Morrill Act anniversary: Celebrating 150
 years of public higher education

In 1862, in a nation torn by secession and Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed a law that laid the cornerstone of public higher education. The Morrill Land-Grant College Act gave federal public lands to states, allotting 30,000 acres for each senator and representative. The total endowment was 17.4 million acres, which at the time yielded $7.55 million. Each state that accepted the "land grant" agreed to create a permanent endowment for higher education, and establish at least one land-grant college.

Today, more than 100 land-grant universities serve the nation and the world, including preeminent public universities such as the University of California. In this video, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities explores the impacts of the Morrill Act, 150 years after its passage.

The April-June California Agriculture includes extensive special coverage of the Act's historic impact.

Click here for full information on historic cover photos.

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