New Perspectives on the Northwest Ordinance Conference
The Ohio State University is proud to collaborate with the America 250-Ohio Commission to host a two-day conference, January 30-31, 2026, focused on New Perspectives on the Northwest Ordinance.
The conference’s panels and presentations will bring the best insights of history to bear on the history and continuing legacy and impact of the Northwest Ordinance. Conference panels and presentations will focus on encounters, people and place, labor, mobility, law, education, settlement, and the economy. Specific topics relate to citizenship, justice, indentured servitude, free/unfree labor, (im)migration, race, ethnicity, religion, gender and sexuality, Constitutional law, histories of capitalism, political violence, debt and commerce, civic education, and the conceptualization of the Ordinance as a foreign relations instrument. In turn, on the second day of the conference we will focus on bringing the best of these insights into the classroom with a range of teaching workshops, curriculum and pedagogy sessions, targeted at classes from fourth grade through college.
This conference is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is requested. On-site registration will also be available.
The conference includes three separate events: January 30 Conference, January 31 Conference and January 31 Keynote Speaker Annette Gordon-Reed. Separate registration is required for each of the three conference events.
This Northwest Ordinance Conference is made possible in part through the generous support of Walmart and America 250, who together awarded a grant of $25,000 to help bring this event to life. We are grateful for their partnership in advancing education, history, and community engagement. These events are a partnership of America 250, the America 250-Ohio Commission, and Ohio State University, notably including the OSU College of Arts and Sciences, History Department, Mershon Center for International Security Studies, the Woody Hayes Chair in National Security Studies, and the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society.
Register here: https://mershoncenter.osu.edu/new-perspectives-northwest-ordinance
The conference’s panels and presentations will bring the best insights of history to bear on the history and continuing legacy and impact of the Northwest Ordinance. Conference panels and presentations will focus on encounters, people and place, labor, mobility, law, education, settlement, and the economy. Specific topics relate to citizenship, justice, indentured servitude, free/unfree labor, (im)migration, race, ethnicity, religion, gender and sexuality, Constitutional law, histories of capitalism, political violence, debt and commerce, civic education, and the conceptualization of the Ordinance as a foreign relations instrument. In turn, on the second day of the conference we will focus on bringing the best of these insights into the classroom with a range of teaching workshops, curriculum and pedagogy sessions, targeted at classes from fourth grade through college.
This conference is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is requested. On-site registration will also be available.
The conference includes three separate events: January 30 Conference, January 31 Conference and January 31 Keynote Speaker Annette Gordon-Reed. Separate registration is required for each of the three conference events.
This Northwest Ordinance Conference is made possible in part through the generous support of Walmart and America 250, who together awarded a grant of $25,000 to help bring this event to life. We are grateful for their partnership in advancing education, history, and community engagement. These events are a partnership of America 250, the America 250-Ohio Commission, and Ohio State University, notably including the OSU College of Arts and Sciences, History Department, Mershon Center for International Security Studies, the Woody Hayes Chair in National Security Studies, and the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society.
Register here: https://mershoncenter.osu.edu/new-perspectives-northwest-ordinance