Question

What issue did the Land Ordinance of 1785 address?

Answer 1

Hint: An ordinance is the law put forth by the government of a country and the Land Ordinance speaks about the country of the U.S. This ordinance came into existence to deal with issues that were not addressed in the ordinance of 1784.

Complete answer:
- In brief, this ordinance the ‘Land Ordinance of 1785’ primarily dealt with how to disrupt the western lands which were already under the control of the United States as a result of the Treaty of Paris.
- The Confederation of the United States Congress was responsible for passing the Land Ordinance of the year 1785 on 20th May of 1785. It established a standardized system for settlers to buy the title to undeveloped farmlands in the west. Before the enactment of 1862’s Homestead Act, the ordinance of 1785 was responsible for laying the groundwork for the land policy.
- During this time, there was debate about how power should be distributed between the states and the federal government. The 1785 Land Ordinance determined how western North America would be divided. The main issue that this ordinance addressed was the division of the western lands that were acquired at the time of the Treaty of Paris by the United States. So it was dealt with in this way;
- The 1785’s Ordinance mandated the scientific surveying and systematic subdivision of the lands of that territory at the west (western lands). A rectangular grid structure was to be used to divide the land. The township, which was a square area measuring six miles on either side, was the basic unit of a land grant (gifted land). The township would then be split into portions of one square mile, each enveloping 640 acres.
- Each segment was assigned a unique count. Section 16 was designated as a public school. Some of the sections including those of eight, eleven, twenty-six, and twenty-nine were set aside by the federal government to give land bounties to the veterans who served during the American Revolution as gratitude for their war service. The remaining parts were to be auctioned off by the government.

Note: The Land Ordinance came into being because of the changes that were established by the Treaty of Paris. The Treaty of Paris (1783) was responsible for formally ending the American Revolution. The United States independence was recognized by England. Furthermore, with the exception of British colonies in Canada and Spanish territories in Florida, the United States gained all land that lied east of the Mississippi River.