Nathan Dane - Continental Congress

Continental Congress

In 1785, Dane became a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress, where he helped draft the Northwest Ordinance, which was enacted on July 13, 1787. The Ordinance encouraged American settlers into the Northwest Territory and formed the basis of the constitutions of the five states there: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Ordinance also banned slavery in the Northwest Territory. Dane’s amendment banning slavery was offered at the last minute, and was quickly accepted without much discussion, to the surprise of Dane himself, who “had no idea the States would agree to the sixth article, prohibiting slavery…."

In February 1787, Dane proposed a resolution authorizing the Philadelphia Convention to amend the Articles of Confederation, and that resolution was adopted. Out of that Philadelphia Convention came the proposed United States Constitution. But Dane had reservations about supporting its ratification. In July 1788, he finally wrote a pivotal letter of support to Melancton Smith of New York, saying that he (Dane) feared violence and social upheaval if the Constitution were not ratified, and Dane supported ratification with the understanding that there would be later amendments, which eventually came to be known as the United States Bill of Rights.