Morrill Act Set Up Land-Grant College System

From the October 1952 issue of Extension Farm-News, published by the Agricultural Extension Service, State College

By I.O. Schaub, retired dean of the School of Agriculture, N.C. State College

Justin S. Morrill was born in Vermont in 1810. He was the son of a blacksmith and farmer and attended school in the traditional one-room, red school house. He had two terms in academies, corresponding to our present high school. However, he left school to become a clerk in a mercantile business, where he received a salary of $45 for the first year and $75 for the second. Later he became a partner with a friend in the operation of a store. His business prospered and finally he bought a farm and retired from business to manage the farm.

In 1844 Morrill became interested in politics and was elected to Congress in 1856. During his first year he introduced a resolution directing the Agricultural Committee to investigate the expediency of establishing agricultural schools similar to those at West Point and the Naval Academy. Congressman Keitt of South Carolina objected to the resolution and under the rules of the House at that time, this killed the bill.

Next year, in 1857, he introduced his first Land Grant Bill which contained most of the essential features of the later bills. Under this bill each state was to receive 30,000 acres of public lands for each senator and congressman representing the state. In most of the eastern states there was not sufficient public land to comply with the requirements. Accordingly his bill provided that in lieu of land within the state, the government would issue land script which was to be sold to private individuals and these in turn could make entry in the western states where there were immense areas of public domain. He further provided that any funds acquired from the sale of land or land script should be invested in securities and the income serve as a perpetual endowment of one or more colleges in each state where subjects related to agricultural and mechanical arts would be given equal recognition and prominence with classical studies.

He expressed his objectives as follows: “Let us have such colleges as may rightfully claim the authority of teachers to announce facts and fix laws and scatter broadcast that knowledge which will prove useful in building up a great nation.”

Morrill’s bill was opposed by nearly all Southern representatives as being unconstitutional. At that time, four years prior to the Civil War, the question of States’ Rights and Federal Domination was the outstanding issue in the political field. The same kind of argument is being advanced at the present time regarding issues of our day. It is not surprising, therefore, that most Southern representatives looked with suspicion on Morrill’s proposal.

Morrill’s bill was referred to the Committee on Public Lands and after four months of consideration was given an unfavorable report by Chairman Cobb of Alabama. However, a minority report was submitted by Congressman Walbridge of Michigan and on motion to postpone consideration of the bill, Morrill had the opportunity to make a speech. He pointed out that the “power of Congress to dispose of the public lands is plain, absolute, and unlimited.” He offset the argument of unconstitutionality by pointing out that a way had been found under the constitution to promote and protect commerce through a tariff, immense land grants had been made to the railroads, literary labor was protected through copyright, and inventions were encouraged through patents. Army and Navy officers were educated at the Federal academies, but encouragement to agriculture was withheld. In 1827, Kentucky was granted lands for the establishment of a deaf and dumb asylum. The bill was supported by Buchanan and Polk—then members of the House of Representatives.

After much parliamentary maneuvering, Morrill’s bill finally passed the House by a vote of 105 to 100, and later in the Senate by a vote of 25 to 22. However, when the bill reached the White House it was vetoed by President Buchanan who had supported the bill for the establishment of the deaf and dumb asylum in Kentucky. The President argued that the bill was extravagant and would deplete the treasury. It was impolitic in that it would encourage states to rely on the federal government for aid to which they were not entitled. It would be injurious to new states by forcing down the price of land. It was insufficient because the federal government had no power to force compliance. It was unjust because it would injure the established institutions, and finally it was unconstitutional because there was no grant of power to the federal government to expend public money for the benefit of the people in various states. The president’s veto killed the bill at that time.

For a number of years, prior to this period, a Mr. Turner of Illinois had advocated the establishment of an industrial university. He advocated the sale of public lands to get the necessary financial support. He continued his efforts after the presidential veto of the Morrill bill and during the campaign between Lincoln and Douglass he secured the promise of both candidates that if elected, they would sign the Morrill bill. Lincoln was elected president and the South seceded. This completely changed the complexion of Congress with the Republicans coming into power.

In December, 1861, Morrill reintroduced his bill in the House. It was referred to the Committee on Public Lands which again gave an unfavorable report. However, Senator Wade of Ohio introduced the bill in the Senate in May 1862 and his bill passed the Senate 32 to 7. When the bill reached the House, Morrill succeeded in getting a vote on the bill without having it referred to the committee and it passed 90 to 25. President Lincoln signed the bill and this led to the establishment of a Land Grant College in every state of the Union.

There were a number of provisions in the Morrill bill that had to be complied with by the respective states. Each state had to accept the provisions of the bill within two years. Southern states being in rebellion were not eligible. Subsequent amendments extended the period of acceptance so that finally all states complied. Under Morrill’s bill the state could establish one or more institutions and these would be new or part of established institutions.

Morrill stated that the bill was broad enough so that states could use it to the best advantage. He did not intend that they be just agricultural schools. He wanted schools of science but of college grade. He did not object to their being part of a classical college provided the sciences were given prominence.

Iowa was the first state to accept the provisions of the act. Others in the North followed rapidly and it was not until after the ending of the Civil War that the Southern states became eligible.

The disposition of the land and script varied widely and scarcely a state complied strictly with the provisions of the bill. Some held the land for higher prices while most sold within a year or more at fifty cents to one dollar per acre. North Carolina, South Carolina, and Illinois lost all of their investments and later these states had to replace these losses. Altogether, by 1923, some 10,928,295 acres of public land were received by the states and the total received from such sales amounted to $17,416,000.

North Carolina had two senators and seven representatives and not having sufficient public lands within its borders received 270,000 acres of script. The Legislature of 1866 accepted the provisions of the act and secured the script which was deposited with the State Treasury. Due to the low market value of land at that time, which was fifty cents per acre, the script was held for one year. In February, 1867, the legislature transferred the script to the University Board of Trustees at Chapel Hill and authorized that Board to sell as they saw fit. In August 1867, the Board contracted to sell all of the script to B.F. Lewis and Company of Detroit for fifty cents per acre. Lewis agreed to pay $10,000 cash and the balance as he in turn disposed of the script to private individuals. At the same Board meeting where the contract was signed with Lewis, it was voted to use 10 per cent of the receipts to pay off the indebtedness of the University. This was illegal under the terms of the Morrill Act but nothing was done about it.

The reconstruction Legislature of 1868 appointed a new Board of Trustees. This new Board made an effort to void the contract with Lewis but this effort was not successful. The Board did, however, receive $120,000 additional funds from Lewis and ordered the Treasurer of the Board to invest this money in U.S. Bonds. Eight days later a new meeting of the Board was called which rescinded the previous instructions to the Treasurer and authorized the purchase of North Carolina bonds. The Treasury secured $240,000 of North Carolina railroad bonds for $120,000. Within a few months, however, these bonds were worthless and the entire investment was lost. It would be interesting to know why the Board changed its mind within eight days from the purchase of U.S. Bonds to invest in practically worthless North Carolina bonds.

The subsequent Legislature elected a new Board including a number of members of the Board prior to 1868. The University had been closed due to lack of financial support. Friends of the University, realizing that the State had agreed to replace any Morrill funds that might be lost in any manner, memorialized the Legislature of 1875 to authorize the issuance of a perpetual certificate of indebtedness to the University bearing interest at 6 per cent on $125,000. After much parliamentary jockeying the bill finally passed the House by a majority of one. This was the first annual State appropriation to the University.

However, the act required the University to each agriculture and engineering and to that end the Board organized a College of Agriculture and a College of Engineering. Very few students enrolled in these courses and the records fail to show that there were any graduates in agriculture during the time that the University received the benefits of the Morrill Land Grant Act. North Carolina farm leaders, including Colonel L.K. Polk, were not satisfied with the courses offered. The University officials argued that they were complying with the law in that they were teaching subjects related to agriculture. Colonel Polk and his followers, however, wanted courses in applied science. Having determined in their own minds that they could not get such courses at Chapel Hill, they fought for the establishment of a new institution. They were successful with the Legislature of 1887 when the act was passed authorizing the establishment of an Agricultural and Mechanical College at Raleigh, and transferred to the institution the benefit of the funds received under the Morrill Land Grant Act.