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==The territory==
The Northwest Territory included all the then-owned land of the United States (b)west of [[Pennsylvania]], east of the [[Mississippi River]], and northwest of the [[Ohio River]]. It incorporated most of the former [[Ohio Country]] except a portion in western Pennsylvania, and Illinois Country. It covered all of the modern states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, as well as the northeastern part of Minnesota. Lands west of the Mississippi River were the [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana Province]] of New France (acquired by the United States in 1803 by the [[Louisiana Purchase]]); lands north of the [[Great Lakes]] were the British [[Province of Upper Canada]], and lands south of the Ohio River constituted [[Kentucky County, Virginia]], admitted to the union as the state of [[Kentucky]] in 1792. The area included more than {{convert|260000|mi2}} and comprised about 1/3 of the land area of the United States at the time of its creation. It was inhabited by about 45,000 Native Americans and 4,000 traders, mostly [[Canadien]] and British. Among the tribes inhabiting the region were the Shawnee, Delaware, Miami, Wyandot, Ottawa and Potawatomi. Notably, the Miami capital along with British trading posts was at Kekionga at the site of present day Fort Wayne, Indiana. Neutralizing Kekionga became the focus of the Northwest Indian War, the driving events in the early evolution of the territory.
[[File:United States land claims and cessions 1782-1802.png|thumb|upright=1.3|left|The state cessions that eventually allowed for the creation of the Territories North and South West of the [[River Ohio]]]]
To make it more clear, the northwest Territory was made up of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. It was important because it regulated all trade in the [[Ohio River Valley.]]
==History==
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