Plz summarize this! i'll give all my points away and Mark brainiest Surveyors proceeded to lay out townships in the Ohio Valley, then known as the Northwest Territory. By 1787, the government was ready to sell sections to settlers but this raised the question of how these areas should be governed. Were they to be U. S. colonies or new states? The Northwest Ordinance Congress answered this question in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. This law divided the Northwest Territory into smaller territories, each governed by a territorial governor. As soon as a territory had 5.000 free adult males, it could elect its own legislature, or lawmaking body. When the population reached 60.000. a territory could apply to Congress to become a state. The Northwest Ordinance included a list of rights that gave settlers the same privileges as other citizens, except for one. Slavery was banned in the Northwest Territory This system of settlement served the nation well. Over time, the United States would continue to establish territories as it spread to the shores of the Pacific Ocean and beyond.