 | Justin Morrill Postage Stamp in the Great American Leaders Series, 1999 |
|---|
This page is devoted to Justin Smith Morrill, the congressman from Vermont who was responsible for passage of the Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862. That piece of far-sighted legislation was the origin of the land-grant university system, America's foremost contribution to the organization and practice of higher education. The genius of the Morrill Act was two-fold, in accord with its two governing principles: the equality of opportunity, and the utility of knowledge.
"It was an immortal moment in the history of higher education in America and the world when, on July 2, 1862, Abraham Lincoln lifted his pen and signed the College Land Grant Act, of which Justin S. Morrill of Vermont was the principal author. . . . The most important idea in the genesis of the land-grant colleges and state universities was that of democracy, because it had behind it the most passionate feeling. . . . A fundamental emotion gave force to the principle that every child should have free opportunity for as complete an education as his tastes and abilities warranted. . . . No restrictions of class, or fortune, or sex, or geographical position--no restrictions whatsoever--should operate."--Allan Nevins, in The Origins of the Land-Grant Colleges and Universities
| Tributes to Justin Morrill by Congressional Colleagues | |
|---|---|
| Sen. Allison of Iowa | Sen. Proctor of Vermont |
| Mr. Morrill also introduced and pressed to final action in both Houses another important public measure, having for its purpose the development of the agricultural interests of our country. He represented a purely agricultural State, and believed that the public lands were properly the inheritance of all the States and that they should be utilized especially for the benefit of the older states which originally had not within their borders public lands. He believed that a portion of those lands or the revenue derived from their sale should be distributed among all the states of the Union and dedicated to the instruction of the youth in scientific agriculture for the promotion of that great interest which is the foundation of our national prosperity. During that Congress he secured passage of a measure dedicating a portion of the public domain to agricultural education by means of the establishment of agricultural colleges in all the States, and granting lands to the States for this purpose, such distribution being based upon the representation, respectively, in the House of Representatives. This bill was vetoed by President Buchanan, but was reintroduced by Mr. Morrill in 1861, and those of us who knew him well here know with what pertinacity he pursued every subject that was near his heart. This bill thus reintroduced in 1861 passed both Bouses and received the signature of Abraham Lincoln in 1862, and has since been known as the "agricultural college act." . . . This measure, with subsequent amendments also earnestly pressed by Mr. Morrill, placed the agricultural colleges of our country on a permanent and enduring basis, achieving year by year the great purposes contemplated by the original act. This great contribution by him to the interests of agriculture will be of lasting benefit not only to our own country, but to all countries where agriculture is an honored occupation. | At a time when the nation was engaged in a death struggle which many thought it could not survive . . . he calmly and peacefully looked forward and prepared to lay the foundation for the practical betterment of the people in peaceful pursuits--to give to the great industrial classes to which he belonged an opportunity for a higher education, of which he had been deprived. The colleges which were thus instituted and which are still flourishing are to-day powerful factors in the education of the youth of this country. They now have buildings and other property valued at $25,500,775.63 and are educating upward of 14,000 students. |
| Rep. Powers of Vermont | |
| The land-grant-college act will perpetuate his name and fame among the plain people of the country for centuries to come. Born and bred among this class of people, identified with them, and one of them, conscious of his own lack of educational advantages in the formative period of life, he conceived the plan of appropriating a part of the proceeds of the sale of public lands to the educational uses of that large portion of American citizenship that belongs to the industrial classes. The act contemplated the establishment of colleges in every state, with a curriculum of study primarily designed to meet the wants of every industrial class, but involving, as well, the arts and sciences and military tactics. He himself was a living example of what culture will do for the industrial class. The farmer, the artisan, the wage-earner of whatsoever name is entitled to the same opportunities in the race of life as his more fortunate fellow-citizens. | |
| Source: Memorial Addresses on the Life and Character of Justin S. Morrill, publication of 55th Congress, 3d Session, 1898-99 | |
"The land-grant colleges were founded on the ideal that a higher and broader education should be placed in every State within the reach of those whose destiny assigned them to, or may have the courage to choose industrial vocations where the wealth of nations is produced; where advanced civilization unfolds its comforts and where a much larger number of its people need wider educational advantages and impatiently await their possession. The design was to open the door to a liberal education for this large class at a cheaper cost from being close at hand and to tempt them by offering not only sound literary instruction but something more applicable to the productive employments of life. It would be a mistake to suppose it was intended that every student should become either a farmer or a mechanic, when the design comprehended not only instruction for those who hold the plow or follow a trade, but such instruction as any person might need--with 'the world before them where to choose'--and without the exclusion of those who might prefer to adhere to the classics."--1887, as quoted by Alfred Charles True, in A History of Agricultural Education in the United States
| Historical Tributes to Justin Smith Morrill |
|---|
| MORRILL, Justin Smith, 1810-1898--entry in Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress |
| Justin Smith Morrill Homestead |
| Justin S. Morrill Postage Stamp |
| JUSTIN MORRILL (1801-1898)--"Virtual Vermont" Sketch |
The web is full of references to Justin Morrill and the Morrill Act, but if you want to get a handle on the state of the land-grant tradition, the best place to start is with the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. There you can check out the Kellogg Commission Report, Returning to Our Roots.
| Web Documents on the Morrill Act | |
|---|---|
| Document | Source |
| The Morrill Act of 1862--brief summary | History of American Education Web Project, Eastern Illinois University |
| MORRILL ACT (1862)--brief discussion, text of bill | civnet, CIVITAS |
| The Morrill Act & the Land-Grant Colleges--brief history | University of Kentucky |
| History of the 1890 Land Grant Colleges and Universities Program | RAMS-FIE |
| Land Grant Colleges and Universities--map | Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA |
| About the Land-Grant System--excerpts from NASULGC publications | West Virginia University Extension Service |
| Things Named after Justin Smith Morrill | |
|---|---|
| Facility | Location |
| Morrill Hall | North Dakota State University |
| Morrill Hall | University of Nevada, Reno |
| Morrill Hall | Iowa State University |
| Morrill Hall | University of Maryland |
| Morrill Hall | University of Minnesota |
| Morrill Hall | University of Nebraska |
| Morrill Hall | Michigan State University |
| Morrill Hall | Oklahoma State University |
| Morrill Hall | Cornell University |
| Morrill Hall | University of Vermont |
| Morrill Hall | Washington State University |
| Morrill Hall | University of Tennessee |
| Justin Morrill Highway | Vermont |
| Morrill County | Nebraska |
James, Edmund J. The Origin of the Land Grant Act of 1862 (The So-Called Morrill Act) and Some Account of Its Author, Jonathan B. Turner. University of Illinois, University Studies, Vol. 4, No. 1 (1910). Intended to bring to light the Illinois origins of the main tenets of the Morrill Act, this bulletin is particularly valuable for primary documents explicating the views of Turner on industrial education, including his peculiar conception of "liberal" education.
John, Walton C., Ed. Land-Grant College Education, 1910 to 1920, Part 1: History and Educational Objectives. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education Bulletin No. 30 (1924). A review of legislation and mission of the land-grant colleges; the introductory bulletin to a series of five that comprises the various branches of knowledge as treated in the land-grant institutions. (See entry for Part 2, on the liberal arts, below.)
John, Walton C., Ed. Land-Grant College Education, 1910 to 1920, Part II: The Liberal Arts and Sciences Including Miscellaneous Subjects and Activities. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education Bulletin No. 37 (1925). See especially pp. 1- 7, George F. Zook, "The Liberal Arts in Relation to the Land-Grant Colleges." This essay develops the role of the liberal arts as general education for "cultural appreciation and citizenship education."
John, Walton C., Ed. Land-Grant College Education, 1910 to 1920, Part IV: Engineering and Mechanic Arts. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education Bulletin No. 5 (1925).
The Land-Grant Tradition. Washington: National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, 1994. Includes a useful chronology, as well as the text of the Morrill Act and amendments.
Memorial Addresses on the Life and Character of Justin S. Morrill. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899. Speeches compiled from the congressional record.
Nevins, Allan. The Origins of the Land-Grant Colleges and Universities. Washington: Civil War Centennial Commission, 1962. Consise treatment, with rhetorical flourish, by a great American historian.
Parker, William Belmont. The Life and Public Services of Justin Smith Morrill. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1924. This generally adulatory biography covers the entirety of Morrill's career, which lasted until his death in 1899.
Ross, Earle D. Democracy's College: The Land-Grant Movement in the Formative Stage. Ames: Iowa State College Press, 1942. This is still the classic historical work, composed at a time when name changes seemed to be indicating, to some detractors, a shift in the historical mission of the land-grant colleges.
True, Alfred Charles. A History of Agricultural Education in the United States, 1785-1925. U.S. Dept. Ag., Misc. Pub. 36 (1929). Although not exclusively concerned with the land-grant universities, True's compendium lays emphasis on them, sketching their origins and context, detailing their development in the individual states.
Waugh, Frank A. The Agricultural College: A Study in Organization and Management and Especially in Problems of Teaching. New York: Orange Judd Co., 1916. An extended essay, with especially notable sections on the curriculum and on methods of teaching.
| Justin Morrill Postage Stamp in the Great American Leaders Series, 1999 |
|---|
