Southwest Territory

The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796; when it was admitted to the United States as the State of Tennessee. The Southwest Territory was created by the Southwest Ordinance (enacted on May 26, 1790), from lands of the Washington District that had been ceded to the U.S. federal government by the State of North Carolina. The land had been claimed by North Carolina but had not been well settled–in part due to the Royal Proclamation Act.

Even though Kentucky was also south of the Ohio River, it was part of Virginia when the Southwest Territory was organized in 1790, and it would stay so until it became a state in 1792. The lands south of modern-day Tennessee were either still claimed by Georgia, or disputed with the Spanish colonial powers. Most of that area would be organized as the Mississippi Territory in 1798, two years after the Southwest Territory had passed from existence.

The Southwest Territory should not be confused with the modern Southwestern United States.