USA > Illinois > Peoria County > Peoria > Peoria city and county, Illinois; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. I > Part 8
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CHAPTER IX
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
By the deed of cession of March 1, 1784, not only all property interest but the right of sovereignty passed from Virginia to the continental congress and Virginia no longer attempted to exercise any control over the territory. Con- gress, as soon as a proper bill could be prepared, on April 23, 1784, passed an ordinance to establish a form of government from the entire region from the gulf to the lakes, although possession had not at that time been entirely acquired. This law was never put in force and was repealed by the ordinance of 1787. The territory continued to exist under the laws in force at the date of that deed as they were administered by the officers then in power.
That transfer provided that the French settlers should be protected in all their rights and that they should be allowed to live under their old laws, which they did in a satisfactory way, for they were not a quarrelsome or litigious people.
From the time of the cession of this country by Virginia, congress was so engaged in its efforts to secure concessions from other colonies and to secure a re-organization of the United States by the adoption of a constitution to "create a more perfect union" that little attention was paid to the Northwest territory until 1787. During this period of three years, the power of Virginia to control had ceased and the government by congress had practically not begun so that the people were without any superior control and were without any sub- stantial protection from congress.
In 1785, an ordinance for ascertaining the mode of disposing of lands in the western territory was passed by the continental congress which provided for the present plan of surveying and platting the land into townships six miles square and numbered consecutively from south to north and in ranges numbered east and west from a base line and section one mile square, also numbered con- secutively. Sections numbered sixteen of every township were reserved for school purposes, which reservation has been continued through all forms of government to the present time. This platting of the land into townships and sections before selling it, is a wonderful advantage in locating and finding the land, in describing it, and in indexing and abstracting the title. Nothing was done under this law at this time in Illinois, which was then a neglected wilderness harrassed by the predatory incursions of Indians, although none were of suffi- cient importance to be called a war.
On July 13, 1787, the congress of the confederation passed the celebrated ordinance of that date by which they provided that the whole territory northwest of the Ohio river should be constituted one district for the purpose of temporary government.
It will be interesting to notice the provisions of this ordinance at some length for two reasons. It attempted to determine what the future laws of the Northwest should be, and in this manner, to make it a sort of a bill of rights for all time to come. It is also to be studied as a most valuable indication of the progress of ideas, for it is a fact not generally understood that laws are not made. They grow in the minds of the people from time to time and are a con-
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trolling power before they are enacted into statutes, and sometimes they have not much force after they are enacted because they are not grounded in the hearts as well as the minds of the people.
By a study of this ordinance of '87, we will find how far social and political ideas had progressed up to that time and be able to learn what advancement we have made since. It provided for the descent of property in equal shares, substantially as under our present laws. This just principle was not then generally recognized in the states; (it, however, reserved to the French and Canadian inhabitants who had become citizens of Virginia the laws and customs under which they had lived, relative to descent and conveyancing.)
The governor was to be elected for three years and was required to be the owner of at least one thousand acres of land. The secretary's term was four years and he must be the owner of five hundred acres. A court was provided for of three judges, who must each be the owner of five hundred acres. It will be noted that their term of office was during good behavior. All the above officers were elected by congress and were required to have been residents of the district for the three years last past or to have been for the same time citizens of one of the states, and to take an oath of office.
In considering these laws, we must remember that the people were so scat- tered that some provisions that we would consider essential to good government would have been utterly impossible of operation at that time, for the people could not assemble in convention and it was not possible for them to consult with each other as we can do, and they had necessarily very, very few news- papers, if any. This may excuse the provision that as a protection against unwise experiments, they could adopt only laws that were already in force in some one of the original states, and even after adoption. congress might disapprove of them and they were to remain in force only until the organization of a general assembly, which might alter, repeal, or re-adopt them.
The governor was constituted commander-in-chief of the militia, with the power to appoint all officers below the grade of general, and. until the organiza- tion of the general assembly, the governor was to appoint all of the civil officers in each county. He was to establish counties from time to time to whose limits, legal process was to run. When the territory should have five thousand free male inhabitants of full age, it was to be entitled to a general assembly, the time and place of election to be fixed by the governor. Each five hundred voters were entitled to one representative until the number reach twenty-five, after which the legislature itself was to regulate the number.
A member of the legislature was to be elected for two years and was required to be a resident in the territory for three years, or have had a citizenship in some state for three years and a present residence in the territory and a fee simple right to two hundred acres of land within the territory.
The makers of this ordinance had confidence in the immigrants to the dis- trict who came from any one of the states. He was supposed to be a developed American. We have already seen the importance of studying in the beginning the development of the older colonies for it was in them our first Illinoisans were made.
An elector must have been a citizen of one of the states or have a residence of two years in the district and in either case have a freehold of fifty acres.
The assembly consisted of the governor and council and the house of repre- sentatives. The council was to consist of five members, three to constitute a quorum, term of service five years unless the members were sooner removed by congress. Congress was to select the council from ten men-residents of the territory, each having a freehold of five hundred acres-nominated by the House of Representatives. Bills to become laws must be passed by both houses and be approved by the governor. The two houses by joint ballot were to elect a delegate to congress who was allowed to debate but not to vote. An oath of office was to be taken by each of these officers.
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It will be seen from the following extract from the ordinance that it was intended to make it in many respects practically perpetual.
"13. And for extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious lib- erty, which form the basis whereupon these republics, their laws, and constitu- tion, are erected : to fix and establish those principles as the basis of all laws, constitutions and governments, which forever hereafter shall be formed in the said territory ; to provide, also, for the establishment of states, and permanent government therein, and for their admission to a share in the federal councils on an equal footing with the original states, at as early periods as may be consistent with the general interest :
"14. It is hereby ordained and declared, by the authority aforesaid, that the following articles shall be considered as articles of compact between the original states and the people and states in the said territory, and forever remain unalter- able, unless by common consent.
Among the unalterable provisions were these: That any one demeaning himself in an orderly manner shall never be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments. That the inhabitant shall always be entitled to the benefits of the habeas corpus and of the trial by jury ; of a proportionate representation in the legislature and of judicial proceedings according to the common law. All persons shall be bailable, unless for capital offenses, where the proof shall be evident and the presumption great. All fines shall be moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted. No one shall be deprived of his liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers, and the law of the land. Private property shall not be taken for public use nor shall particular services of anyone be required without full compensation made for the same, and no law ought to be made or have force in said territory that shall in any manner whatever interfere with or affect private contracts or engagements bona fide and without fraud, previously formed.
It will be seen that this in many respects is wonderfully like the old Magna Charta of King John.
"Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."
The utmost good faith was required toward the Indians. Their land and property should never be taken from them without consent and their property rights and liberty should never be invaded or disturbed unless by just and lawful wars authorized by congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall from time to time be made for preventing wrongs being done to them and for preserving peace and friendship with them.
States formed from the territory were to remain forever a part of the gen- eral government and to pay their proportionate part of the national debt. . The states were not to interfere with the disposal of the public lands by congress nor tax those lands, nor to tax the land of non-resident proprietors higher than they did that of residents. The navigable waters were to be forever free, as well as the carrying places between the same, and should become highways to the citizens of the United States. The territory was eventually to be divided in not less than three nor more than five independent states.
It was provided that there should be neither slavery nor involuntary servi- tude in said territory otherwise than in punishment of crime whereof the party to be punished should have been duly convicted.
From the celebrated ordinance of 1787, which was the charter or constitution of the Northwest territory, we have been able to learn something of the ideas of the members of the continental congress at that time in regard to what was necessary and expedient for the organization and construction of a govern- ment for the people in a country such as the Northwest.
Major General Arthur St. Clair, who had been an officer in the English army but resigned and settled in Pennsylvania, had rendered distinguished service
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under Wolfe in the storming of Quebec in 1759, and had also served with honor during the Revolutionary war, was elected by congress, governor of the North- west territory. The three judges required by that ordinance were also elected and entered upon the duties of their office July 15, 1778, and they with the gov- ernor proceeded to legislate for the territories.
We must remember that many of the laws we now have would have been impossible of execution under the circumstances of the country at that time. There were no jails, workhouses, or penitentiaries in which convicts could be confined, and the people were too poor and too widely scattered to build them ; consequently that mode of punishment so common with us could not be adopted by them. Some of the offenses, such as horse-stealing, which are the hardest to suppress in new countries, were punished more severely than we would think advisable. Their punishments were summary: Death for murder, treason and arson (if loss of life ensued therefrom) ; whipping with thirty-nine lashes and fine for larceny, burglary and robbery; for perjury, whipping, fine or standing in the pillory; for forgery, fine, disfranchizement, and standing in the pillory ; drunkenness, fine, for non-payment of which to stand in the stocks; for non- payment of fines generally, the sheriff was empowered to bind out the convict for a term not exceeding seven years ; obscene conversation and profane swear- ing were admonished against and threatened with the loss of the government's confidence ; morality and piety were enjoyed and the Sabbath pronounced sacred.
President Washington wrote to Governor St. Clair that one of the most important things to be accomplished as soon as possible was to quit the titles to the lands of the settlers, and publication was made that all persons claiming titles should bring them in to the government to be examined. approved if found correct, and recorded. The difficulties of those in charge of this work were very great. Many of the titles presented were fraudulent, forgeries, or issued without authority. When a title was found correct, it became necessary to make an accurate survey of the ground and stake it off so the owner not only would know what his title was but would know exactly the boundaries of his land. The law provided that the cost of the surveying and marking corners must be paid by the owner of the land. Many of the settlers at that time were very poor, indeed. They were not good managers. They had been harassed by warfare and by the uncertain condition of business, and unfortunately at this same time there had been unusual overflows of the Mississippi, destroying most of their crops for a year or two in succession, so that they were utterly unable to pay the necessary cost of staking off their land. The result was that their lands, many of them. fell into the hands of land speculators who advanced the money to pay for the cost of surveying. Many of the French inhabitants petitioned congress to relieve them of the cost of surveying. Their pathetic and earnest petition was drawn up by Father Gibault, the same priest who was so efficient in securing the support of the French at Kaskaskia and also at Vincennes for George Rogers Clarke. It certainly appears to us at this time that congress should have paid that cost of surveying from the treasury.
The instructions of congress to Governor St. Clair were to promote peace and harmony between the Indians and the United States, to defeat all com- binations or confederacies between them and to neglect no opportunity to ex- tinguish the Indian titles to lands westward as far as the Mississippi and north as far as the forty-first degree of latitude. Why they should limit it in this man- ner, does not appear. We know that the forty-first degree was the northern line of the claim of Virginia under its charter, but why stop at the boundary fixed by the charter of old Virginia?
In 1790, there was only one lawyer in the Northwestern territory but he was a very able man of Welsh descent, an accomplished linguist with a classical education and a thorough knowledge of law, a hard worker and a forceful speaker. Later when the territory of Indiana was organized, he moved to Vincennes and rendered important services in revising the statutes for the terri-
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tory of Indiana. Ilis name was John Rice Jones. He left several distinguished sons.
A curious record is mentioned by Governor Reynolds of a trial at Prairie du Rocher which indicates the absence of states attorneys or any other lawyers. The jury, wishing to indict a negro, examined what books they had and con- cluded to and did indict him, and under the indictment convicted him of the "murder" of a hog. He had not stolen it, only shot it as a piece of malicious mischief.
The neighborhood of Peoria was free from Indian massacres, incursions, or battles, during the existence of the northwest territory but there were two or three battles of importance farther east.
General St. Clair suffered a disastrous defeat November 4th, 1791, on a small branch of the Wabash. He lost eight hundred ninety men out of a force of fourteen hundred engaged in battle. Six hundred skulls were found three years afterwards and buried by men from General Wayne's army. The Indian force consisted of one thousand forty men under the command of Little Turtle, chief of the Miamis. This battlefield was afterwards known as Fort Recovery.
Afterward, the conduct of the war was placed in the hands of General Anthony Wayne, whose home was in the immediate vicinity of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. His campaign during the summer of 1794, culminated in a very decisive victory on the 20th of August on the Maumee river. This was fol- lowed by negotiations with Great Britain in which the king pledged a firm peace with the United States and agreed to withdraw all his troops and garri- sons from the posts within the boundary lines of the United States as fixed by the treaty of 1783. This took away from the Indians the last hope of British aid and the various chiefs hastened to the headquarters of General Wayne during the winter and signed preliminary articles of peace which resulted in the treaty of Greenville, in which all the sachems and chiefs of the confederacy signed a lasting treaty of peace on the 3d of August, 1795.
Governor St. Clair, as we have seen, was himself a Pennsylvanian by adop- tion and it appears that four-fifths of the laws, which were all imported from other states, were from Pennsylvania. Among other things they adopted the common law of England, and the statutes of parliament in aid thereof of a general nature not local to that kingdom, down to the fourth year of James I, which is the law in Illinois to this day except as varied by statute.
In 1796, the population of the territory had become so large as to entitle it to a delegate in congress and Shadrach Bond was elected. He was after- wards the first governor of the state of Illinois. The representatives in the legislature of the territory nominated ten men, in accordance with the provisions of the ordinance of '87. from which President Adams selected five, who con- stituted the legislative council. These were confirmed by the Senate and on the 16th of September. 1799. both houses met and perfected their organization on the 24th. This was the first time that the people of this country through representatives elected by themselves enacted their own laws for their own local government. The legislature confirmed many of the laws enacted by the governor and judges, and passed forty-eight new ones, of which the government vetoed eleven. They were prorogued December 17. 1799.
This territorial government existed for only a few months, for on May 7, 1800, the territory was divided.
CHAPTER X
PEORIA PART OF INDIANA TERRITORY-1800-1809
Congress, by an act approved May 7, 1800, divided the immense territory of the northwest and the present states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana, except a little strip on the eastern side, were constituted the territory of Indiana and so remained for nine years, which were not very eventful ones.
The acquisition of land titles from the resident Indian tribes, and the settle- ment of land titles, were the principle subjects receiving attention.
Captain William H. Harrison, afterwards president, was appointed governor and superintendent of Indian affairs and given full powers to negotiate treaties between the United States and the several resident Indian tribes for the cession of their lands.
There had been only one term of court with jurisdiction of criminal matters held within that territory for five years.
In 1799, while Harrison was secretary of the great territory of the northwest, he had been elected delegate to congress, and it was largely through his influence that congress had created the territory of Indiana from the territory of the northwest, and also provided for the sale of public lands in tracts as small as three hundred twenty acres, upon cash payment of one-fourth the price, the balance to be paid in one, two, and three years. Before that time, the smallest tract sold was four hundred acres and cash payments were required.
The first term of the general court under the law for Indiana Territory was held on the 3d of March, 1801. It was about this time that the able, accomplished, and distinguished scoundrel and traitor, Aaron Burr, attempted to organize an independent nation including a large part of the country between the Alle- ghanies and the Mississippi river. After a long trial he was not convicted, although universally believed to be guilty.
All the territory between the Illinois and the Mississippi rivers was acquired from the Sac and Fox nations, by the treaty of St. Louis, November 3, 1804, the Indians surrendering all jurisdiction over it and giving up all claim of title to the lands, but it will be seen that the country was practically not opened to settlement for several years, for the lands had not been surveyed and there was no opportunity to acquire title to them, which is the chief object of the pioneer. Land offices were established in 1894 at Kaskaskia, in which district Peoria county was situated, and the settlement of disputed land claims was begun. This proved to be an exceedingly difficult matter. The register and receiver examined eight hundred ninety land claims, of which three hundred seventy were supported by perjury and a considerable number were forged. It seems there was no less perjury and graft in that day than in this, and it is unpleasant to contemplate that the names of many of the most prominent, respected, and influential families were tarnished. This placed a terrible responsibility upon the commissioners, who were compelled to resist these claimants who attacked them viciously in every way. The commissioners felt this grievously and closed their report with the following words:
"We close this melancholy picture of human depravity, by rendering our devout acknowledgments that, in the awful alternative in which we have been
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placed, of either admitting perjured testimony in support of the claims before us, or having it turned against our characters and lives, it has, as yet, pleased Divine Providence which rules over the affairs of men, to preserve us both from legal murder and private assassination."
By vote taken in 1804, September 11th, the people adopted the second grade of territorial government, under which they elected a general assembly. The members elected to the legislature from Illinois were Shadrach Bond, afterwards first governor of the state, William Biggs of St. Clair, and George Fisher of Randolph. The legislature elected ten men from whom the president was author- ized to select five to act as members of the council. The president waived that right to nominate them and delegated that power to Harrison, only asking him that he reject "land jobbers, dishonest men, and those who, though honest, might suffer themselves to be warped by party prejudice." Perry and Menard were selected for Illinois.
The legislature met the 29th of June, 1805. This was the second time that the people of this country, through their representatives, exercised the law making power for their own local government.
The governor in his first message recommended the passage of laws to pre- vent the sale of intoxicating liquors to the Indians saying : "You have seen our towns crowded with drunken savages; our streets flowing with blood; their arms and clothing bartered for the liquor that destroys them; and their miser- able women and children enduring all the extremities of cold and hunger ; whole villages have been swept away. A miserable remnant is all that remains to mark the situation of many warlike tribes."
The legislature enacted many general laws and provided for a thorough collection and revision of the same by a commission: This was done by John Rice Jones and John Johnson and the laws were printed in a bound volume, the paper for which was brought on horseback from Georgetown, Kentucky. These laws were not very different from those already in force. Gambling, profane swearing, and Sabbath breaking were each punished by fine.
During the continuance of the territory of Indiana, the expedition of Lewis and Clark to the far west was organized. This Clark was a brother of George Rogers Clark. This expedition extended and preserved our boundaries west- ward to the Pacific Ocean.
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