From the outset of the American Revolution Britain controlled the territory Northwest of the Ohio River.  From outposts in the territory British officials used the Indian inhabitants as a weapon against American encroachment in the west.  During 1778 and 79 a campaign to end the Indian attacks on the Kentucky settlements was undertaken.  With support from Virginia and Governor Patrick Henry, George Rogers Clark and a company of frontiersmen captured British posts at Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes. American control  proved sufficient to claim the territory.
      With the close of hostilities came the need to make peace.  After an exaggerated period of negotiation, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay established terms for peace and for American independence.  The treaty of Paris signed Sept. 3, 1783 granted the Territory from the Great Lakes to the northern boundary of Spanish held Florida and westward to the Mississippi River to the United States. Governing of the western territory soon became a political topic.  The Northwest ordinance, July 13, 1787, made provision for a centralized government in the territory.  This government would be formed in several stages.  The first stage prescribed a government without representation of the inhabitants.  A Governor, Secretary, and judges were appointed to handle the requirements of the territory.  The ordinance stated that the territory would be divided into no less than three and no more than five states.  A state could be created when the population of that state reached 60,000.  Delegates from these new states would be admitted into congress on an equal footing.
     The Northwest Territory contained the present-day states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and the eastern portion of Minnesota.  The capital was established at Marietta and Arthur St. Clair was appointed as Governor. Following the Battle of Fallen Timbers, summer 1794, immigration into the Old Northwest increased.
      During 1799 William Henry Harrison was appointed as the representative of the Northwest Territory. The 27-year-old saw his responsibilities in congress quite clearly.  As a resident of the territory he had seen first hand the problems of the area.  Two issues were foremost on his agenda.  The immenseness of the territory encouraged lawlessness.  cheats, thieves, and other criminals who had little to fear on the frontier.  Harrison argued the need to improve the system of courts and persuaded the formation of a congressional committee to "inquire into the judicial system of the Northwest Territory and recommend changes."  The logical solution was division of the territory, thereby reducing the burden upon the judges of the territory. Harrison and other Virginians favored dividing the territory into two with the eastern most large enough to become a state immediately.  They hoped that by moving quickly to statehood they could promote a democratic republican state.  Gov. St. Clair and others supported the idea of three divisions.  If three divisions were created statehood would be postponed and a Federalist state was likely to be created.
     The committee, which Harrison chaired, made a recommendation to congress to create two territories from the Northwest Territory.  The report stated "From southeast to northwest the territory extended fifteen hundred miles.  The two most widely separated places for holding court were thirteen hundred miles apart.  This fact alone would prevent the administration of justice.  In the three western counties - Knox, St. Clair, and Randolph -during a period of five years there had been only one session of court having power to punish felonies."
      On May 7, 1800 the bill was signed which declared that on July 4, 1800 the territory be divided by a line from the mouth of the Great Miami river north to Fort Recovery then due north to the northern border.  The eastern section remained the Northwest Territory and the Western area became the Indiana Territory.     Harrison's second point to be brought before congress concerned the methods by which land was sold in the territory.  The government typically sold the land in lots of four thousand acres or more.  Land companies supported this practice.  Speculators purchased the land, divided it into smaller lots, and resold it at a huge profit.  Again a congressional committee was created and again Harrison was selected to chair the committee.  On February 14, 1800 a bill was introduced in the house.  The bill provided that townships be divided and that lots of three hundred and twenty acres be offered at two dollars per acre.  The bill further provided for the option of making payments in easy installments without interest.
     The Indiana Territory now had provisions for settlers to purchase land.  It had its own judicial positions,  and was totally separated from the administration of Gov. St. Clair.  All that remained was to appoint a governor and fill the other positions.  Vincennes was not a favored location for a motivated politician.  "There was scarcely a western post at that time with a reputation as objectionable as that of Vincennes."  Its location far from the political arena and the lack of easy travel had created a haven for criminals.  Vincennes had a "notoriety for scenes of drunken brawls and Indian fights.  A few days before the appointment Harrison in a letter to a friend in the territory commented that he would not accept the position of governor even if it were offered.  However, when the offer came his friends were able to persuade him.  They promised that the remote post would not eliminate him from consideration if some better appointment turned up at a later time.  On May 13, 1800 President John Adams appointed Harrison as governor of the Indiana Territory.
     Other appointments included John Gibson as the territory's secretary and William Clark, Henry Vanderburg, and John Griffin as judges.  The population of the Indiana Territory was estimated at 6550. 
     Much of that population was centered around the Vincennes area.  The city boasted 714 residents with an additional 819 in the near by area.  The second center of population was around Clark's grant where more that nine hundred settlers had made their homes.
          Harrison arrived in the territory on January 10, 1801 and immediately began the job of governor.  Within two days he met with the judges in legislative session and within two weeks the group passed seven new laws and adopted three resolutions.
     On March 1, 1803  a section of the Northwest Territory was carved out and Ohio became a state.  The remaining portion of the Northwest Territory was added to the Indiana Territory.