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Difficulty: EasyBlack Education, HBCUs, and Philosophical Debates

Read the following excerpt from the Second Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1890:

"Provided, That no money shall be paid... under this act to any State or Territory for the support and maintenance of a college where a distinction of race or color is made in the admission of students, but the establishment and maintenance of such colleges separately for white and colored students shall be held to be a compliance with the provisions of this act..."

Which of the following was a direct historical consequence of this legislation?

  1. The establishment and funding of public land-grant historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs)Answer
  2. B
    The immediate desegregation of existing public land-grant universities throughout the South
  3. C
    The elimination of private Black colleges founded by religious and missionary organizations
  4. D
    The federal mandate that all Black higher education institutions focus exclusively on industrial training

Answer

The establishment and funding of public land-grant historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs)
The correct option is correct because the Second Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1890 prohibited federal funding for states that discriminated by race in college admissions unless they provided separate institutions. Southern states complied by establishing a system of public land-grant historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), which greatly expanded access to higher education for African Americans, albeit under a segregated framework.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the text of the Second Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1890.
The excerpt states that federal funds will not be distributed to states that make racial distinctions in college admissions, unless they establish separate colleges for Black and white students.
Understanding the legislative mechanism of the act is necessary to predict its real-world outcome.
2
Evaluate the historical response of Southern states to this federal mandate.
Rather than desegregate white-only land-grant institutions, Southern states created separate public institutions for Black students, known today as the 1890 land-grant HBCUs.
Connecting the legislative text to the actual historical consequence reveals why public land-grant HBCUs were established.

Key Concept

The role of the Second Morrill Act of 1890 in funding and founding public historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) under the legal framework of segregation.
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Topics

Black Education, HBCUs, and Philosophical Debates

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