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Congress faced a collapse of the countries finances, in 1781 it created a department of finance lead by Philadelphia merchant Robert Morris
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Trouble with foreign governments also revealed the weakness of the American government
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Confederation Congress passed an ordinance, a law. This new law divided the large areas into townships 6 miles long and 6 miles wide. The government would sell each section at a public auction. Richard Henry Lee, who was the president, urged that, "the rights of property be clearly defined" by the government. Congress drafted the law to protect the interests of the hardworking settlers.
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This created a single northwest territory from lands at the Ohio river and the Mississippi river (They were divided into small territories)