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The Answer is The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are a pair of United States federal laws that were passed during the 19th century to provide for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states using the proceeds of federal land sales. The first Morrill Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on July 2, 1862.

The act was named after its sponsor, Vermont Congressman Justin Smith Morrill, and it granted each state 30,000 acres of federal land for each member of Congress the state had as of the census of 1860. The land was to be sold and the proceeds used to fund public institutions that would teach "agriculture and the mechanic arts" (engineering). This was a revolutionary concept at the time because it expanded higher education to include practical training in addition to the classical studies typically offered at universities.

The significance of the Morrill Land-Grant Act was profound. It led to the creation of numerous state colleges and universities, many of which have become prominent research and educational institutions today. These land-grant institutions were designed to make higher education more accessible to the broader population, particularly in the fields of agriculture and the mechanical arts, which were critical for the nation's development and industrialization.

A second Morrill Act in 1890, also known as the Morrill Act of 1890 or the Agricultural College Act of 1890, expanded this system. It required states that had segregation laws to provide land-grant institutions for black students if admission was not allowed at the existing land-grant institutions. This led to the creation of several historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Overall, the Morrill Land-Grant Acts played a crucial role in the democratization of higher education in the United States and the development of the American workforce, particularly in the areas of agriculture, science, and engineering. These acts helped to establish the foundation for the modern public university system in the United States.

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