Morrill Act of 1890

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The Morrill Act of 1890 is a U.S. federal law that expanded the land-grant college system by providing funding for institutions serving Black students, leading to the creation of many historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Second Morrill Act of 1890 1

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States federal law
education law
alsoKnownAs Agricultural College Act of 1890 NERFINISHED
amends Morrill Act of 1862 NERFINISHED
appliesToJurisdiction United States of America
surface form: United States
associatedWith United States Department of Agriculture NERFINISHED
historically Black colleges and universities
beneficiaries Black students in the United States
Southern and border states
category 1890 in American law
African-American education history
United States education legislation
conditionImposedOnStates no racial discrimination in admissions or provision of separate institutions for Black students
country United States of America
surface form: United States
createdCategory 1890 land-grant institutions
dateEnacted 1890-08-30
enactedBy United States Congress
expanded federal support for land-grant colleges
federalStatute yes
focusRegion former Confederate states and border states
fundingMechanism direct appropriations instead of land grants
fundingType annual federal appropriations
historicalContext post-Reconstruction era
impact expanded access to higher education for African Americans
institutionalized dual land-grant systems in segregated states
strengthened agricultural and technical training in Black colleges
influenced development of HBCUs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
ledToCreationOf many historically Black colleges and universities
legalBasisFor federal support of 1890 land-grant HBCUs
longTermEffect ongoing federal funding stream for 1890 land-grant HBCUs
partOf land-grant college system NERFINISHED
publicLawNumber 26 Stat. 417
purpose to expand the land-grant college system
to promote agricultural and mechanical education in the Southern states
to provide federal funding for colleges serving Black students
relatedTo Jim Crow era segregation
Morrill Act of 1862 NERFINISHED
land-grant university system
requires states to match federal funds to receive full benefits
states to provide separate land-grant institutions for Black students if race was used as a criterion for admission
shortTitle Second Morrill Act NERFINISHED
signedBy Benjamin Harrison NERFINISHED
signingPresident Benjamin Harrison NERFINISHED
subjectMatter agricultural education
higher education
mechanical arts education
race and education policy
yearEnacted 1890

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Justin Smith Morrill notableWork Morrill Act of 1890
this entity surface form: Second Morrill Act of 1890
Morrill Act of 1862 relatedAct Morrill Act of 1890
Smith–Lever Act of 1914 relatedTo Morrill Act of 1890