Final answer:
The NW Ordinance of 1787 established a framework for public education, prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory, and described the process by which territories could become states, including the requirement for constitutions that forbade slavery and guaranteed certain rights.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Northwest Ordinance on Education, Slavery, and New States
The NW Ordinance, a cornerstone of American history, dealt with several pivotal issues as the newly formed United States began expanding westward. Concerning education, the Ordinance made provisions for the incorporation of public schooling within the township grid system, reserving one section—typically the sixteenth—of each township specifically for the maintenance of public schools. Pertaining to slavery, the Ordinance took a firm stance against its expansion; it unequivocally prohibited slavery within the Northwest Territory, representing a significant legislative move at a time when slavery was a contentious issue. However, it required the return of fugitive slaves to their owners. Regarding the creation of new states, the Ordinance laid out a three-stage process for admitting states to the Union, giving the territories a pathway to statehood and self-government, with the stipulation that their constitutions must protect certain freedoms, including the forbiddance of slavery.
As territories grew in population, their path from being governed by an externally-appointed governor and judges to forming their own elected legislature, and eventually achieving statehood, was clearly defined. The Northwest Ordinance set forth a blueprint that would shape the expansion and the governance of new states in a manner that would have lasting impacts on the nation's development and the ultimate resolution of the larger slavery question in America.