Download Morrill Act - GRENZ HISTORY

Morrill Act
Allison, Dani, Julianne, Makana, Rebecca
Basic Information ~ Rebecca
● Also known as the Land-Grant College Act of 1862, the Morrill Act
provided for land grants to states. The states would then sell this land
and use the profit to either establish new schools or to improve
existing colleges.
● Each state was granted 30,000 acres for each of its congressional
seats.
● The military training required by the curriculum led to the
establishment of the Reserve Officers Training Corps.
● The act was established to educate people in agriculture, home
economics, mechanical arts, and other practical professions.
Helped
Children of farmers could get a cheap education and were able
to learn how to increase production
The colleges funded by the lands and Morrill Act granted to
the states have continued to evolve into major research
institutions
Colorado State, Iowa State, and Cornell University are few of
many universities created by the Morrill Act still in existence to
this day, giving thousands an education, benefitting for their
career
Benefits the nation because of the ROTC programs created by
the Act, and by the agricultural education as well as many
other educations to build our nation into something better
← Morrill Land Act was named after this guy, Justin S. Morrill of Vermont
Hurt
● Much of the land was bought by speculators and the large supply
meant that most states received very little for their land.
● “As public lands were surveyed into 6-mile square townships, a 1square-mile section in each township was reserved for the support of
public schools. The system invited misuse by opportunists, and
substantial portions of the educational land-grants never benefited
education.”
● For the most part, The Morrill Act had a positive impact, but it did not
benefit the majority of the people, who at the time were farmers and
soldiers who initially didn’t or couldn’t have an education.
● The Morrill Act was passed during the Civil War, therefore, the act did
not apply to the southern states in rebellion until after the war.
Positive Impact
● This act gave public lands to the several States and Territories which may
provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts.
● “The colleges funded by the lands the Morrill Act granted to the states
have continued to evolve into major research institutions. “
●
“Today there are more than 100 of those land-grant schools, including
Colorado State University, and they have graduated more than 20 million
students.”
● It was for common children and did not depend on how much money your
parents had.
Negative Impact
● There was debates on what the schools
purpose or mission is.
● Some people wanted liberal arts colleges,
but others wanted the colleges to be only
focused on a couple of subjects.