Southwest Territory - Territory Formation

Territory Formation

North Carolina ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1789. As a condition of joining the Union, the North Carolina General Assembly ceded its claim to territory west of the Smoky Mountains. The deed to the land was submitted to the 1st U.S. Congress on February 25, 1790; and was accepted by Congress on April 2, 1790. On May 26, 1790, the territory was formally organized as the "Territory South of the River Ohio". President George Washington appointed William Blount territorial governor, and Rocky Mount was named its first capital. It was here, in late 1791, that Blount encouraged George Roulstone to publish Tennessee's first newspaper, The Knoxville Gazette, headquartered in Rogersville, Tennessee.

In 1791, Blount moved the territorial capital to White's Fort; renaming it Knoxville. Land speculation was a booming business in the new territory and most of the prominent politicians had a stake in land ownership. Expanding frontier settlements inevitably encroached upon the Indian lands, despite government regulations. In 1792, Cherokee and Creek warriors attacked settlements in the Cumberland area near Fort Nashborough. The settlers formed a local militia, and during the Nickajack Expedition of 1794 took it upon themselves to raze several Chickamauga villages. Threats of similar actions against the Creek brought a period of rapprochement with the native tribes.

When Congress organized the Southwest Territory, it had legislated that all of the provisions of the Northwest Ordinance (except those restricting slavery) should apply mutatis mutandis to the new territory. In particular, section 12 stated that once a territorial legislature was formed, it could elect a non-voting delegate to the United States Congress. So, on September 3, 1794, the territorial government chose James White to be its delegate to Congress. This posed procedural difficulties because the Northwest Ordinance had been passed by the unicameral Congress under the Articles of Confederation. Now, under the new U.S. Constitution, it was not obvious whether the delegate from the Southwest Territory would be a member of the House, Senate, or both. Moreover, there were doubts about the constitutionality of such a delegate. Nonetheless, on November 18, a week after White's credentials were presented to the House (and after two days of debate), White became the territory's first delegate to the House of Representatives.