A similarity between the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was that they

Both ordinances helped promote settlement in the western territories. The Land Ordinance of 1785 organized the sale of western lands, while the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set rules for governing and settling the Northwest Territory. Therefore, the shared purpose was to encourage settlement, not to unite the states or extend or end slavery everywhere.

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