The Northwest Ordinance was adopted before the Constitution was ratified and only applied the states in the Old Northwest Territories Territory. It did not apply to all territories and in fact, an act seeking to outlaw slavery in all western territories after the year 1800 had failed to pass in 1784.
The Missouri Compromise only prohibited slavery in the territories north of the 36* 30 parallel.
Last edited by JoeBob; 02/16/24.
