After the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Britain forfeited land to the Mississippi River, but retained key trading posts throughout the Northwest Territory – Fort Detroit and Fort Mackinac. British policy centered on the idea of keeping a Native border state to preserve their control of Upper Canada and British support extended to providing materials for Native nations.

The United States Congress of the Confederation passed the Ordinance of October 15, 1783 declaring the territory as conquered land because the natives broke their promise of neutrality. In 1785, the Public Land Act passed, which scientifically divided the land and encouraged settlement. In 1787, Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance outlining steps to settle the territory, establish government, and transition to statehood. Settlers pushed into the territory raising tensions with the tribes of the Western Confederacy.

The United States attempted to sign several conquest treaties. The Western Confederacy stood by its goal to maintain the Ohio River as the boundary between the new nation and Native homes. Tensions continued to rise as each fought for the land. Anxious to settle the new country and calm the frontier, President George Washington dispatched two armies. They first met defeat in 1790 under the leadership of General Josiah Harmar and the second, one year later, under command of General Arthur St. Clair.

In 1792, Congress passed the Military Act and named General Anthony Wayne as commander of the Legion of the United States. After two years of training, the Legion soundly defeated the Western Confederacy August 20, 1794 at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.

The victory resulted in several key treaties for the young nation:

1. Treaty of Greeneville: Opened eastern and southern of the present-day state of Ohio to settlement and limited Native homes to the northwest region of the Northwest Territory.
2. Jay’s Treaty: Signed November 1795, the treaty finalized American control over the interior. Britain agreed to evacuate their western posts by June 1796 as long as British, Natives, and Americans could pass freely between the United States and Canada.
3. Pinckney’s Treaty: Signed in 1795 with Spain, this treaty is also known as Treaty of Madrid or Treaty of San Lorenzo. Due to the new alliance between Britain and the United States as a result of Jay’s Treaty, Spain requested a confirmation of their relationship with the United States. The treaty permitted United States free navigation of the Mississippi River and the right to deposit goods in the port of New Orleans.

The 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers established peace along the frontier and opened the Northwest Territory to settlement as well as helped to shape the new nation’s foreign policy.