The 1862 Morill Land-Grant Act marked the culmination of a complex and failing trend in the American educational system and the commencement of a successful and prestigious system that elicits international praise. The Act was the first successful federal legislation advocating for the positive reformations of the American educational system. The Morrill Act was primarily meant to improve the economic prosperity of the various States and their international status. The Act was formularized to achieve the feats by improving the status of failed higher learning institutions by increasing accessibility and affordability. At the time, many learning institutions mainly served the high social class, excluding low-income students and students of color. The Act was also meant to reform the various aspects of the education system, such as the inclusion of some practical subjects and the enrollment of African Americans and other minority groups. Morrill's preference for the practical subjects over the classical subjects was based on his projection that America would need a technical and professional workforce to meet the future demand of industrialization. The accessibility and practicality of the established education system remain the fundamental goal of the curriculum of the current system. In many ways, the Morrill act positively impacted higher learning in America and greatly accounts for the many campuses in America today.
Most importantly, the Morrill Land-Grant Act marked the inclusion and the direct involvement of the Federal governments in the various aspects of higher learning institutions. The legislation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln, stipulated that the federal government would apportion each State thirty thousand acres of Federal lands (Ourdocuments.gov, 1862). The States would then utilize the land or sell it to fund to finance the construction of higher learning institutions that would later be referred to as land grant Universities. As such, the federal government became proactively involved in the efforts to revive the failed education system. The Act marked the first federal program to promote education for all American citizens. Over time, the Federal government's support has continued to increase to address the various aspects that stalled the system. For instance, as noted by Thelin, the author of the “ American Higher Education: Issues and Institutions ," the higher learning institutions at the beginning of the twenty-first century urgently required to be renovated to include facilities such as computer and research laboratories (Thelin, 2017, pp. 27-33). Recent statistics indicate that the federal government expenditure on higher learning institutions in 2018 ranked thirdly. The federal government investments were $149 billion in that year, representing 3.6% of total federal spending (USAspending.gov, 2018). The government invested the funds particularly to finance federal student aid, grants, and contracts. Through the Pell grants loans issued to college students, the federal government facilitates even the low-income students to join college and meet the various necessary expenses until graduation. Understandably, the government expenditures and non-discriminatory policies grant every American student an opportunity to enroll and pursue academic excellence. Statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics reveal that the number of enrollment in higher learning institutions in 2018 was 16.6 million students, representing an increase of 26% relative to the enrollments in 2000 (NCES, 2020). The remarkable increase in the rate of accessibility of students and the need for higher learning facilities to accommodate the sharp increase gives a clear illustration of the prospects of the Morrill Land Grant Act.
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Secondly, the Morrill Land-Grant Act also bridged the racial and economic inequality gaps in the education system. Inequality in the education system was mainly prevalent in the admission process, where the people of color would be rejected (Thelin, 2017, pp. 10-12). However, the Morrill Act was accompanied by federal regulations and detrimental repercussions for the colleges that failed to implement the Morill legislation. For instance, the States that failed to adhere to the impartial admission process in the land grant universities would be denied federal support (Ourdocuments.gov, 1862). The measures were meant to discourage and eliminate discrimination in the enrollment processes in the established schools in the States. Therefore, the federal government would effectively provide equal opportunities to both black and white students in the learning institutions. Accordingly, the legislation facilitated a significant increase in the number of colleges serving Black Americans. In the late twentieth and the early twenty-first century, the adoption legislators formulated affirmative action based on the efficacy of earlier policies such as the Morrill Act. Affirmative action, similar to the Morrill Act, has been an effective tool that promotes diversity in colleges and universities to allow all American students into the institutions without discrimination. The anti-discriminatory policies have are based on evaluating the students' applicants rather than denying them the opportunity due to their race, income, or ethnic background. In effect, the past decade has witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of colleges and universities to accommodate minority groups. To illustrate, the NCSE indicates that the overall college enrollment increased by 59%,42%,37%, and 36% for American Asians, whites, African Americans, and Hispanic, respectively (NCSE, 2020). As such, the policies and regulations on the admission process as advanced by Morill continue to foster social equality in the American higher education system. The increase in the admission of the previously marginalized social groups has caused a remarkable increase in the number of higher learning institutions in America.
Thirdly, the Morrill Land-Grant Act increased the scope of learning and research by including new subjects. Morrill’s argued that the provision of practical courses adapted to the needs community would positively impact the livelihood of the minority groups and the American economic status in the international scope (Ourdocuments.gov, 1862). Based on the livelihood of the marginalized communities and the feasible production capabilities of America, Merrill suggested courses in agriculture and mechanical fields. In correlation to his speculations, the US agricultural sector accounted for a 5.2% share in the gross domestic product in 2019 (USDA, 2020). The sector also accounted for twenty-two million full and part-time jobs for American citizens. As such, laboring and practical careers are both beneficial to the country’s economic well-being and the livelihood of American citizens. The Morill Act enabled the establishment of seventy land grant higher learning institutions. However, in the twenty-first century, the number of institutions offering agricultural courses has increased to two hundred and five. Similarly, the scope of the study in agriculture has increased to 1212 distinct courses offered by various institutions. Most of these originally established land-grant institutions have expanded to become modern research institutions. Overall, the Morrill Act enabled the realization of the importance of practical courses, which increased the prevalence of institutions teaching agricultural courses and learning institutions. The education system based on practical subjects proved to be potent in economic and inclusive developments.
The 1962 Morill Land-Grant Act has had remarkable impacts on the present-day education system in America. Firstly, most of the land grant higher learning institutions established in the nineteenth century from the Morrill Act still play a major role in providing education for all Americans regardless of economic and racial differences. For instance, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a leader in developing the contents of its courses and freely availing them to anyone who can access them. As such, every American student, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, and ethical affiliation, can access the materials (Lewin, 2011). Further, the Morrill Act facilitated the establishment of research institutions. According to the National Science Foundation, six land grant universities were among the top ten institutions which received the most federal funding in 2014 (Thelin, 2017, p. 251). The research has positively impacted the education sector and the American economy. The various breakthroughs from the research constantly inform new changes in the lower-level curriculum. Morrill's preference for practical subjects rather than classical subjects has been a great tool for students considering their majors. Though theoretical and practical courses are indispensable in the functions they facilitate, practical-based courses are more appealing based on their roles in the real world. For instance, courses such as medicine and engineering are skill-based courses and comprise the most competitive courses in higher learning institutions in America.
In conclusion, the 1962 Morill Land-Grant Act marks an enduring legacy that has enabled the modern prevalence of higher learning institutions in America. The Act fosters educational populism and the utilization of practical courses that meet the various human demands. In particular, Morill's projection of the American potency in farming and other practical fields such as mechanical subjects are in line with modern industrialization and agricultural success in modern-day America. Discrimination in the education system is also a major threat to the level of development in the country as it fosters social stratification and creates economic classes that ultimately inhibit the nation's economic development. As demonstrated, the national government has played a key role in the success of the present-day education sector. Key players in the education sector also have a role in ensuring that American higher learning institutions offer courses relevant to the nation's economic success and future needs. Efforts to avail course materials online for any student to access will also foster inclusive development for all the American communities.
References
Lewin, T. (2011, December 19). M.I.T. Expands Its Free Online Courses . Retrieved from New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/education/mit-expands-free-online-courses-offering-certificates.html
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2020, May). Undergraduate Enrollment . https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cha.asp
National Center for Education Statistics (NCSE). (2020). College Enrollment Rates . https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_cpb.pdf
Nietzel, M. T. (2020, October 20). Universities For 2021. U.S. Institutions Again Top The List . Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2020/10/20/us-news-ranks-the-worlds-best-universities-for-2021-us-institutions-again-top-the-list/#:~:text=Harvard%20University,University%20of%20California%2C%20Berkeley
Ourdocuments.gov. (1862, July 2). Morrill Act . https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=33
Schuessler, J. (2020, December 16). Johns Hopkins Reveals That Its Founder Owned Slaves . New York Times. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/about/history/johns-hopkins.html
Thelin, J. R. (2017). American higher education: Issues and institutions. Taylor & Francis.
USAspending.gov. (2018). How much was invested in colleges and universities? https://datalab.usaspending.gov/colleges-and-universities/#:%7E:text=In%202018%2C%20higher%20education%20institutions,representing%203.6%25%20of%20federal%20spending.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). (2020, December 16). Ag and Food Sectors and the Economy . https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/ag-and-food-sectors-and-the-economy/#:~:text=Agriculture%2C%20food%2C%20and%20related%20industries,about%200.6%20percent%20of%20GDP .
