GREENWICH, N.Y. — It is back to school time and many of the nation’s college students have been returning to campus the past few weeks for the new school year. Many of the country’s largest and most-recognizable universities are called “Land-Grant Universities.” Land-grant universities were established in part to aid and improve the agriculture industry in the United States. They continue to play an important role in ag education and research today.
In the mid-19th century, the Industrial Revolution was growing mechanized industry in the United States. Westward expansion was also leading to the spread of large-scale agriculture across the Great Plains, West, and other parts of the country. For most agricultural and industrial workers access to higher education was limited. Most established universities were located on the East Coast and focused on a classical, liberal arts education. While these subjects have their place in education, some leaders worried there was not enough practical education that could meet the growing needs of agriculture and industry.1
Jonathan Baldwin Turner was a farmer, newspaper editor, and college professor who championed working class education. In his essay “Plan for a State University for the Industrial Classes” he spelled out some ideas that eventually led to the land-grant system. The leader most remembered for seeking to meet this need was Vermont Congressman Justin Morrill. In an 1858 address to Congress proposing a bill to establish land-grant schools he spoke on the issue of the growing ag industry, but limited education of farmers, saying:
“… Agriculture undoubtedly demands our first care; because its products, in the aggregate, are not only of greater value than those of any other branch of industry, but greater than all others together; and because it is not merely conducive to the health of society, the health of trade and of commerce, but essential to their very existence. But, while it is the most useful and earliest of arts, so sluggish have been its advances that we are yet experimenting upon problems which were moot-points with farmers two thousand years ago. Surely an interest so superior, and of such vital consequence, ought not to be left to lingering routine, but the aid of science should be invoked to accelerate its pace, until it can keep step with that of other industrial pursuits of mankind.”2
Promoting some of Turner’s ideas, Morrill advocated for land-grant legislation for many years. Morrill first introduced legislation in 1857 which eventually passed in 1859. However, President James Buchanan vetoed the bill. The bill was resubmitted in in 1862 and this time it passed as President Abraham Lincoln signed it into law July 1862.3 Under what became known as the Morrill Act each state was granted 30,000 acres of federal land for each member of Congress representing a state. The lands were sold and the funds earned were to be used to establish one or more schools that taught “agriculture and mechanic arts” in addition to classic studies. These schools were also required to include military training as part of the curriculum which led to the formation of the Reserve Officer Training Crops (ROTC) which trains future Army, Navy, and Air Force officers.4
Through the years the Morrill Act was updated to reflect needs of the day which leads many land grant colleges to fall into three categories: 1862 land-grants, 1890 land-grants, and 1994 land-grants. 1862 land-grants refers to schools that were founded through the original Morill Act.5 Recognizable agriculture schools like Iowa State University, Purdue University, and Texas A&M University to name a few were started via the Morrill Act. Some states elected to use the Act to create agriculture programs at already established universities, such as Rutgers University in New Jersey. The school had been around since the 1760s, but took on land-grant status.
1890 land-grants tend to be historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). A second Morrill Act passed in 1890 sought to provide additional endowments for land-grant schools, but the legislation excluded states that made distinction based on race in their admissions. However, states that had separate land-grant institutions for black students could receive funds. Since many of these institutions existed in the segregated South, most 1890 land-grants are found in Southern states.6 Some examples include Tuskegee University in Alabama, Florida A&M University, and North Carolina A&T State University.
1994 land-grants are part of legislation which gave land grant status to Native American tribal colleges. The name comes from the year in which the legislation was passed.7 Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota, Little Big Horn College in Montana, and Navajo Technical College in New Mexico are a few of the 1994 land-grants.
Land-grant universities abide by three pillars: teaching, research, and extension. Teaching was established with the original Morrill Act as the schools that came from it sought to teach agriculture and mechanical arts in order to “promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life.”8
The research pillar came about in 1887 with the Hatch Act. Land-grant schools study a vast array of agricultural topics like livestock, plant science, soil science, water quality, ag economics, and a host of other topics. The findings of this research can have an impact on the daily lives and work of farmers across the country. So, the Hatch Act was passed to establish an “experimental research station” at land grant schools with the task of acquiring and disseminating useful knowledge related to agriculture, and continuing research in the field of agriculture.9 Research done at land grant universities have made advances in agricultural sciences and continuing work helps the industry face its present challenges.
The final pillar of the land grant universities brings research findings to the public so they can be put into practice. In 1914 the Smith-Lever Act was passed which developed the Cooperative Extension System. Land-grant universities operate Cooperative Extensions in partnership with federal agencies, and federal, state, and local governments. Extension field offices are established in counties across a state and work to demonstrate and implement the latest agriculture research findings in their local areas. Cooperative Extensions bring the latest in agriculture research to growers of all ages in a nonformal educational setting through events like field days, 4-H programming, and many other offerings.10
The land-grant system has been in place for 160 years, and the universities that were formed through it continue to make an impact on agriculture today. There are land-grant universities in all 50 states and several U.S. territories too. In each of those states students and everyday farmers are able to receive the latest in agriculture education and research through the land-grant universities and their extensions.
1 “What is a land-grant university?,” Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities, accessed September 1, 2022, https://www.aplu.org/about-us/history-of-aplu/what-is-a-land-grant-university/.
2 Justin S. Morrill, Speech of Hon. Justin S. Morrill, of Vermont, on the bill granting lands for agricultural colleges (Washington: Congressional Globe Office, 1858), p. 7, https://archive.org/details/speechofhonjusti01morr/page/4/mode/2up.
3 “What is a land-grant university?,” Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities, accessed September 1, 2022, https://www.aplu.org/about-us/history-of-aplu/what-is-a-land-grant-university/.
4 John M. Cunningham, “land-grant universities,” Britannica, accessed September 1, 2022, https://www.britannica.com/topic/land-grant-university.
5 What is a land-grant university?,” Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities, accessed September 1, 2022, https://www.aplu.org/about-us/history-of-aplu/what-is-a-land-grant-university/.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Genevieve K. Croft, “The U.S. Land-Grant University System: Overview and Role in Agricultural Research,” Congressional Research Service, revised August 9, 2022, https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R45897.html.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
Chandler Hansen grew up and lives in Easton, NY. He is a graduate of Gordon College where he earned a bachelor’s degree in History. He serves as a writer and editor for Morning Ag Clips.