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Morrill Act helped form land grant universitiesDocument featured at Iowa State this spring By Jennifer Bremer "The land-grant university system is being built on behalf of the people, who have invested in these public universities their hopes, their support, and their confidence." --President Abraham Lincoln upon signing the Morrill Act, July 2, 1862.
Stressing the importance of higher education for the future was the main goal of the Morrill Act of 1862. The state of Iowa was the first state to accept the terms of the Act--one of the most important in U.S. history. However, when the original document was on display at Iowa State University this spring, few people noticed. "This is the first time it has ever been on display outside of Washington, D.C. It's the first time it's been on display at all since 1979," said Allison Sheridan, collections manager and education specialist with the University Museums at ISU. The Morrill Act of 1862 was also known as the Land Grant College Act. It was a major boost to higher education in America. 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. The land grant act was introduced by Vermont Congressman Justin Morrill. He envisioned the financing of agricultural and mechanical education and wanted to assure that education would be available to those in all social classes. Importance of the act The act was on display at ISU to help celebrate the 150th anniversary of the college. In 1858, the Iowa General Assembly passed legislation creating Iowa State Agricultural College and Model Farm. Four years later, Congress passed the Morrill Act. Lynette Pohlman, director and chief curator at ISU's University Museums, said the act is important to history and future educated people. "Approximately one-third of the educated people were educated at land grant universities," she said. "It has literally led to the education of millions of people." The bill gave each state 30,000 acres of public land for each senator and representative. The land was then to be sold and the money from the sale of the land was to be put in an endowment fund, which would provide support for the colleges in each of the states. "We talk about ISU being a land grant university, but many may not understand just exactly what it means and why it is important," said Pohlman. When Iowa accepted the terms of the Morrill Act on Sept. 11, 1862, the state was given 200,000 acres of land in northwest Iowa, which was sold to pay for purchase of land and establishment of a college in Ames. Classes started at the college in the late 1860s. Today, with more than 100 land grant universities across the nation, the act has a profound impact on education and has affected millions of people, said Pohlman. The exhibit The exhibit at ISU focused on the role of higher education; the democratic society as an outcome of educational opportunity; American notions of personal improvement and opportunity through education; equality and access to education; and the function of education and its economic obligations as a result of practical applications. The highlight was the original Morrill Act signed by President Abraham Lincoln. It was on loan from the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. Pohlman said ISU had to meet a list of requirements to have the document on display. "Security, transportation and environmental conditions had to be met," she said. Following an inspection by a federal government employee, ISU's Morrill Hall was confirmed as a secure site and granted permission to display the document. The light levels, humidity and temperature had to be kept constant in order to keep the 146-year old document in a condition to preserve it for the future. The National Archives lists the Morrill Act as one of its top 100 milestone documents that helped shape the national character of the United States of America. "We knew it would be difficult to obtain the document, but we chose the Morrill Act for the exhibition because we wanted to illustrate the roots of Iowa State and its 150th birthday," said Sheridan. Jennifer Bremer can be reached by phone at 515-833-2120 or by e-mail at jbremermaj@hotmail.com. 6/9/08 Date: 6/5/08
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