The Morrill Act of 1862 established colleges in each state (except those in rebellion) that would educate people in agriculture, mechanical arts, and other trades. It gave each state 30,000 acres of public land for each Senator and Representative. The land was to be sold and the proceeds invested in an endowment the interest from which would support the new colleges in each state. The act was named after its sponsor, Vermont Congressman Justin Smith Morrill, and was signed by President Lincoln on July 2, 1862. It was amended on July 23, 1866, to permit former Confederate states to qualify for its benefits.

The Second Morrill Act, also known as the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1890 or the Agricultural College Act of 1890, provided money, not land, to the states to fund existing land-grant colleges and to establish new agricultural and mechanical arts colleges. It permitted separate colleges for white and black students and led to the creation of historically black land grant colleges in the South. It was signed by President Harrison on August 30, 1890.

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