An 1862 US federal law that granted each state land scrip, thirty thousand acres for every seat it held in Congress, to fund colleges teaching agriculture and the mechanic arts alongside the classical curriculum then standard in American higher education. It created the land-grant university system, including institutions such as Cornell, Michigan State and Texas A&M, and reshaped who American higher education was built to serve.
Facts
Key ProvisionGranted each state 30,000 acres of federal land per congressional seat, sold to endow at least one college teaching agriculture and mechanic arts alongside classical and scientific studies. 3 Enacted / Adopted Year Classification
Policy TypeFunding or Finance Policy 1 Education LevelBachelor or Equivalent (ISCED 6) 1 Policy Status
Policy Status (category) FAQs
Where did the land that funded the first land-grant colleges come from?
Over 10 million acres of the grants were taken from the tribal lands of Native communities.
The Morrill Act of 1862 let states set up public colleges funded by the development or sale of federal land grants. The National Archives notes that over 10 million acres provided by these grants were expropriated from the tribal lands of Native communities. The land that endowed the new colleges was therefore taken from Native nations, which is part of how the land-grant system is now understood.
Connections
Associated With
Cornell University was funded in part as New York's land-grant institution under the Morrill Act, endowed with valuable timber land the state selected in Wisconsin.
Source Wikipedia
The Morrill Land-Grant Act and the G.I. Bill are both landmark United States federal laws that expanded access to higher education, the Morrill Act by funding land-grant colleges in 1862 and the G.I. Bill by funding veterans' tuition in 1944; neither act caused the other.
Source Wikipedia
Sources
1. National Archives and Records Administration: Morrill Act (1862)
National Archives and Records AdministrationPage textQuote, Page text
Passed on July 2, 1862, this act made it possible for states to establish public colleges funded by the development or sale of associated federal land grants.
2. Morrill Land-Grant Acts (Wikipedia)
Lead section
The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrill_Land-Grant_Acts, lead section
The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states, focusing on agricultural and mechanical studies.
Morrill Land-Grant Acts page, infobox
Morrill Act of 1862
View the Source3. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationMorrill Land-Grant Acts, lead section
to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrill_Land-Grant_Acts, purpose section
to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrill_Land-Grant_Acts, funding mechanism section
The 1862 act provided each state land scrip for 30,000 acres (120 km2) of public land for each of its representatives and senators in Congress.
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