Quasqueton guardian. (Quasqueton, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1856-1858, 1858-02-25
A Political Curiosity.
ORIGINAL DRAFT OF THE ORDINANCE OF
1887.

printed at length the original draft of the
famous Ordinance as it came from the
pen of Mr.. jefferson, in 1894. The
committee which reported it, consisted of
Mr. jefferson, of Virginia, Mr.. Chase, of
Maryland, and Mr.. Howell, of Rhode
Island. The report, in Mr.. Jefferson's
hand writing, is yet preserved among
the archives of the State Department at
Washington.
The committee appointed to prepare a
plan for the tempsrary government of
the Western Territory, have agreed to
the following resolutions
Resolved, That the Territory ceded or
to be cedcd by individual States to the
United States, whenever the same shall
have been purchased Of the Indian inhab-
itants, and offered for sale by the United
States, shall be formed into distinct States
and bounded in the following manner,
as nearly as such sessions will admit
that is to say northwardly and south
wardly by parallels of latitude, SO that
each State shall comprehend, from south
to north, two degrees of latitude, begin
ming to count from the completion of
thirty-one degrees north of the equator !;
but any territory northwardly of the for
ty-seventh degree shall make part of the
State next below and eastwardly and
westwardly they shall be bounded, those
on the Mississippi by that river on one
side, and the meridian of the lowest point
of the rapids of Ohio on the other; and
those adjoining on the east by the same
meridian on their western side, and on
their eastern by the meridian of the west
ern cape of the mouth of the Great Kan
awha; and the territory east of this last
meridian, between the Ohio, Lake Erie
and Pennsylvania, shall be one State.
That the settlers within the territory
so to be purchased and offered for sale,
shall, either on their own petition or on
the order of Congress, receive authority
from them, with appointments of time
and place for their free males, of full age,
to meet together for the purpose of es-
tablishing a temporary government, to
adopt the Constitution and laws of any
one of these States, so that such laws
nevertheless shall be subject to alteration
by their ordinary legislature and to erect
subject TO like alteration, counties or
townships for the election of members
for their legislature.
That such temporary government shall
only continue in force in any State until
it shall have acquired twenty thousand
free inhabitants when giving due proof
thereof to Congress, they shall receive
from them authority, with appointments
of time and place, TO call convention of
representatives to establish permanent
constitution and government for Them
selves; Provided, that both the tempo
rary and permanent governments be es-
tablished on these principles as their
basis 1. That they shall forever re-
main part of the United States OF
America J; 2. That, in their persons,
property and territory, they shall be sub
ject to the government of the United
States in Congress assembled, and to the
Articles of Confederation in all those
cases in which the original States shall
shall be so subject. That they shall be
subject to pay part of the federal debts
contracted or to be contracted, TO be ap-
portioned on them by Congress, accord
ing to the same common rule and meas
ure by which appointments thereof
shall be made on the other States. 4,
That their respective governments shall
be in republican forms, and shall admit
no person to be citizen who holds any
hereditary titles. 5. That after the year
1900 of the christian era, there shall be
neither slavery nor involuntary servitude
in any of the said States, or otherwise
than in punishment of crimes, whereo
the party shall have been duly convicted
to have been personally guilty.
That whensoeyer any of the States
shall have Of free inhabitants as many as
shall then be in any one of the least nu
merous of the thirteen original States
such State shall be admitted by its dele.
gates into the Congress of the United
States on an equal footing with the said
original States after which the assent o
two-lhirds of the United States in Con
gress assembled shall be requisite in al
those cases wherein. by the confederation
the assent Of nine States is required
, Provided the consent of nine States t
such admission may be obtained accord
inc to the eleventh of the Articles of Con
federation. Until such admission by
| their delegates into Congress. any Of th'
! said States, after the establishment o