| Exceptionalist ideas had withered in part as revisionist historians argued that the 1787 Northwest Ordinance and Constitution were conservative, almost counter-revolutionary triumphs more than libertarian achievements. |
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| The purpose of the Northwest Ordinance was to answer questions of governance, of how, when, and under what conditions new territories would gain statehood.
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| The Northwest Ordinance has been well described as having been a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night in the settlement and government of the Northwest States. |
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| This dual reference can also be found in the Articles of Confederation and the Northwest Ordinance. |
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| Through the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 under the Congress of the Confederation, slavery was prohibited in the territories north west of the Ohio River. |
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