User:Ojewell12/Morrill Land-Grant Acts

Article body
20 years prior to the first introduction of the land-grant bill in 1857, there was a political movement calling for the creation of agriculture colleges. The movement was led by Professor Jonathan Baldwin Turner of Illinois College. Turner felt disconnected from the classical studies being offered in institutions of higher education at the time and as a result, felt it was necessary for higher education to offer studies in agriculture and industrial work. Turner was not the only person advocating for an expansion of higher education. In fact, the Michigan Constitution of 1850 called for the creation of an "agricultural school." It was not until February 12, 1855, that Michigan Governor Kinsley S. Bingham signed a bill establishing the United States' first agriculture college, the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, known today as Michigan State University, which served as a model for the Morrill Act.

On February 8, 1853, the Illinois Legislature adopted a resolution, drafted by Turner, calling for the Illinois congressional delegation to work to enact a land-grant bill to fund a system of industrial colleges, one in each state. Senator Lyman Trumbull of Illinois believed it was advisable that the bill should be introduced by an eastern congressman, and two months later Representative Justin Smith Morrill of Vermont introduced his bill.