[OPLINLIST] 237th Anniversary of the Northwest Territory Ordinance of 1787

[Andrea Ralston]

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: For additional information contact, *Jean Yost,
Member of the 237th Anniversary of the Ordinance of 1787 Celebration
Committee

6207 Ohio Route 550, Cutler, Ohio, 45724; Phone: 740-336-8060, Email:
jean.yost at gmail.com



*237th Anniversary of the Northwest Territory Ordinance of 1787 Celebration*

*Muskingum Park, Marietta, Washington County, Ohio*



*“Slavery Prohibited, Religion Necessary, and Education Forever
Encouraged!”*



*The 237th Anniversary of the Ordinance of 1787 Celebration Committee
wishes to invite the public to our ceremony on Saturday, July 13, 2024, at
the Start Westward Monument in East Muskingum Park, Front Street, Marietta,
Ohio, 45750.*



10:00 am to 10:30 am - First Congregational Church, the “Church of the
Pioneers” bell ringing of the carillon will be performed with various
patriotic tunes. Guests are invited to climb the steps into the bell tower
to watch as Sean Lofty operates the wooden levers to engage the chimes.

10:30 am – Program - 237th Northwest Ordinance of 1787 Commemoration at the
“Start Westward Memorial”.* Speaker: Gleaves Whitney, Executive Director of
the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation. Presentation: “America’s
Refounding: The Northwest Ordinance and the Vision of a More Perfect
Union” *Gleaves Whitney began his role as executive director of the Gerald
R. Ford Presidential Foundation on September 1, 2020. Since 2015 Gleaves
has worked with his colleague Jon Lauck to revive Midwestern history as an
academic discipline; hosted six major conferences and edited four books. He
was the Director of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies from
2003-2020. Gleaves describes “the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 is one of the
world’s great state papers. Arguably the greatest achievement of the
Confederation Congress, the document provided the blueprint for the growth
of the new American republic and set the course for forming a more perfect
union—most of all by excluding slavery from new territory.”

This event is a tribute to the Continental Congress and all Patriots of the
American Revolution, and focuses on the history of the founding of the
Northwest Territory under the Ordinance of 1787. Many historians describe
the Ordinance as one of the top three “Human Rights” documents in the
world. Author David McCullough described the Ordinance best on page 30 of
his new book, *The Pioneers; *“the great Northwest Ordinance of 1787 stands
alongside the Magna Carta and the Declaration of Independence as a bold
assertion of the rights of the individual.”



*ADDITIONAL FRIDAY and SATURDAY PROGRAMMING:*

*FRIDAY, July 12th, 6:30 pm showing at the McDonough Center Auditorium at
Marietta College. In David Garrigus' upcoming documentary film, THE
AMERICAN CONSTITUTION: 1787, leading authors and historians reveal the
story of the U.S. Constitution's creation. Accomplished actors bring the
words of the Framers to life—in the room where it happened! 1787 promises
to entertain while providing a deeper understanding of America's
essential history. Participants will view major sections of the film;
discuss and give feedback to the filmmaker.*

*The project is filmmaker David Garrigus’ second major historical
documentary after his award-winning PBS two-hour **Kitty Hawk: The Wright
Brothers’ Journey of Invention* <https://wrightbro.com/>* featuring Neil
Armstrong and John Glenn. Six years in the making, Kitty Hawk is widely
recognized as the best documentary to tell the story of how the airplane
was invented.*

*SATURDAY, July 13th, 9:30 am to 5:00 pm – The Museum of the Northwest
Territory - Campus Martius, tour the General Rufus Putnam House,
constructed in 1788 as part of the Campus Martius fortification. (Regular
admission rates) Note: Territorial Governor Arthur St Clair and other
officials conducted official business at the first Capital of the Northwest
Territory, Campus Martius. Check out the exhibit “Celebrating the
Pioneers,” based on the book The Pioneers by David McCullough, and explore
the lives and personal objects owned by some of the individuals mentioned
in the book.*

*SATURDAY, July 13th, 10 am to 3 pm- “HISTORY IN THE PARK” – History
exhibits and Reenactors in Muskingum Park!*

DATES in HISTORY: July 13, 1787, the day the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 is
adopted; July 9, 1788, the date Territorial Governor Arthur St. Clair
arrived at Marietta; July 15, 1788 the day Gov. St Clair opened Territorial
government for business.

*Celebration Committee Co-Chairs: Marietta Mayor, Josh Schlicher; former
Ohio Governor Nancy Hollister; Dr. Sharon Barnett, Board Member of The
Multicultural Genealogical Center; Lila Hill, Marietta Daughters of the
American Revolution; Jean Yost, Marietta Chapter Sons of the American
Revolution.*

Note: This is an outdoor event under the small temporary protective shelter
covering the monument, *in case of rain* we will conduct the program in the
First Congregational Church at 318 Front Street, Marietta, OH 45750
(Directly across the street from the monument.)



*Ordinance of 1787 Celebration Program Support: **City of Marietta; Museum
of the Northwest Territory - Campus Martius; First Congregational Church;
Marietta Chapter Sons of the American Revolution; Washington County Public
Library; Washington County Veterans Service Office; The Multicultural
Genealogical Center; the Marietta Chapter Daughters of the American
Revolution; Civil War Roundtable of the Mid-Ohio Valley and the** America
250-Ohio Commission.*



*HISTORIC BACKGROUND: Marietta, Washington County, Ohio, is the site of the
first organized settlement and Capital of the Northwest Territory.  After
the Revolutionary War, many New England officers and enlisted men formed
the Ohio Company and left their homes for life on the frontier.  Landing at
the mouth of the Muskingum (site of Fort Harmar and the 1st American
Regiment of the U.S. Army) on 7 April 1788, a group of 48 patriots led
by General Rufus Putnam, founded Marietta and started the western expansion
of the United States.  Over the next several years, a great many soldiers,
sailors, and/or their families came to live here in a county named for
their leader, General George Washington. These men who had fought for their
country’s independence in the American Revolution had lobbied with the
new Congress for land as payment for their service.  One result of the
efforts of these men was the creation of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787
which established territories North of the Ohio River to Canada and East of
the Mississippi River, abolished slavery (Article VI) and served as the
model for the Bill of Rights in the US Constitution. The Northwest
Ordinance was unanimously passed on 13 July 1787 as one of the first
significant pieces of legislation passed by the Continental Congress after
the war.  On 17 September 1787, almost 2 months to the day of the passing
of the Northwest Ordinance, Congress slightly modified that Ordinance and
adopted it as our U.S. Constitution.*

Andrea B. Ralston
Information Services Manager
Washington County Public Library
615 Fifth Street
Marietta, OH 45750
740-373-1057 x606
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