Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act
The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are
United States statutes that allowed for the creation of
land-grant colleges.
The Morrill Act was first proposed by Representative
Justin Smith Morrill of
Vermont in 1857 and was passed by Congress in 1859, but it was vetoed by President
James Buchanan. In 1861 Morrill resubmitted the act with the amendment that the proposed institutions would teach military tactics as well as engineering and agriculture. Aided by the secession of many states that did not support the plans, this reconfigured Morrill Act was signed into law by
President Abraham Lincoln on
July 2,
1862.
Under the act, each eligible state received a total of 30,000
acres (121 km²) of federal land, either within or contiguous to its boundaries, for each member of congress the state had as of the census of 1860. This land, or the proceeds from its sale, was to be used toward establishing and funding the educational institutions described above. Under provision six of the Act, "No State while in a condition of rebellion or insurrection against the government of the United States shall be entitled to the benefit of this act," in reference to the recent
American Civil War. After the war, however, the 1862 Act was extended to the former Confederate states; it was eventually extended to every state and territory, including those created after 1862.
A second Morrill Act in 1890 was also aimed at the former Confederate states. This act required each state to show that race was not an admissions criterion, or else to designate a separate land-grant institution for persons of color. Among the seventy colleges and universities which eventually evolved from the Morrill Acts are several of today's
Historically Black colleges and universities (indicated below with *). Though the 1890 Act granted cash instead of land, it granted colleges under that act the same legal standing as the 1862 Act colleges; hence the term "land-grant college" properly applies to both groups.
Later on, other colleges such as the
University of the District of Columbia and the "1994 land-grant colleges" for Native Americans were also awarded cash by Congress in lieu of land to achieve "land-grant" status.
With a few exceptions, nearly all of the Land-Grant Colleges are public.
Note: of the 106 Land-Grant institutions, all but two (the Community College of Micronesia, and Northern Marianas College) are members of the
National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC). The 31 tribal colleges of 1994 are represented as a system by the single membership of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium.
* denotes Historically Black colleges and universities.*
Alabama**
Alabama A&M University **
Auburn University**
Tuskegee University *(Though Alabama A&M is Alabama's official 1890 Morrill Act institution, Tuskegee's mission is so similar to those of the 1890 institutions that it is almost universally regarded as one of them. Tuskegee is a land-grant member of NASULGC, as are Alabama A&M and Auburn; however, only Alabama A&M and Auburn formally participate in the now-combined Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES), with Tuskegee listed as a "cooperating partner" in ACES. [
1] [
2])
*
Alaska**
University of Alaska System*
American Samoa**
American Samoa Community College*
Arizona**
University of Arizona*
Arkansas**
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville**
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff *
*
California**
University of California (the system is the state's land-grant member of NASULGC;
UC Berkeley was its original land-grant college, but
UC Davis later assumed much of that role)
*
Colorado**
Colorado State University*
Connecticut**
Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station**
University of Connecticut*
Delaware**
Delaware State University**
University of Delaware*
District of Columbia**
University of the District of Columbia*
Florida**
Florida A&M University **
University of Florida*
Georgia**
Fort Valley State University **
University of Georgia*
Guam**
University of Guam*
Hawaii**
University of Hawaii*
Idaho**
University of Idaho*
Illinois**
University of Illinois*
Indiana**
Purdue University*
Iowa**
Iowa State University*
Kansas**
Kansas State University*
Kentucky**
Kentucky State University **
University of Kentucky*
Lousiana**
Louisiana State University System**
Southern University and A&M College *
*
Maine**
University of Maine*
Maryland**
University of Maryland Eastern Shore **
University of Maryland, College Park*
Massachusetts**
Massachusetts Institute of Technology**
University of Massachusetts Amherst*
Michigan**
Michigan State University*
Minnesota**
University of Minnesota*
Mississippi**
Alcorn State University **
Mississippi State University*
Missouri**
Lincoln University **
University of Missouri*
Montana**
Montana State University*
Nebraska**
University of Nebraska*
Nevada**
University of Nevada, Reno*
New Hampshire**
University of New Hampshire*
New Jersey**
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey*
New Mexico**
New Mexico State University*
New York**
Cornell University*
North Carolina**
North Carolina A&T State University **
North Carolina State University*
North Dakota**
North Dakota State University*
Ohio**
Ohio State University*
Oklahoma**
Langston University **
Oklahoma State University*
Oregon**
Oregon State University*
Pennsylvania**
The Pennsylvania State University*
Puerto Rico**
University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez*
Rhode Island**
University of Rhode Island*
South Carolina**
Clemson University**
South Carolina State University *
*
South Dakota**
South Dakota State University*
Tennessee**
Tennessee State University **
University of Tennessee*
Texas**
Prairie View A&M University **
Texas A&M University*
Utah**
Utah State University*
Vermont**
University of Vermont*
Virgin Islands**
University of the Virgin Islands *
*
Virginia**
American Indian Higher Education Consortium**
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University**
Virginia State University *
*
Washington**
Washington State University*
West Virginia**
West Virginia University**
West Virginia State University *
*
Wisconsin**
University of Wisconsin-Madison*
Wyoming**
University of WyomingSource: National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges [3]*
National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges*
Hatch Act of 1887*
Smith-Lever Act of 1914*
United States Department of Agriculture*
USDA Cooperative State Research Service*
Morrill Act and related resources at the Library of Congress
