Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Before we had a Constitution, Americans had the Articles of Confederation and the most important piece of legislation of that era was the Northwest Ordinance. In 1785 and 1787 that government sold land in "the west" claimed as spoils of the war to investors (to pay for the war) on condition that certain rights and responsibilities be observed. It's the core of our Bill of Rights, and also the concept of local education, and the humanity and freedom of slaves and native Americans. Not all townships or states followed the rules--particularly on education and religion--because there's always graft and greed in government especially in collusion with capitalism, but when you read it, you see how far ahead the thinking was for any other existing government. 

https://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/primary-source-documents/northwest-ordinance/