Editing Northwest Ordinance (section)

===Establishment of natural rights===
The [[Natural rights and legal rights|natural rights]] provisions of the ordinance foreshadowed the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]], the first ten amendments to the [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chardavoyne |first1=David G. |editor1-first=Paul |editor1-last=Finkelman
| editor2-last  = Hershock | editor2-first = Martin J. |title=The history of Michigan law |series=Ohio University Press series on law, society, and politics in the Midwest |year=2006 |publisher=Ohio University Press |location=Athens |isbn=978-0-8214-1661-7 |oclc=65205057 |chapter=The Northwest Ordinance and Michigan's Territorial Heritage |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jjSD45-P2_YC&pg=PA13 |quote=Its provisions established a structure of government that encouraged settlement of that vast region and provided those settlers a startling set of civil rights that presaged the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights }}</ref> Many of the concepts and guarantees of the Ordinance of 1787 were incorporated in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In the Northwest Territory, various legal and property rights were enshrined, [[Toleration|religious tolerance]] was proclaimed, and since "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 right of ''[[habeas corpus]]'' was written into the charter, as were [[Freedom of religion in the United States|freedom of religion]] and bans on excessive fines and [[cruel and unusual punishment]]. [[Jury trial|Trial by jury]] and a ban on [[Ex post facto law|''ex post facto'' laws]] were also rights that were recognized.