Question

Surveyors laid out townships in the Ohio Valley, then part of the Northwest Territory. The government contemplated whether these areas should be U.S. colonies or new states. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 resolved this by dividing the territory into smaller territories, each with a territorial governor. A territory with 5,000 free adult males could elect its legislature, and at 60,000, it could apply for statehood. The ordinance also prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory.

What did surveyors do in the Ohio Valley?
a) Laid out townships
b) Established new states
c) Conducted surveys
d) Sold sections to settlers

Answer 1

Surveyors in the Ohio Valley were responsible for laying out townships in preparation for government land sales and the eventual creation of new states, according to the ordinaces governing the Northwest Territory.

Step-by-step explanation:

The surveyors in the Ohio Valley, as part of the Northwest Territory, had the task of laying out townships. According to the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, these townships were then divided into thirty-six sections of 640 acres each, with the intent to prepare them for government sales. The grid system established by the ordinaces for dividing the land has influenced the American landscape to this day, with much of the western United States reflecting this orderly pattern when viewed from above. The division of the territory into townships both facilitated the future sale to settlers and speculators and set out a framework for new states' admission into the Union while also prohibiting slavery within the Northwest Territory.