Justin Smith Morrill - Biography, Legislation

US representative, born in Strafford, Vermont, USA. The son of a blacksmith, he ran a general store in Strafford (1831–48), turned to farming, then went to the US House of Representatives (Whig, Republican, Vermont, 1855–67). A member of the Ways and Means Committee, he sponsored the Land-Grant College Act of 1862, providing public lands for agricultural colleges. In the Senate (Republican, 1867–98) he provided funds for their survival in the Second Morrill Act of 1880.

Justin Smith Morrill (April 14, 1810 – December 28, 1898) was a Representative (1855–1867) and a Senator (1867–1898) from Vermont, most widely remembered today for the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act that established federal funding for many of the nation's colleges and universities.

Biography

Born in Strafford, Vermont, Morrill attended the common schools and Thetford and Randolph Academies;

In 1852 Morrill was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-fourth Congress and as a Republican to the five succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1855–March 3, 1867). He was the author of the Tariff Act of 1861 as well as the college land-grant act mentioned above.

In 1866 Morrill was elected as a Union Republican to the U.S. Senate.

Legislation

Justin Smith Morrill is most widely known for sponsoring the Morrill Act, also known as the Land Grant College Act. —1862, as quoted by William Belmont Parker, The Life and Public Services of Justin Smith Morrill

Many agricultural colleges have a 'Morrill Hall' named in honor of Justin Smith Morrill's contribution to higher education. In 1999, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 55 cent postage stamp of Morrill to honor his role in establishing the land grant colleges, the forerunners of many state universities.

He is also well known in some circles for his authorship of the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act of 1862, which targeted The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, based on the then-existing practice of plural marriage (polygamy). United States the Supreme Court, the court upheld the 1862 Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act banning plural marriage.

This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Preceded by: Luke P. Poland	United States Senator (Class 3) from Vermont 1867-1899	Succeeded by: Jonathan Ross
Preceded by: Andrew Tracy	U.S. Representative from Vermont's 2nd district 1855 - 1867	Succeeded by: Luke P.