Home > Resource Library > We're Free... Let's Grow!

Learning Objectives

  • Identify the Northwest Territory as part of new territory the U.S. acquired from Great Britain as part of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
  • Describe the role of the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance in incorporating the Northwest Territory into the United States.
  • Use maps to depict the new territory’s incorporation.
  • Explain the tension between U.S. and Native American interests in the territory, including U.S. policy toward native tribes.
  • Distinguish incorporation of the Northwest Territory as an accomplishment of the U.S. government under the Articles of Confederation.

Overview

As soon as America won its independence, the new government had to start making decisions about how things would work in the nation they’d just created. With the end of the Revolutionary War, America’s geographical size doubled… but how should new territory be added to the United States? In this lesson, students learn about the issues raised by this American “first” and the challenges the nation faced with its new Northwest Territory. 

 

 

 

Access engaging resources with an iCivics account!

Create your free iCivics account and discover standards aligned lessons and games that meet all of your instructional needs. Our nonpartisan classroom resources engage students with complex concepts in ways they can understand and relate to.

Tags

Pedagogy Tags
History Connection
Tech Options
No Tech Required
Web browser
Integrations
Kami
Nearpod
State standards icon

View state standards alignment

Search State Standards

Use the Scope & Sequence to help you plan your iCivics classroom experience!

Whether you enjoy finding opportunities within a well-structured sequence of resources or prefer looking around for pieces and bits that can be jigsawed together, our Scope & Sequence documents are a perfect reference point for planning. Scope & Sequence documents are available for elementary, middle, and high school classrooms and list all of our resources in one place.

View the Scope & Sequence