Curriculum+movements

= = = **The Morrill Act of 1862** = ====The Morrill Act of 1862 was also known as the Land Grant College Act. It was a major boost to higher education in America. The grant was originally set up to establish institutions is each state that would educate people in agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts, and other professions that were practical at the time. The land-grant act was introduced by a congressman from Vermont named Justin Smith Morrill. He envisioned the financing of agricultural and mechanical education. He wanted to assure that education would be available to those in all social classes. ====

There were several of these grants, but the first passed in 1862. This bill was signed by Abraham Lincoln on July 2. This gave each state 30,000 acres of public land for each Senator and Representative. These numbers were based on the census of 1860. The land was then to be sold and the money from the sale of the land was to be put in an endowment fund which would provide support for the colleges in each of the states. The land-grant has improved the lives of millions of Americans. This was not the case in the early stages. At the time the grants were established, there was a separation of races. In the South, blacks were not allowed to attend the original land-grant institutions. There was a provision for separate but equal facilities, but only Mississippi and Kentucky set up any such institution. This situation was rectified when the Second Morrill Act was passed and expanded the system of grants to include black institutions.

The Morrill Acts have become a major educational resource for our nation. This program is available to all people who are in search of higher education. Over the years it has proven to be an important part of our educational system. This Act changed the course of higher education. The purpose of education shifted from the classical studies and allowed for more applied studies that would prepare the students for the world that they would face once leaving the classroom. This Act also gave education support directly from the government. The Morrill Act changed the face of education and made room for our growing and ever changing country and ensured that there would always be money to finance educational facilities and that there would be continual government support of these institutions.

= NEA (National Education Association) =

In 1870, the National Teachers Association merged with the National Association of School Superintendents and the American Normal School Association to become known as the NEA (National Education Association). When it became the NEA (National Education Association) the requirements for admission became less exclusive. The NEA has not stopped growing since 1870. In 1957, one-hundred years after it was founded it had 700,000 members.

= THE N.E.A. COMMITTEE OF TEN = In the late 1800's the question of the purpose of the American high school was divided between two main philosophies. Traditional educators saw high school as a college preparatory institution. This divided students into academic versus terminal students, often based on economic, social, and ethnic backgrounds. Others believed the high school should serve more as a people's school, offering a range of practical courses. The National Education Association addressed this issue by appointing a Committee of Ten in 1892 to establish a standard curriculum. This committee was composed mostly of educators and was chaired by Charles Eliot, the president of Harvard University. Eliot led the committee to two major recommendations. The first was earlier entry of some subjects. The second was the teaching of subjects for both college-bound and terminal students. The Committee of Ten recommended eight years of elementary education and four years of secondary education. It defined four different curricula as appropriate for high school. The first two followed a classical trend: classical and Latin-scientific. The second two were more contemporary: modern language and English. Courses that are now considered basic like foreign languages, mathematics, science, English and history were included in each curriculum. The significance of the Committee of Ten was its contribution towards liberalizing the high school by offering alternatives to the Latin and Greek classic curricula and the belief that the same subjects would be equally beneficial to both academic and terminal students. The goal of high school was to prepare all students to do well in life, contributing to their own well-being and society's good, and to prepare some students for college.

= The Department of Education = = = The original Department of Education was created in 1867 to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the States establish effective school systems. While the agency's name and location within the Executive Branch have changed over the past 130 years, this early emphasis on getting information on what works in education to teachers and education policymakers continues down to the present day.

= ﻿Civil Rights Act of 1875 = The **Civil Rights Act of 1875** was a United States federal law proposed by Senator Charles Sumner and Representative Benjamin F. Butler (both Republicans) in 1870. The act was passed by Congress in February, 1875 and signed by President Grant on March 1, 1875. It was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1883. Many of its provisions were enacted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act, using the federal power to regulate interstate commerce. The Act guaranteed that everyone, regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, was entitled to the same treatment in "public accommodations" (i.e. inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and other places of public amusement).

If found guilty, the lawbreaker could face a penalty anywhere from $500 to $1,000 and/or 30 days to 1 year in prison. However, the law was rarely enforced, especially after the 1876 presidential election and withdrawal of federal troops from the South. In the 1883 ﻿Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3 (1883), the Supreme Court deemed the act unconstitutional on the basis that Congress had no power to regulate the conduct of individuals. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits discrimination by the state, not by individuals.