July is the 150th anniversary of one of the most influential pieces of legislation in American education history, the Morrill Act.

FORBES: Happy Birthday to the Morrill Act

The Morrill Act represents a dramatic and necessary change to the face of the American education system by making it much more democratic.

FORBES: Happy Birthday to the Morrill Act

" Justice Kennedy, the court's great middle man, puckishly noted: "The Marshall Plan was very good, too, the Morrill Act, the Northwest Ordinance, but times change.

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In both cases, this involved polygamy among Mormons, first when Lincoln banned bigamy in 1862 (the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act) and again in 1890 when the federal government insisted Utah outlaw polygamy as a condition of becoming a state.

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The act was introduced by Congressman Justin S. Morrill from Vermont and was signed into law on July 2, 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln.

FORBES: Happy Birthday to the Morrill Act