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Harvard College Receives a Grant of Land from English Royalty
King James of England authorized a grant of land to Harvard College in the American colonies which helped jumpstart the development of one of the oldest colleges in the United States (Duemer, 2007). Duemer, L. (2007). The agricultural education origins of the morrill land grant act of 1862. American Educational History Journal, 34(1). 135-146. -
The Signing of the Morrill Act
Justin Morrill of Vermont identified a need for the increase in the education of our nations farmers, especially farmers from working class families who were not necessarily able to attend the colleges currently available in the United States. Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Morrill Act of 1862, which gave states access to land so that they could fund higher education institutions designed to teach agriculture, military tactics, and so on (Texas A&M Today, 2017). -
The Creation of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas
The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas was created by the Texas Legislature using the requirements of the Morrill Act. Admission was only allowed to white males and military training was required to all students who enrolled (Texas A&M University, n.d.). Texas A&M University, (n.d.). History of the university. Retrieved from http://www.tamu.edu/about/history.html -
The Signing of the Hatch Act
The Hatch Act of 1887 was passed to help jumpstart the creation of agricultural experimentation stations that were designed to enhance the quality of agricultural education at land-grant institutions. The funds given to these colleges were vital to the success of the agricultural mission that many land-grant colleges had established as part of their obligations to create a sustainable and more effective agricultural society (Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, n.d.) -
The Morrill Act of 1890
Aimed at higher education institutions of states that restricted enrollment of black students at state-supported land grant colleges and universities. Universities must prove that race was not part of the admissions criteria or they had to provide separate land-grant colleges for colored. Some universities created separate land grant institutions for African-Americans due to the “separate but equal” doctrine that was still in effect in Texas and other southern states. (Lee & Keys, 2013). -
The Smith-Lever Act of 1914
This act helped to create Agricultural Extension services, based at land-grant colleges that further supported farmers and ranchers by providing the latest information about proper agricultural practices. It also jumpstarted the creation of other university extension services that benefitted many other industries. The Texas A&M AgriLife Service was one outcome of this act and continues to serve the needs of farmers around the state (Texas A&M Agrilife, n.d.). -
Education Amendments of 1972
Universities in Guam, the Virgin Islands, and other U.S territory that hadn’t been granted land-grant status previously were given land grant status by the U.S Government. Since universities on islands such as these have limited amounts of land to use for funding, the federal government granted each college a $3 million endowment as well as access to other research funds that are awarded to other land-grant institutions (Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, 2012). -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act
The Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act was passed in 1994 that gave land grant status to 29 Native-American serving institutions of higher education, increasing the funding of each of these colleges and universities. $23 million worth of endowment funds would be raised for these colleges and payments would be made every year to support them (Committee on the Future of the Colleges of Agriculture in the Land Grant University System, 1995). -
Land-Grant Institutions Today
Today, these institutions enroll over 4.5 million students, employ hundreds of thousands of faculty, staff, and administration, and are sometimes even the main economic hub of a city or state. Although state support has dropped for public institutions, land-grant institutions have still be able to thrive due to federal funding. Because of the relative affordability of land-grant colleges and universities, talented students will continue to enroll and matriculate for years to come (Loss, 2012). -
References
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. (2012). The land grant tradition. Retrieved from http://www.aplu.org/library/the-land-grant-tradition/file Committee on the Future of the Colleges of Agriculture in the Land Grant University System. (1995). Colleges of agriculture at the land grant universities. National Academies Press. 1-17. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/4980/chapter/2#16 -
References
Duemer, L. (2007). The agricultural education origins of the morrill land grant act of 1862. American Educational History Journal, 34(1). 135-146. Lee, J., Keys, S. (2013). Land grant but unequal: State one-to-one match funding for 1890 land-grant universities. Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. Retrieved from http://www.aplu.org/library/land-grant-but-unequal-state-one-to-one-match-funding-for-1890-land-grant-universities/file -
References
Loss, C. (2012). Why the morrill act still matters. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-the-Morrill-Act-Still/132877 Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, (n.d.). Hatch Act of 1887. Retrieved from http://oaes.okstate.edu/hatch-act Texas A&M AgriLife. (n.d.). History of Texas A&M AgriLife. Retrieved from https://agrilife.org/about/history/ -
References
Texas A&M Today. (2017). The morrill act, explained. Retrieved from http://today.tamu.edu/2017/06/28/the-morrill-act-explained/ Texas A&M University, (n.d.). History of the university. Retrieved from http://www.tamu.edu/about/history.html
