Justin Morrill: Land for Learning is a PBS video somewhat in the form of a biography of Justin Morrill's life and also a documentary about the Land Grant College Act of 1862. Prior to the 1860's, further education mostly consisted of studying ministry and dead languages. The goal of the Land Grant College Act was to aim towards a "more educated populas". Justin Morrill was a man who studied people- how they spent their money, etc. With an original plan to study horticulture and become a gentlemen farmer, Justin ended up in politics. He was a member of the conservative Whig Party. He served 12 years for the House of Representatives and 31 years in the Senate. His long standing career outlasted 11 different Presidents until his death in 1898.
Justin was frugal and that helped his popularity in Vermont. He was a big advocate for furthering education beyond the 8th grade, which was the typical amount of education the population was achieving at this time. One of the first issues he ran into, was that Universities were not interested in Agricultural Sciences, which he advocated for. He foresaw an issue with the farming in the states, in comparison to the farming in Europe. American soil was not being revitalized in any way and this, he saw, as crucial. Europeans were implementing fertilizers and being rewarded with better crop. Justin used his position in politics to try and push for further education in agricultural studies.
The Land Grant College Act of 1862 was a way for federally owned land to be granted to states. The states could sell the land to colleges or anyone and profit from the sales. On July 2, 1962, Abraham Lincoln signed Justin's bill into law. By 1870, Universities were expanding into agricultural studies, veterinary science and even allowing women to attend. Although at first, agricultural studies didn't have much to offer. Teachers could teach students how to farm, but not much beyond that because there really wasn't a lot of printed research in this area.
The Land Grant College Act was a way to grant land (17 million acres sold) and a way to pay teachers. But it did not pay for buildings. Another issue was that this act only benefited Union states so confederate states would eventually fall behind and it took many years for their buildings, programs and equipment to catch up. In 1890, the Morrill Act was altered again to allow money from congress to go towards black schools, which were named the 1890 Schools. The funding for white and black colleges was not equal, only 10% going to black schools. Justin Morrill pushed to "eliminate gap between haves and have nots."
The Cooperative Extension service arose and became vital to land grants. Basically it was a way to take what the students were learning about agriculture and apply it out in the communities. Hybrid corn, leaner pork and beef, and many others huge accomplishments came from this time. America was becoming a very successful country and many benefited from Co-op Extension Services.
President Coolidge said of the extensionists, that he wanted them to become more than just agriculture, he hoped to broaden studies. During WWII, land grants had an opportunity to shine. The army's ROTC program grew out of land grant funding and became a huge asset to the war. In 1941, there were 50,000 ROTC officers which were able to help train more soldiers as well as help our allies. When the war ended, Veterans were excited about the free tuition they were offered.
During the 1950's and 60's, the belief became that higher education would lead to a stronger country. President Truman began using the land grants to help other countries and provided education to international students.
Justin Morrill worked well into his 80's always pushing for further funding for the Land Grant Act. His wife, June, died in May of 1898, Justin died later that year. Because of him, and the Land Grant Act, there were 20 million graduates in 1997 that were Land Grant students.
Justin Morril: Land for Learning. Vermont PBS Documentaries. Aired: 12/19/1998. PBS.
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