Arthur
St. Clair was the 9th president under the articles of Confederation, from
February 2,1787,to January 21, 1788, and had quite the year. While he served the
Confederation Congress passed The Northwest Ordinance, which apart from the
constitution might be the most important legislation this nation passed. It
allowed settlers north and west of the Ohio river to form territorial
governments. they established the process of establishing states equal to the
original 13 colonies. Equally important, slavery was prohibited, so Ohio
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin were baptized free of America's
original laws. Arthur St. Clair became Governor of the Northwest territory. he
was President during the time of Shay's Rebellion; which had an important role
in creating a strong government for the United Sates.