North Carolina ratified the United States Constitution on November 21, 1789. On December 22, the state legislature voted to cede the Overmountain settlements as payment of its obligations to the new federal government. Congress accepted the cession during its first session on April 2, 1790, when it passed "An Act to Accept a Cession of the Claims of the State of North Carolina to a Certain District of Western Territory". On May 26, 1790, Congress passed an act organizing the new cession as the "Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio," which consisted of modern Tennessee, with the exception of later minor boundary changes. However, most of the new territory was under Indian control, with territorial administration initially covering two unconnected areas— the Washington District in what is now northeast Tennessee, and the Mero District around Nashville. The act also merged the office of territorial governor with the office of Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Southern Department.