Provides his opinion on the legal haggling over the boundaries of the Waldo patent lands. Discusses the legal authority of the courts to be involved in the disputes.

Promises to give his attention to a letter he has just received from Knox, regarding certain conveyances &c on the Waldo patent.

Discusses a resolve concerning a dispute between Knox and the settlers on the Waldo patent. Docket written in Knox's hand.

Says he has probably already heard of the results of the Constitutional Convention. Says The propositions being essentially different, in many respects from the existing Confederation, and which will probably produce different national effects, are contemplated by the public at large with an anxious attention. The discussions are commenced in the news papers & in Pamphlets, with all the freedom & liberality which challenge a people who are searching by their own experience after a form of government most productive of happiness. Expresses his affinity for a stronger national government and believes the new constitution will provide it. Goes on to claim it is not a perfect document though and There are several things in it that I confess I could wish to be altered. Says the people are ready for the change and that it will be discussed fully. Predicts parties will be raised during the debate. Discusses state ratification. Will send an update from time to time. Mentions European affairs and fears French aggression. Asks for news. Says Washington is doing well, but that his crops are injured by severe drought. Encloses a copy of the Constitution (not included). Docketed by William Knox.

Passed by Congress in July 1787, the Northwest Ordinance laid out the basic form of government for all U.S. territory north of the Ohio River. That summer, the Constitutional Convention drafted the defining document of the American Republic as a whole. A bargain struck between Congress and the Convention outlawed slavery north of the Ohio, but gave Southern states a Congressional and Electoral College representation based on population figures that included slaves--each valued at three-fifths of a free white citizen. Because of this agreement, the western lands acquired from Great Britain after the Revolutionary War were divided into slave and free states--a compromise which, when it failed, precipitated the Civil War 74 years later. For years most historians denied that this political deal took place. Drawing on contemporary letters and documents, this detailed analysis re-examines the Ordinance and how Congress silently permitted the South's "peculiar institution" to move westward.