Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862

Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862

The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 also known as the Land Grant College Act caused a major boost to higher education in America. The Morrill Land Grant Act originally was set up to establish institutions in each state that would educate people in agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts, and other professions that were practical at that time. For fifteen prior to the first introduction of the bill in 1857, there was a political movement calling for the creation of agricultural colleges led by Jonathan Baldwin Turner (pvamu, 2003, pg.1). Then in 1862, The Morrill Land Grant Act was introduced by congressman from Vermont named Justin Smith Morrill. He wanted education to be accessible for all social classes. Several other bills like this were brought up but the first one passed was the Morrill Land Grant. It was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on July second (Lightcap, 2003, pg.1). This act gave each state thirty thousand acres of public land for each Senator and Representative and the numbers were based on the 1860 census. The land each state was given was to be sold and the money was to go towards a college for each state. Much of the land was bought by speculators and the large supply meant that most states received very little money for their land (uky, pg.1). Kentucky received only fifty cents per acre. Some states were able to get more money. For example, Cornell University was eventually sold for over five dollars and fifty cents per acre (uky, pg.1). Over all the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 gave out about 17,400,000 acres of land which when sold took in approximately $7.55 million dollars. Sixty-nine colleges were funded by these land-g rants including Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Wisconsin at Madison and the University of Maine in Orono (pvamu, 2003, pg.1). Only male students were allowed to attend these institutes and were taught basic military instruction but also remained essentially civilian schools. In the southern states blacks were not allowed to attend the original land-grant institutions. Separate but equal facilities were introduced but only in Mississippi and Kentucky. This situation was rectified by the Second Morrill Act that expanded the system of grants to include black institutions (pvamu, 2003, pg.1).

These schools gave opportunity to many young men to go to college and work towards a good career. Although women and African- Americans were not allowed to go, these first colleges were helpful to a growing country and to a growing population. These higher education schools were set up to make college-level education accessible for every state. The Morrill Land Grant Act has had a great impact on higher education in America and now because of it all students wishing to go to college can choose from thousands of schools all over the country.

Sources

1. Lightcap, B. (2003) The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862.

The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 Retrieved September, 11, 2001

http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger /www7morrill.html

2. No Author. The Morrill Act and the Land Grant Colleges

Morrill Land Grant Act Retrieved September, 11, 2001

http://www.uky.edu/CampusGuide/land-grant.html

3. No Author. (2003) Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862

The Morrill Act of July 2, 1862 Retrieved September, 11, 2001

http://www.pvamu.edu/pages/601.asp