Final answer:
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 banned slavery in the Northwest Territory, safeguarded civil liberties, and mandated land for public education, which set the stage for the expansion and organization of territories into states and established a pattern still seen in U.S. land division today.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question references elements of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. It banned slavery in the Northwest Territory, protected civil liberties such as freedom of religion and the right to a trial by jury, and required that public education be provided, mandating that land be set aside for schools in the townships. The Northwest Territory included areas that are now Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. One of the major accomplishments of this ordinance was the geometric grid system of townships and land division, a pattern still visible in much of the United States today. Notably, this piece of legislation also laid out the groundwork for the process by which a territory could eventually achieve statehood.