The Northwest Ordinance

The Northwest Ordinance

The Northwest Ordinance
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.53

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		statehood, legislature, intruders, expansion, territorial, plentiful, entire, attempt, natural, original, mass, government, public, fertile, boundary, flax
	content words:		United States, North American, Central America, New England, Native Americans, Ohio River, Mississippi River, Northwest Territory, Revolutionary War, Northwest Ordinance

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The Northwest Ordinance
By Jane Runyon

¹     The United States is situated on the North American continent. A continent is usually a large mass of land. That can easily be said about the North American continent. When settlers started coming to this continent, they made their homes in different areas. The French and British both liked the area to the north which is now Canada. The Spanish liked the area to the south which is now Florida, Mexico, and Central America. The British, who settled the colonies which are now part of the United States, also chose areas close to the sea. Among the reasons they chose this area is the fact that the sea made trade with countries in Europe much easier.

²     They also discovered natural resources along the coast which would be good for them to make a living. In the New England colonies, fish and trees were plentiful. They used the trees for ship building. The fish were plentiful enough to be used for trade. The Middle colonies had fertile soil for the crops they learned to grow; corn, wheat, vegetables. The Southern colonies had a sandier soil and longer growing season. This land was good for growing flax and cotton.

³     As more and more people decided to call this new land home, there was a greater need for land. There was a natural boundary which kept many settlers from going too far from the original colonies. This boundary was a chain of mountains called the Appalachians. This chain started in the far northern colonies and continued south through Georgia. It was difficult for the early settlers to travel across these mountains. It was a long and dangerous journey by wagon. If you could get across the mountains, you wouldn't be sure that you would be welcome. Many of the Native Americans who had been pushed out of their homes in the east had settled in the area to the west of the mountains. They did not welcome new intruders.

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