The Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance adopted by the Continental Congress on July 13, 1787 created a government for the area north and west of the River Ohio - the Northwest Territory. It also provided a blueprint for its future division into territories and states that would join the United States on an equal footing with the original states. Each territory would pass through three stages of government
In the first stage, Congress would select a governor, a secretary and three judges. The governor and judges would jointly select from amongst the legislation already enacted by existing states to create their territory's legal code and Congress reserved the right to reject it
Once 5,000 adult free men resided in the territory, every one of them owning at least 50 acres of land, and who had either been a citizen of one of the states for three years and resident in the district, or had lived for three years in the district, was eligible to elect individuals from their counties or townships to represent them in a general assembly. There was to be one representative for every five hundred free male inhabitants until the number of representatives numbered twenty-five, after which, the number of representatives would regulated by the legislature. Every member elected must own two hundred acres. When elected, the members of the House of Representatives was to meet and submit the names of 10 of their body, five of whom wold be selected by Congress to form a Legislative Council. Not mentioned in the Ordinance is that this stage would be preceded by Congress enacting an Organic Act establishing the new Territory.
Any Territory possessing 60,000 free inhabitants would be admitted into the Congress of the United States on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever, and shall be at liberty to form a permanent constitution and State government.
Not mentioned in the Ordinance was the requirement that Congress enact an Enabling Act to allow the territory to form (write) a constitution.
Note that the second stage was not entirely representative, since there were only five Council members and all were determined by Congress. When Congress established Wisconsin Territory on April 20, 1836 members of both chambers of the legislature were to be elected.
Bibliography
Horsman, Reginald "The Northwest Ordinance and the Shaping of an Expanding Republic" The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Vol. 73, No. 1 (Autumn, 1989), pp. 21-32
Robert F. Berkhofer Jr. "Americans versus Indians: The Northwest Ordinance, Territory Making, and Native Americans Indiana Magazine of History, Vol. 84, No. 1, The Northwest Ordinance (March 1988), pp. 90-108