Land-grant colleges were formally created by the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. Despite the raging US Civil War, the federal government recognized the need to enhance the nation’s education system. Traditional colleges focused on a classical liberal education. They produced great thinkers, lawyers, and cultural leaders, but things were changing. Driven by the Industrial Revolution and a rapidly growing agricultural sector, the US economy needed more practical skills.
While schools like Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the US Military Academy, and Union College were awarding engineering degrees in the mid-19th century, demand was outstripping supply. As with most problems, the biggest obstacle was funding and administration. Education was generally left to philanthropists and the states, but neither had the financial assets to meet the scope of the need. Focused on the Civil War, the US federal government didn’t have the administrative capability. A cabinet level Department of Education wasn’t created until 1979. Prior to that, statistics and information were collected by other departments.
Solution
The Morrill Act of 1862 solved both problems. The federal government granted land to the states. The states then sold the land to establish and endow the new colleges. This process led to the name land-grant colleges. The only requirement placed on the states was that the land-grant colleges had to focus on engineering, agriculture, science, and military science.
The Morrill Act had a precedent. Land was granted in lieu of cash to pay some of the Revolutionary War debts with the provision that the receivers found a university. In 1808 Ohio University opened. Because it opened long before the Morrill Act, Ohio University does not have the same curriculum requirements and is not considered a land-grant college.
Fun Facts
The Morrill Act of 1862 was Justin Morrill’s second attempt to pass land-grant legislation. His first attempt passed in 1859 but was vetoed by President Buchanan. Over 17 million acres of land were granted to fund the colleges. Iowa was the first state to take advantage of the law funding what is now Iowa State University (1864). However, Kansas State University opened first in 1863. Even though the second Morrill Act in 1890 funded new colleges directly with cash instead of land, the schools retain land-grant status. In 1994, Congress appropriated money to create land-grant colleges for Native Americans.
Controversies
At least two universities have lost their land-grant status. Connecticut originally designated Yale as its land-grant university but changed that to the University of Connecticut in 1893. When West Virginia State University desegregated (it was a historically black university), in 1957, it lost state funding. Its status as a land-grant university wasn’t regained until funding was returned in 2001. The 1890 Morrill Act addressed race in the former confederate states. It prohibited land-grant colleges from excluding persons of color but allowed the creation of ‘separate but equal’ schools.
That brings us to our map courtesy of US Department of Agriculture.
As always thanks for reading.
Armen
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