<P> The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress of the Confederation on May 20 , 1785 . It set up a standardized system whereby settlers could purchase title to farmland in the undeveloped west . Congress at the time did not have the power to raise revenue by direct taxation , so land sales provided an important revenue stream . The Ordinance set up a survey system that eventually covered over three - fourths of the area of the continental United States . </P>
<P> The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress of the Confederation on May 20 , 1785 . It set up a standardized system whereby settlers could purchase title to farmland in the undeveloped west . Congress at the time did not have the power to raise revenue by direct taxation , so land sales provided an important revenue stream . The Ordinance set up a survey system that eventually covered over three - fourths of the area of the continental United States . </P>
what problem did the land ordinance of 1785 solve
what problem did the land ordinance of 1785 solve
taxation
taxation