In the 1840s citizens around the country, including some from the South, began petitioning Congress for support of improved agricultural education. Passed during the Civil War, the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 barred land grants to states in rebellion. Benefits were eventually extended to states from the former Confederacy, including South Carolina.
Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives and Records Administration
Memorial from the citizens of South Carolina praying for the establishment of an agricultural college, January 4, 1859
Creating Land-Grant Colleges
In 1857 Representative Justin S. Morrill of Vermont first introduced legislation supporting state agricultural and technical colleges through federal land grants. Morrill’s proposed legislation allocated to states undeveloped federal land proportionate to their congressional representation. Both southern and western states opposed the act, decrying it as a federal incursion into states’ rights concerning education that gave advantages to more populous eastern states. President James Buchanan vetoed Morrill’s bill in1859, but Congress passed it again after Southern states seceded. The Morrill Land Grant Act became law in 1862.
In the 1840s citizens around the country, including some from the South, began petitioning Congress for support of improved agricultural education. Passed during the Civil War, the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 barred land grants to states in rebellion. Benefits were eventually extended to states from the former Confederacy, including South Carolina.
Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives and Records Administration
