ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the Northwest Ordinance,

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the Kim and Kanye baby decree.

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Yeah, that one. All right, first up - the excerpt.

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[ mumbles ] We've read this before.

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[ mumbling continues ]

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All right. And now the question:

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The Northwest Ordinance marked a turning point in American expansion because it...

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what?

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And here are the potential answers.

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[ mumbles ]

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All right. Well, why was the Northwest Ordinance so darn important?

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Well, remember that in the early days

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after the Revolutionary War, no one really knew

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who was gonna have the most power in America,

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the federal government or the states.

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So talk about a high-wire balancing act.

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Let's see if we can figure out which of those

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sides won in the answers.

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Did the Northwest Ordinance mark a turning point because it A -

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incorporated new territory in existing states?

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Well, that certainly would have expanded the power of the states,

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which could just gobble up more and more territory

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as it became available.

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But if you look at the excerpt,

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it required that the territory

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"for the purposes of our temporary government,

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be one district."

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That means that they'd stand on their own,

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separate from the old states.

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So it ain't A.

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Was it a turning point because it C -

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failed to grant settlers legal rights?

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Well, remember good old Johnny Appleseed?

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Yeah, he was planting apple trees up and down the border,

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developing land for incoming settlers.

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And the Northwest Ordinance bestowed

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legal rights upon the settlers moving west,

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which encouraged more people to live on the frontier

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and expand the country's boundaries.

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So that eliminates C, as well.

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Did the Northwest Ordinance change things because it D -

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led to a lasting peace with American Indians?

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Uh, creation of a new territory, granting land to settlers moving west?

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Doesn't sound like a recipe for

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peace with the American Indians.

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More like fuel to a very big fire.

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So it can't be D.

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That must mean the Northwest Ordinance marked a turning point because it

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B - allowed for the creation of new states.

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Remember our states versus federal government battle?

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Yeah, remember that thing?

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Well, with the Northwest Ordinance, the federal government

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put a system in place to create brand new states

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from its recently acquired territory.

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And with each state that joined the Union,

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the rest would have just a little less power.

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So the correct answer is B.

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Think of it like the way you feel when

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a younger sibling is born.

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Sure it's great 'cause you have someone new

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to play with and pick on,

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but it also means your vote

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in what we watch on TV

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goes down in a value a bit.

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