What did the Northwest Ordinance establish regarding governance and slavery status of new territories?

• A. It set a process for admitting new states and prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory.
• B. It established a federal bank to fund western expansion.
• C. It allowed slavery throughout the Northwest Territory.
• D. It created a strong central tax system.

Answer: (A)

This question tests how the Northwest Ordinance organized governing a territory and treated slavery there. It created a clear path for how a western territory would be governed and eventually become a state, with a territorial government first and a route to statehood once population grew enough to draft a constitution. Crucially, it also banned slavery in the Northwest Territory, meaning that area north of the Ohio River would be free of slavery. That combination—a structured plan for governance and admission as states, along with a prohibition on slavery in that region—fits the described answer. The other ideas, like establishing a federal bank, allowing slavery, or creating a strong central tax system, aren’t part of what the Northwest Ordinance did.