Page 176 - American Stories, A History of the United States

Other states were not blessed with vague or ambiguous royal charters. The bound-
aries of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey had been established years earlier. 6.1
It seemed as if people in these states would be cut off from the anticipated bounty.
In protest, these “landless” states refused to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
Marylanders were particularly vociferous. All the states had sacrificed for the com- 6.2
mon good during the Revolution, they complained. It appeared only fair that all states
should profit from the fruits of victory, in this case, from the sale of western lands.
Maryland’s spokesmen feared that if Congress did not void Virginia’s excessive claims 6.3
to all of the Northwest Territory (the land west of Pennsylvania and north of the Ohio
River) and to a large area south of the Ohio, beyond the Cumberland Gap, known as
Kentucky, then Marylanders would desert their home state in search of cheap Virginia 6.4
farms, leaving Maryland an underpopulated wasteland.
The states resolved the controversy in 1781 as much by accident as by design.
Virginia agreed to cede its holdings north of the Ohio River to the Confederation if
Congress nullified land companies’ purchases from the Indians. A practical consid-
eration had softened Virginia’s resolve. Republicans such as Jefferson worried about
expanding their state beyond the mountains; with poor transportation links, it seemed
impossible to govern such a large territory from Richmond. The western settlers might
even come to regard Virginia as a colonial power insensitive to their needs. Marylanders
who dreamed of making fortunes on the land market grumbled, but when a British
army appeared on their border, they accepted the Articles (March 1, 1781). Congress Quick Check
required another three years to work out the details of the Virginia cession. Other Why did the question of the western
landed states followed Virginia’s example. These transfers established an important lands cause such conflict between
principle. After 1781, it was agreed that the West belonged not to the separate states the states under the Articles of
but to the United States. (See Map 6.1.) Confederation?

St. Lawrence R.
BRITISH
NORTH AMERICA LOWER CANADA
(CANADA) MAINE
L. Superior (part of
VERMONT Mass.)
L. Michigan L. Huron UPPER CANADA NEW
HAMPSHIRE
L. Ontario
NORTHWEST MASSACHUSETTS
TERRITORY Ceded by Massachusetts NEW YORK
1785 L. Erie RHODE ISLAND
Ceded by Connecticut PENNSYLVANIA CONNECTICUT
1786
Ceded by MARYLAND NEW JERSEY
Conn. 1800 ATLANTIC
Missouri R.
Ceded by New York DELAWARE OCEAN
1782 D.C.
Ohio R.
Territory
of Virginia VIRGINIA
until 1792 Cumberland Gap
LOUISIANA (Kentucky)
NORTH
Ceded by Spain Ceded by North Carolina State of CAROLINA
to France 1800 (Tennessee) Franklin
1790
Ceded by SOUTH
South Carolina CAROLINA Boundary of territory
to Georgia Mississippi R. Ceded by Georgia ceded by New York
1787 1802 GEORGIA Boundary of territory
Ceded by Spain ceded by Virginia in 1784
Original thirteen states
1795 after their land cession
31° North
Latitude
0 200 400 miles
SPANISH FLORIDA
Gulf of Mexico 0 200 400 kilometers
Map 6.1 western LanD The major issue facing the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation
was mediating conflicting states’ claims to rich western land. By 1802, the states had ceded all rights to the federal government.

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