04b: The Northwest Ordinance

Victory against Britain had left Americans free to resume looking West. Even before the Revolution, tens of thousands of American settlers had crossed the Appalachian Mountains, defying Great Britain's 1763 "Royal Proclamation." Now there was a complication. Several of the larger states  – notably New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia – already had large claims extending westward all the way to the Mississippi. The section north of the Ohio River and west of the Appalachians, or "Northwest Territory," was especially coveted. The smaller states, which lacked such claims, played the only card they could: they held out on ratifying the Constitution until the larger states gave up their claims. In 1780, New York was the first to give up its claims, and by 1787 the entire “Northwest Territory” was administered not by the states, but by the United States Congress. This compromise spoke well of the new nation's unity. Its next step was even more farsighted. The  Northwest Ordinance of 1787 organized the Northwest Territory, initially as a single district, ruled by a governor and judges appointed by the Congress. When a part of the Northwest Territory had 5,000 free men of voting age, it would get its own territorial legislature and could at that time send a non-voting delegate to Congress. Three to five states were to be formed out of this territory, and whenever any one of them had 60,000 free inhabitants, it could join the Union "on an equal footing with the original states in all respects." 

With this insightful policy, the US gave up for all time the traditional notion that colonies were inferior and existed merely to benefit the mother country. Some Americans felt the same way, not wanting mere terra nullius to enjoy the same rights as the Thirteen Colonies. But the Northwest Ordinance ensured that all American states would be created equal. As we will see, the Roman provinces during the Republic were acquired in Rome's best interests, ruled in Rome's best interests, and any benefit to the provincials themselves was accidental. Likewise, both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union acquired provinces, territories, and client states solely for Russian or Soviet benefit.  But sanity prevailed. There would be no squabbling about which state had the best claim to new land. There would be no recurrence of taxation without representation. Instead, the US would enjoy stability. Even though the United States had boundaries with the British (Canada), French (Louisiana) and Spanish (Florida and Mexico) empires, the United States was allowed nearly a quarter century of peace before the war of 1812 broke out.

The Louisiana Purchase: France Bows Out
After losing the French and Indian War in 1763, France had to cede the Louisiana Territory to Spain. This included all of its territory west of the Mississippi River along with the strategic port of New Orleans, near the river’s mouth. But in 1803, Napoleon was establishing French dominance over Europe and took Louisiana back from the simpering Spaniards. The United States was not happy about having Napoleon's France as their largest western neighbor. But Napoleon made President Thomas Jefferson a deal he couldn't refuse. To raise money for his European advantures, he offered America the entire Louisiana Territory for $15,000,000. This addition, the so-called "Louisiana Purchase," would nearly double America's size in one fell swoop. The US had in fact wanted only to purchase New Orleans and its immediate surroundings. Besides, as Jefferson well knew, a President had no Constitutional right to acquire territory by treaty. Moreover, he was personally concerned with preserving individual states' rights. Yet regardless of its legality, Jefferson accepted the offer and the Senate quickly ratified his decision. It was the right choice. Thanks to the Northwest Ordinance, there was an established plan by which this new land could be assimilated - politically, at least - into the United States. Best of all, France had now left the Americas for good.

War with Britain
By 1807 the British ruled the seas with a navy 700 warships strong. Yet life in the Royal Navy was so awful that sailors and marines constantly deserted, often on to American ships. The Royal Navy began stopping American ships and searching for contraband Britons. That was bad enough. Worse, when the British officers couldn’t find British deserters, they often “impressed” American sailors into the Royal Navy. In an attempt to intimidate Great Britain, Congress embargoed all foreign trade in December of that year, but it backfired completely. Becoming President in 1809, James Madison had no better ideas for keeping Americans out of the Royal Navy. It was also rumored that the British were launching attacks on the Northwest Territory out of Canada. Seen in this light, invasion of Canada would be a justified pre-emptive strike. Besides, some thought that Canada naturally belonged to the United States anyway. Tired of the Royal Navy's bullying and ready to annex Canada, the US declared war on Great Britain in 1812.

Not all Americans supported the War of 1812. For one thing, the merchants of New England and New York didn't want to fight their best trading partners. Many believed the US wasn't prepared to fight a war. They were right. The British, on the other hand, were ready to go. British regulars struck so hard at Washington that President Madison was forced to flee and the White House was burned. Many of the Indian tribes sided with the British; the Shawnee chief Tecumseh even became a brigadier general in the British Army. An attempted invasion of Canada served only to divert scarce US troops from where they were more needed. But the makeshift US Navy won amazing victories on the Great Lakes, and General Andrew Jackson beat both the Indians and British on the Gulf Coast. The treaty of Ghent, signed on Christmas Eve 1814, ended the war, but news was slow to reach New Orleans, where Jackson won his greatest battle in January 1815. The United States had fought the world's mightiest power to a draw. Like or not, America was now being taken very seriously by Europe.