History of Land Grant Institutions

Thomas Jefferson remains one of the first advocates for public education, which was later termed the Common School Movement. He recognized the inequality in education, for the wealthy stood the only ones capable of affording an education, thus the poor stayed poor and the rich stayed rich. Jefferson aspired to change the apparent injustices in the education system. He felt all children possessed the right to and education regardless of prosperity, heritage, and circumstances. Even though Jefferson remained not able to create the change he so desperately sought to make, he never stopped trying and since education stayed revolutionized, for his persistence in equality. James Conant, former president of Harvard University stated, “In short, as I view the American scene of the 1960’s, I am ready to declare without hesitation that Jefferson’s proposals have become incorporated in the pattern of our educational structure” (Mercer, 1993).

Education reformers sought to expand equality by increasing educated people. Not only were poor children able to attend school instead of working in factories, but the deaf, mute, and blind could now be taught. Men such as Thomas Gallaudet and Dr. Howe sought to create new methods for the disabled to read and write. Education for everyone greatly increased the sense of equality among lower class citizens. Document E gives an example of a little boy who is content with what he has since he works hard and goes to school. He doesn’t feel disadvantaged by being poor. Equality improved the moral of many Americans.

The Homestead Act was a vital part of the Westward Expansion and a unique opportunity for people. The Homestead Act was the first time the government had ever offered free land, and the land was offered to anyone, regardless of citizenship, gender, or adulthood. Even teenagers wanting a new life started homesteads because the minimum age was 15 to own a piece of land according to the Homestead Act. It was an opportunity for many people to start their life over and to build something. However, the way was hard and fraught with difficulty but the rewards were worth the effort.

In 1862, the Land-Grant College Act or Morrill Act was signed into being; it supplied the land for educational facilities that would focus on “agriculture and mechanic arts” and provide military training as part of the education. The act was named after Justin Smith Morrill, a congressman from Vermont, and would grant “each state 30,000 acres for each of its congressional seats.” The states could sell off the granted land to fund schools, both new and pre-existing. The Morrill Act provided the foundation for many colleges such as the University of Georgia ("Land-Grant Colleges").

Horace Mann was one of the most influential reformers in the history of American education. He was responsible for the Common School Movement, which was to ensure that every child receive free basic education funded by local taxes. Growing up in poverty where there was lack of access to education, the first secretary of Massachusetts Board of Education strongly believed that tuition- free education would be the “great equalizer,” and the key to fight against poverty and crime. As a result, Massachusetts’ residents were the

The American Government did their part in encouraging farmers to venture out into the Great Plains. Back during the Civil War, political parties battled with deciding whether to promote the west as proslave or anti-slave; officials would send citizens of their party to claim residence in western territories to populate the newly forming states with enough supporters to strengthen their power in Congress, in this particular debate. Later in the 1800s, regulations and accommodations were passed to make obtaining land cheaper and transportation more efficient. One of these regulations, developed and supported by Abraham Lincoln, was the Homestead Act of 1862. Under this law, any citizen could claim up to 160 acres from the government if they promise to improve the land. Costing close to nothing, many small farm owners saw

As for this second reaction paper, I chose to react to the 1890 Land- Grant Universities 1890-2015 video. After watching this video about Justin Smith Morrill, I can say my knowledge on higher education systems during the late 1800s has broadened. Throughout watching this video on land grant acts, my eyes have opened to realizing the span of time it took to allow African Americans the right of higher education. I am surprised that it took around 30 years for the second Morrill act to come into affect. Something that leads me wanting to know more during watching this video was in regards to graduation rate. Considering the increase of students becoming accepted into universities across America, I am interested in graduation rates. This could go either way in my opinion. Lastly, I will speak about how this video relates to myself being a first

During the American Civil War, the Homestead Act was enacted to embolden westerly expansion and the development of agriculture. Taking into account the South’s secession from the Union, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act on May 20, 1862. As a result of the passing of the Homestead Act, northern businessmen, who dreaded the loss of inexpensive labor, initially challenged it. The Homestead Act supplied settlers with a customary volume of land after five years of residence on that particular acreage.

This form of instruction has become the standard for all later established universities. It became prevalent in Europe, and it is the system all early American universities followed (History). As the foundation of knowledge grew, colleges expanded their curriculums from the simple studies of monasticism to the instruction of science, math, law, and medicine. This sudden boom in education was caused from the

For instance, in 1803, the United States completed the Louisiana Purchase, which granted the nation 828,000 square miles in area. President Thomas Jefferson “saw the Mississippi River not as the western edge of the country, but as the great spine that would hold the continent together” (Hariss 3). The purchase of the Louisiana territory cultivated Westward Expansion, as the land was seen rich with opportunities. In 1832, the Supreme Court saw the case of Worcester v. Georgia.

According to the excerpt from the Executive Summary of the National Research Council Report, in 1862 around half of the U.S population resided on farms comprising almost 60% employment. Agriculture was necessary and important. For this reason, Land Grant Universities were established to provide land in every state for a college. These colleges would focus on research and educating the public on Agricultural issues. These issues were considered more practical in the real world especially for the large proportion of farmers at the time. Additionally, the Land Grant system was the first representation of higher education following the Civil War and unlike other colleges at the time, Land Grant Universities provided education for the general

1. The land-grant program has shown it's flexibility that even though the program is much different than a century ago, the mission has not changed. There will always be a need to have education for agriculture, mechanical arts, and FACS because those are foundational parts or our society. The way the programs are implemented might change, but the different programs offered and overall goals of the program will not. The only way it may change in the future would be to implement more technology based programs.

The movement for public education in the 1800s served as a strong basis for the arguments builds by great scholars of later period. Characterized by reforms such as push for compulsory, free, public education, great scholars such as Emerson and Charles Eliot borrowed a great deal of the ideas found therein to develop their work.

During the nineteenth century, the domination of Mexico by elites who owned large estates remained a serious problem. As the result, unreasonable landholding had bad impact on society, and it was unfair. A few individuals had possession of immense areas of uncultivated land which could support millions of people. They occupied an extent of land greater than the area of some of sovereign states, greater even than that of one of several European states. Much of these areas were deserted, abandoned. Meanwhile, the majority of Mexicans were in terrible living standard and denied property, homes, and work. “They must either vegetate in idleness, turn to banditry, or accept the yoke of a landed monopolist who subjects them to intolerable conditions

The purpose of university education is not only to gain more knowledge for future careers, but to educate people from becoming illiterate. University education was first established in 1636 by John Harvard. His first purpose was to train students to becoming Christian ministers, which resulted into a prestigious school for students to attend. Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts was primarily a puritan college because of the era of strict religious beliefs in society. Students that attended Harvard were very wealthy because of the high costs that was in demand to receive a higher education at a private university. As years past, students were not able to continue their education after high school because they did not have the money to attend a private university, so the idea of a public university would be established in 1795. The University of North Carolina was the first public university that gave people who were not rich an opportunity to receive a higher education, and democratize education for everyone. This university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina was established by William Richardson Davie. As more universities were being developed, a new system of higher education would be introduced in 1901. The first public community college was Joliet Junior College. Founded under Superintendent J. Stanley Brown and William Rainey Harper, President of the University of Chicago. This new system of higher education gave more people the opportunity to go