education

D free enterprise

10.______How did the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 influence settlement patterns?

A It established a plan for surveying land west of the Appalachians.

B It settled the conflict over colonial land claims to the west.

C It established reservations for American Indians who lived on public lands.

D It provided an orderly procedure for territories to become states.