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 guarantee of religious liberty; 'No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments, in the said territory.' That was the first 'article of compact between the original states and the people and states in the said territory,' It was stipulated that the compact should 'forever remain unalterable, unless by common consent.'

"Seldom has a bill of rights been stated so forcefully and plainly as in the second article of the compact:

"The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled to the benefits of the writ of habeas corpus, and of the trial by jury; of a proportionate representation of the people in the Legislature; and of judicial proceedings according to the course of the common law. All persons shall be bailable, unless for capital offences, where the proof shall be evident or the presumption great. All fines shall be moderate; and no cruel or unusual punishments shall be inflicted. No man shall be deprived of his liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers or the law of the land; and, should the public exigencies make it necessary, for the common preservation, to take any person's property, or to demand his particular services, full compensation shall made for the same. ... No law ought ever to be made, or have force in the said territory, that shall in any manner whatever, interfere with or affect private contracts or engagements, bona fide.

"These were the sentences used as a pattern for the Bill of Rights in the Constitution.

"Another great concept of the Ordinance was the encouragement of education. On this subject, the document declared:

"Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to government and the happiness of mankind schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.

"From that provision may be said to have sprung the great free school system that is distinctly American.

"Truly, the celebration of the anniversary of the Northwest Ordinance is one for the entire nation, to be entered into reverently and wholeheartedly."

New Lexington Daily News—December 21, 1937—

"If the celebration this year of the 150th anniversary of America's First Colony, the Northwest Territory, and the dramatic caravan travelling across country to the 'land beyond the Ohio,' does no more than awaken us to a new recognition of how America was really made, to suggest that if we show similar determination and willingness to endure, we might accomplish our modern objectives more certainly."

Martins Ferry Daily Times—

"In duplicating, with such historical accuracy, the original expedition from Ipswich. Massachusetts, to Marietta and in presenting pageants in portrayal of early Ohio history, the 'Pioneers of 1938' are presenting history of interest to all Ohioans in a manner calculated to impress the people much more forcibly than historians could ever hope to by the written word."

Boston Sunday Herald—April 10, 1938—

"No sesquicentennial celebration could have been more impressive."

Morgan County Democrat—McConnelsville. Ohio. April 21, 1938—

"We have yet to learn of a person who did not think the Northwest Territory celebration here last week was a great success. We have yet to hear of anyone who in any manner 'knocked it,' which is most remarkable.

"We need more of such occasions, so that the spirit of