On July 2, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act, which led to the creation of land grant colleges such as Iowa State. The legislation is on display in the Christian Petersen Art Museum located in Morrill Hall.

The Morrill Act is a two-page document that allowed for 30,000 acres of federal land for each member of Congress from eligible states to create a college for agriculture and science, said Dorothy Schwieder, professor emeritus in history. The revenue would help develop the school but keep schooling affordable for students and their families.

“The Act provided the means by which Iowa State was developed,” Schwieder said.

In 1858, during a time of economic hardship, legislation was drafted to provide a way for a new colleges to be founded that would create more opportunities for low-income students, Schwieder said.

Before the Morrill Act was passed, higher education was available only for the children of privileged families.

“Iowa State was an effort to create a college available for a much larger group of people,” Schwieder said. “It made Iowa State possible and was referred to as ‘the people’s college,’ which farmers could now afford.”

Iowa was the first state to accept the terms of the Act.

Allison Sheridan, program assistant for University Museums, said getting the Morrill Act to Iowa State was not an easy process and took two years of planning to make it work.

“We had to initiate it and we had many hurdles to go through,” Sheridan said.

The National Archives and Records Administration, in Washington, D.C., requires appropriate lighting levels, security, temperature levels and facilities, a special case unit and financial means to display the Morrill Act, Sheridan said.

“Not only do you have to request it, but you have to meet all of the requirements,” Sheridan said. “Personally, I’m a history nerd, but you don’t often get access to a document of this caliber.”

Sheridan recommends students, staff and community to come and see the exhibit.

“It really did open the doors for everyone to go to college,” Sheridan said.

“It was a pivotal moment for higher education.”

The museum features the Morrill Act along with other exhibits that highlight Iowa State’s 150 years of existence. The exhibit is on two floors, with the basement display featuring a classroom of the 1870s.

“It all helps illustrate Iowa State’s history,” Sheridan said. “[The Morrill Act] gave us a boost we needed to become one of the top universities in the nation.”