Northwest Ordinance Article VI Bans Slavery in the Territory — With a Loophole

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 declared: 'There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes.' This was the first federal prohibition of slavery in any jurisdiction. However, a fugitive slave clause required the return of escaped enslaved people from free states. Indiana Territory slaveholders subsequently used indentured servitude contracts — some lasting 99 years — to maintain what was effectively chattel slavery well int