History of the United States I / Unit 7 USH1 0920 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Land Ordinances
Captions available
The idea
The seventeen eighty-five ordinance divided land into townships of six square miles, subdivided into thirty-six plots of six hundred forty acres, sold at auction.
In practice
A grid still visible from the air across much of the western United States.
Where people slip
Jefferson's seventeen eighty-four ordinance had established that new states would enter with equal standing to the original thirteen.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
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