My name is Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain; I am going to tell you a brief history on what the United States was like before I was born. In 1788 the United States became an independent nation. It was made up of thirteen states and owned several territories on the western side of the Mississippi River. The countries population was about four million people that lived mainly in the eastern states. In 1787 the country expanded its boundaries and accepted a new territory to the original 13 colonies. The new territory was called the “Northwest Territory.” The Northwest Territory was in equal basis to the laws and rights of the eastern states. The gover