 The ordinance was nevertheless seen as ambiguous in that it did not specifically address the slaves already in the territories , and it discussed the " free " population of the territories seemingly implying that a slave population would exist . French traders in the territories , and later even American army officers ( including Josiah Snelling who commanded his namesake fort ) , continued to hold slaves with the blessings of many in Congress . 
 The ordinance was nevertheless seen as ambiguous in that it did not specifically address <a href='None' title='1'><mark>the</mark></a><a href='negative_concord' title='2'><mark>slaves</mark></a> already in the territories , and it discussed the " free " population of the territories seemingly implying that a slave population would exist . French traders in the territories , and later even American army officers ( including Josiah Snelling <a href='null_relcl' title='3'><mark>who</mark></a>commanded his namesake fort ) , continued to hold slaves with the blessings of many in Congress . 
The ordinance was nevertheless seen as ambiguous in dat it did not specifically address no slaves already in the territories , and it discussed the " free " population of da territories seemingly implying that a slave population would exist . French traders in tdaterritories , and later even American army officers ( including Josiah Snelling commanded his namesake fort ) , continued to hold slaves with the blessings of many in Congress .