2012
College Land Grants: More Education for More People
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, there are over 100 land grant colleges and universities in the United States (“National Institute”). Major universities such as the University of Arizona, Nebraska, Washington State, Clemson, and Cornell were chartered as land-grant schools (“100 Milestones”). Land grant colleges and universities are institutions that receive the benefits of the Morrill Act of 1862 and similar acts of Congress (“100 Milestones”). This paper will discuss the origins of college land grants through the Morrill Act of 1862; give brief historical overview of the application of this and other college land grant acts; and the relevance of college land grants in the United States during current times.
Initially, the idea of college land grants was debated during the 1850’s. However it wasn’t until The Morrill Act of 1862 that the idea became law (Mansoor). The law was named after U.S. Congressman from Vermont, Justin Smith Morrill (Mansoor). Justin Morrill’s overall goal was to provide for at least one college in each state where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific or classical studies, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts ... in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes. (Mansoor)
He also wanted to assure that education would be available to those in all social classes (“100 Milestones”).
The grant was originally 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 the time (Mansoor). Each eligible state was granted 30,000 acres of public land from the federal government to be utilized for agriculture based colleges (“100 Milestones”). This land was given to the states in the form as “land scrip” certificates. These certificates were generally sold with proceeds used to fund the school program. Funding was either used to finance existing institutions or create new schools chartered by the states (“100 Milestones”). The 1862 Morrill Act “...allocated 17.4 million acres of land, which when sold yielded a collective endowment of $7.55 million” (Whalen, 7).
The original Morrill Act passed during the civil war. Although slavery was abolished shortly after, the southern states did not completely change their racist practices. It took further Congress to pass the Morrill Act of 1890 to provide more college opportunities to African Americans in southern states (“Land Grant”). The 1890 Act, gave states cash instead of land. These funds were given to colleges that did not use race as and admissions requirement or to designate a separate land-grant institution for “persons of color” (Mansoor). This might not have been a quick fix to desegregate the south; but it did allow “persons of color” the opportunity to a college education. Several of todays “historically black colleges and universities” were developed through funds from the 1890 Act (Mansoor).
In more recent times, there have been other Congressional acts that have granted cash to universities and colleges for land grant status. Some of these include cash for Native American tribes to create colleges on the reservations in 1994; space grants for colleges wishing to focus on space exploration; sea grants for universities focused on aquatic research; and many other specified educational purposes (Mansoor).
Lastly, in modern society, there is a growing trend of new students obtaining their educations through online colleges. Agriculture is not as prominent in the United States as it used to be in the mid 1800’s (“United States”). Students are going into other more technological and social science areas of study (“College”). Therefore, the initial educational focuses of the 1862 Act is not as relevant in today’s society. However, the overall purpose of providing a college education to the general public still exists.
In conclusion, The Morrill Act and its later additions in 1890 and 1994 are some of the more important laws in regards to the beginning foundation for a national system of state colleges and universities. Although the educational focus might have changed, the overall agenda of land grant colleges is still very much important to today’s society. It has been argued that these state colleges were capable of bringing higher education to millions of new students, thus in turn “reshaped the nation’s social and economic fabric” (“100 Milestones”). Works Cited
“100 Milestone Documents: Morrill Act (1862).” ourdocuments.gov. n.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sep. 2012. “College Graduate Salaries by Field and Major.” Universitylanguage.com. USL, 7 Aug. 2009.
Web. 9 Sep. 2012.
“Land Grant: History.” landgrant.cornell.edu. Cornell University, n.d. Web. 9 Sep. 2012.
Mansoor, Daniel. “Cornell's First Sesquicentennial Event: The Morrill Land Grant Act turns
150.” news.cornell.edu. Cornell University Chronicle Online, 28 Jun. 2012. Web. 9 Sep 2012.
“National Institute of Food and Agriculture: About Us.” csrees.usda.gov. United States
Department of Agriculture, 24 Aug. 2011. Web. 9 Sep. 2012.
“United States of America: Agriculture.” nationsencylopedia.com. Encyclopedia of Nations, n.d.
Web. 9 Sep. 2012.
Whalen, Michael L. “A Land-Grant University.” Cornell University 2001-02 Financial Plan.
2001. Print.