The vital point in its history was the passage by Congress of the Ordinance of 1787, and the doings of the various land companies under and in consequence of this ordinance.
Individualism in the Southwest, Collectivism in the Northwest The wide gap between the ways in which the Northwest and the Southwest were settled is made plain by such a statement.

In the Northwest, it was the action of Congress, the action of the representatives of the nation acting as a whole, which was all-important.

In the Southwest, no action of Congress was of any importance when compared with the voluntary movements of the backwoodsmen themselves.

In the Northwest, it was the nation which acted.

In the Southwest, the determining factor was the individual initiative of the pioneers.