Message Recorded for the Centennial Convocation of the Association of Land-Grant Colleges and State Universities

In July 1862, in the darkest days of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed two acts which were to help to mold the future of the Nation which he was then struggling to preserve.

The first of these, the Homestead Act, provided, in Carl Sandburg's words, "a farm free to any man who wanted to put a plow into unbroken sod."

The second, the Morrill Act, donated more than one million acres of Federal land to endow at least one university in every State of the Union.

Thus even as the Nation trembled on the brink of destruction the vast lands of the American West were open to final settlement. A new America of unparalleled abundance began to grow, and the most ambitious and fruitful system of higher education in the history of the world was developed. Today more than 68 land-grant institutions located in each of the 50 States and in Puerto Rico are a monument to the visions of those who built the foundations of peace in a time of war. Over one-half of our Ph.D. degrees in science and engineering . are awarded by these schools. Twenty-four out of forty Nobel Prize winners in our country are among their graduates. One-fourth of all high school and elementary teachers and over one-third of our college teachers are their products.

These universities have grown as our Nation's needs have grown. The original endowment called for instruction which emphasized agricultural and mechanized arts, and with their help the strongest agricultural community on earth was built. Today these schools teach subjects ranging from philosophy to science and the conduct of foreign relations--the whole broad spectrum of knowledge upon which the future of this country and freedom depends, and upon which the well-being of Americans who will come after us is so richly intertwined.

In the history of land-grant schools can be read much of the history of our country, a history they have played no small part in shaping. In addition, these schools are one of the finest examples of our Federal system: the fruitful cooperation between National and State Governments in the pursuit of a decent education for all of our citizens. Founded at Federal initiative, strongly supported by Federal funds--funds which were specifically appropriated for instruction rather than the construction of buildings or facilities--these institutions have built a proud tradition of independence and academic integrity untroubled by governmental interference of any kind. They are a monument to the fact that the cooperative effort of Federal and State Governments is the best way to insure an independent educational system of the highest quality.

I congratulate the land-grant colleges on the centennial of their birth. I assure you of my vigorous and continued support. I bring you the thanks of a grateful Nation for what you have done in the past. And I bring you the hope of all of our people that you will continue to light the way for our country and for future generations.