Public Education During The Civil War

109 Words1 Pages
During the Civil War, southern forces were gone from Congress, so the Republican Party had complete control. It started a nationalistic program to promote economic development, particularly in the west. One of the many acts that came about during this time period was the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862. It provided large amounts of public acreage to the state governments. The state governments would then sell the land and use the profit for public education, such as colleges and universities. This was important because it gave education opportunities to people of all social classes, such as farmers and people of the working class, and not just the wealthy.