Introduction

The Morrill Act of 1862 introduced the "leading objects" for land-grant colleges, but offered few specifics on implementation. Instead of directing colleges toward professional preparation, vocational training, or liberal study, the act, implausibly, suggested that land-grant colleges could do them all. Justin Morrill's speeches on the House and Senate floors provided little clarification; he presented no sample curriculum, no admission requirements, and no guidance on student labour or coeducation. The duty of defining and executing the Morrill Act fell to state legislatures. Legislators were eager to sell the public lands that were awarded from the Morrill Act, as concerns mounted over the stability of land values following the Homestead Act of 1862 and the distribution of ten million acres of land to union veterans. Legislative actions included the acceptance of the Morrill Act and the passage of a bill to establish the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1871.