Southwest Territory

Common card · No. 314108

The Territory South of the River Ohio, commonly known as the Southwest Territory or the Old Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when Tennessee was admitted to the Union as its 16th state. After decades of efforts by trans-Appalachian settlers to establish a separate political entity, including the Watauga Association and the State of Franklin, the Southwest Territory was established by the Southwest Ordinance, which organized lands ceded by North Carolina into a federal territory comprising most of present-day Tennessee. It was governed under provisions similar to those of the Northwest Ordinance, although slavery was permitted. Its only governor was William Blount, appointed by President George Washington, with Daniel Smith serving as secretary. During its existence, the territorial government negotiated treaties with Native American nations, faced continuing frontier conflict, and progressed...

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