The Northwest Territory, also known as the Ol Northwest and the Territory North West of the Ohio, was a governmental region within the early United States. The Northwest Ordinance, passed by the Congress of the Confederation on July 13, 1787, provided for the administration of the territories and set rules for admission as a state. On August 7, 1789, the new U.S. Congress affirmed the Ordinance with slight modifications under the Constitution. The territory included all the land of the United States west of Pennsylvania and northwest of the Ohio River. It covered all of the modern states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, as well as the northeastern part of Minnesota. The area covered more than 260,000 square miles (673,000 km²).