Despite needing the approval of nine of the 13 states to pass under the articles of confederation, the northwest ordinance included a provision that

Despite needing the approval of nine of the 13 states to pass under the Articles of Confederation, the Northwest Ordinance included a provision that pointed out the means by which new states would be created (in unoccupied land west of the Appalachian mountains) and eventually admitted into the Union. There would be no differences between these new states and the old. They would all be equal, and their citizens would have the same rights. Due to this inclusion of a basic, yet essential, bill of rights, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 is considered the most important piece of legislation that was sanctioned during the Confederation period.