The Northwest owes its life and owes its abounding strength and vigorous growth to the action of the nation as a whole.

It was founded not by individual Americans, but by the United States of America.

The mighty and populous commonwealths that lie north of the Ohio and in the valley of the Upper Mississippi are in a peculiar sense the children of the National Government, and it is no mere accident that has made them in return the especial guardians and protectors of that government; for they form the heart of the nation.
Unorganized Settlements West of the Ohio.
Before the Continental Congress took definite action concerning the Northwest, there had been settlements within its borders, but these settlements were unauthorized and illegal, and had little or no effect upon the aftergrowth of the region.

Wild and lawless adventurers had built cabins and made tomahawk claims on the west bank of the Upper Ohio.

They lived in angry terror of the Indians, and they also had cause to dread the regular army; for wherever the troops discovered their cabins, they tore them down, destroyed the improvements, and drove off the sullen and threatening squatters.