The Land Grant of 1862 and the Land-Grant Colleges. Bulletin, 1918, No. 13
Author: Andrews, Benjamin F.
Date: 1918-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational History,Professional Training,Curriculum Development,Program Implementation,Program Effectiveness,Agricultural Colleges,Agricultural Education,Land Grant Universities,Grants,Vocational Education,Engineering Education,Extension Education,Adult Education,Federal Programs,Racial Segregation,School Segregation,Black Colleges,African American Education,Educational Legislation,Educational Policy,Educational Finance,State Policy,Federal Aid,Federal Legislation,State Aid,Educational Facilities,National Surveys,Federal Government,Government School Relationship,Federal State Relationship,Professional Education,Home Economics Education

The act of July 2, 1862, &quot;donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts,&quot; led to the establishment of a group of higher institutions, at least one in each State, having direct relations with the Federal Government and dedicated to a common purpose. The purpose as stated in the act was &quot;the promotion of the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes.&quot; As translated in institutional practice it has meant the professional training of men and women in agriculture, home economies, and various branches of engineering. In most of the fields in which these colleges now give training, however, there was not in 1862 an organized body of scientific knowledge sufficient to furnish working material for courses such as higher institutions are expected to give. Before the common purpose which has informed these colleges could be partially realized, it has been necessary by research and experimentation to develop several sciences and to organize the applications of them into scientific professional curricula. The land-grant colleges have contributed largely to the accomplishment of these things. Their efforts have led to the establishment of several new professions, to the stimulation of new achievement in both the great industrial fields to which they minister, to the higher training of numerous young persons who could not or would not have sought it in the older channels, and to the profound modification of both the doctrine and the content of higher education throughout the country. The influence which these colleges have had on the development of American life is perhaps the most far-reaching influence that has come from any educational source in the half century since the passage of the land-grant act. Taken together, these institutions represent America's most distinctive contribution to higher educational theory and practice. Now that the position of the land-grant colleges has become so plain, it is of special interest that all important matters relating to their history and their contemporaneous status should be recorded. One of the obscure chapters in the history of these institutions has been the disposition made by the various States of the original land grant of 1862, which provided for the establishment of the institutions. This document contains the result of the author's researches. [Best copy available has been provided.]