<h2>Answer: Northwest ordinance
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The Northwest Ordinance was a law unanimously enacted by the Congress of the United States Confederation in 1787. This law served to establish the initial scheme under which the United States would organize its territories.
However, in principle this ordinance was enacted to officially create the Northwest Territory as the <u>first organized territory of the United States </u> by establishing new laws, among which stand out the prohibition of slavery (Article IV) and respect for the religious beliefs of the territories that made up this region, as mentioned in Article III of said ordinance.
It should be noted that years later this law became part of the expansion policy of the United States to annex territories that were geographically far from its main territory. This can be seen specifically in the year 1898, when the United States triumphed over Spain in the Hispano-American War and as part of the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded control of the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States.
