Northwest Ordinance

The Northwest Ordinance creates the Northwest Territory, from lands south of the Great Lakes, north and west of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi River. This is the most important piece of legislation passed by members of the Continental Congresses other than the Declaration of Independence. The Northwest Ordinance established the precedent by which the federal government would be sovereign and expand westward across North America with the admission of new states, rather than with the expansion of existing states and their established sovereignty under the Articles of Confederation.\n\nThe Congress has proposed that 'There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory.', which has caused uproar among the members of the Congress. What shall it be, shall slavery be prohibited in the Northwest Territory according to the Northwest Ordinance or not?