Viewing Education Category (6) found:

"Moot Court." (1873)

In March 1873, a moot court produced by practicing lawyers and apprentices was held in Winona. It was described in an article in "The Winona Herald" on March 7, 1873.

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Harold M. Hyman: "American Singularity: The 1787 Northwest Ordinance and the 1862 Homestead and Morrill Acts" (1985).

How unique or exceptional is America? To Dr. Harold M. Hyman, America is "singular" because at different times in its history, it adopted policies that increased individuals' "access to recognized avenues of mobility, opportunity and success." These policies were expressed in particular laws that encouraged individuals' access to land, to education, and to legal remedies.

Four examples of "access legislation" are the 1787 Northwest Ordinance, which increased access to ownership of land, stabilized property rights, and required the establishment of public schools, the 1862 Homestead and Morrill and Acts, which increased access to public lands in the West and education at state land-grant colleges, and the 1944 G.I. Bill, which expanded educational opportunities in the post-World War II era. These laws were imperfectly drafted, needed revision, and at times fell short of their goals because of the way they were implemented; nevertheless, they embodied many of the values and aspirations that inspired the Revolution.

Dr. Hyman explored the question of "American singularity" in the Russell Lectures delivered at the University of Georgia in 1985, and published the following year by the University of Georgia Press. Only Dr. Hyman's lectures on the Northwest Ordinance and the Homestead and Morrill Acts are reproduced in this article. To assist the reader, these laws are posted in an Appendix. These excerpts are posted on the MLHP with the permission of Dr. Hyman and the University of Georgia Press, which holds the copyright.

Dr. Harold M. Hyman is the William P. Hobby Professor of History Emeritus at Rice University. He is one of this country's foremost historians and has written acclaimed books on the constitution and the Civil War and Reconstruction Eras. He was the President of the American Society of Legal History in 1974-75.

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Morrill Act (1862) and the Second Morrill Act (1890).

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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Charles A. Cox Sr.: "The Brahmin and the Barbarian: Entering the Profession in Another Era." (1999)

After being called to jury duty, Harold Will Cox, age 27, decided to achieve his dream of becoming a lawyer. The fact that he had never attended college did not deter him from applying to the University of Minnesota Law School. In any early display of his negotiating skills, Cox persuaded Dean William Vance to agree to admit him if he passed a college-equivalency test. He passed, attended and graduated law school, and practiced law in Minneapolis for the next quarter century. This article was written by Cox's son, Charles A. Cox Sr. It appeared first in the December 1999, issue of "The Hennepin Lawyer."

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Enrollment at the University of Minnesota College of Law, 1889-1910 (1910).

Tables of the numbers of students enrolled at the University of Minnesota College of Law and number of the law degrees granted from 1889 through 1910 appeared first in "Forty Years of the University of Minnesota," published by the Alumni Association in 1910.

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Douglas A. Hedin: "Rediscovering Riesenfeld: The Minnesota Years." (2005)

Stefan Riesenfeld (1908-1999) joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota Law School in 1938 and, except for service in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946, taught there until 1952. This tribute appeared first in the June 2005 issue of "The Hennepin Lawyer."

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