When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act into law in 1862 to establish land-grant universities, our nation took an important step toward ensuring access to higher education was no longer just reserved for the elite. The law’s mission was to create institutions of higher education that would educate America’s citizenry, unlock discoveries that would transform its communities, and propel the country into a world leader in education and innovation.
While extremely successful, the initial law did not sufficiently secure this vision for all citizens. Almost three decades after the passage of the first Morrill Act, a second measure, the Morrill Act of 1890, aimed to further expand access to higher education and the promise of opportunities that accompany such an education. The Morrill Act of 1890 helped establish universities to provide higher education opportunities for African-Americans and others based on the idea that access to education was important for all. Today, 125 years later, there are 19 institutions designated as 1890 land-grant universities.
African-Americans, initially excluded from higher education altogether in some parts of the country and subsequently underserved, were finally offered postsecondary educational opportunity at universities founded through the Morrill Act of 1890. For the past 125 years these institutions, known collectively as the 1890 Universities, have provided African-Americans and others the opportunity to receive a quality, affordable postsecondary education.
U.S. Sen. Justin Smith Morrill of Vermont, whose namesake 1862 Act advanced the belief that higher education should “be accessible to all, but especially to the sons of toil,” wanted to expand access even further. That African-Americans still lacked access to higher education, he said, was at odds with the foundational American value of equal opportunity. “Their advancement concerns us all,” he noted.
That mission of equal educational opportunity remains urgent. The work that the Morrill Act of 1890 set out to do — to provide an accessible, affordable and exceptional system of higher education for all Americans — is not yet complete. Today, some states don’t fully match federal funding for their 1890 universities’ agricultural and extension work as they do with their 1862 land-grant universities.
Through its Council of 1890 Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) continues to advance the cause of historically Black colleges and universities and extend the legacy of the second Morrill Act. With all 19 1890 Universities, this collaborative effort works to reinvigorate the promise of the second Morrill Act and magnify the positive impact these institutions have on their communities and country.
The 1890s are a cornerstone of the American system of higher education, and without sufficient investment in their mission, our nation’s entire system of public higher education is incomplete.
