Overview:
The set of lessons contained within “The 1862 Moment” provides students with a historical foundation to understand the creation and passage of Morrill Act of 1862 at a key political moment in US history. After completing the lessons, students will be equipped to critique the legacy of the Morrill Act, understand the role of land-grant institutions today, and reflect on the responsibilities all land-grant institutions have to tribal nations.
Context of 1862:
The year 1862 marks a significant moment in American Indian history, US colonization, and Indigenous dispossession. While 1862 often strikes a chord with historians, given its temporal significance to the US Civil War, often overlooked are key land policies and events that unfolded during the spring and summer of 1862.
The modules contained here bring together the fields of American Indian studies, history, and environmental studies to tease out the interconnected nature of federal land policy and Indian policy at this particular temporal moment. Through this set of modules, you will be exposed to multiple mechanisms and modes of Indigenous dispossession, specifically those that simultaneously contributed to the US empire through agriculture, education, and railroads.
These modules move beyond the Morrill Act, also of 1862, to provide a critical framework for thinking about how a larger network of systems worked in tandem to move American Indian land away from tribal communities and into private property, at the individual, corporate, state, and federal levels. While intended for an audience that is familiar with the Morrill Act and basic US and American Indian history, our modules do provide scalable content for both introductory and advanced learners. In particular, our modules ask learners to consider how larger US polities and events that unfolded during 1862 were both informed by and contributed to subsequent land policies, including Indian policy, and Indigenous dispossession.
Resources:
Homestead Act
Homestead Act PowerPoint: View PowerPoint Here
Homestead Act Teaching Guide: View Guide Here
Recommended Readings:
- Chapter 1 “Land of Loss and Survival: The Homestead Act of 1862 and the U.S.-Dakota War.” In Keeler, Kasey R. American Indians and the American Dream: Policies, Place, and Property in Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press, 2023. Read Chapter Here
- Freund, Jacob. “The Homestead Act of 1862: The First Entitlement Program.”JOW. 52, 2 (2013): 16-21. Read Article Here
- Billings, Roger D. “The homestead act, pacific railroad act and Morrill act.” Northern Kentucky Law Review. 39 (2012): 699. Read Article Here
Morrill Act
Morrill Act Powerpoint: View PowerPoint Here
Morrill Act Teaching Notes: View Notes Here
U.S. Dakota War
U.S. Dakota War Powerpoint: View PowerPoint Here
U.S. Dakota War Teaching Notes: View Notes Here
Recommended Readings:
- Chapter 1, “Homelands” In Westerman, Gwen, and Bruce M. White. Mni sota makoce: The land of the Dakota. Minnesota Historical Society, 2012. Read Chapter Here
- Chapter 5, “Reclaiming Minnesota” In Westerman, Gwen, and Bruce M. White. Mni sota makoce: The land of the Dakota. Minnesota Historical Society, 2012. Read Chapter Here
- Phillips, Katrina M. ““As They Have Formerly Done”: Unraveling the Entanglements at Historic Fort Snelling.” In Parks Stewardship Forum, vol. 39, no. 3. 2023. Read Article Here
Subsequent Land Grants
Subsequent Land Grants Powerpoint: View PowerPoint Here
Subsequent Land Grants Teaching Notes: View Teaching Notes Here
Recommended Readings:
- Lee, John Michael, and Samaad Wes Keys. “Land-grant but unequal: State one-to-one match funding for 1890 land-grant universities.” APLU Office of Access and Success publication 3000-PB1 (2013). Read Report Here
- Tomar, Dave. & Barham, James. The History of HBCUs in America. Academic Influence. https://academicinfluence.com/inflection/college-life/history-of-hbcus-in-america Read Article Here
- Hess, Corrinne. “UW-Madison to cover full cost of college for Native students from Wisconsin tribes.” Wisconsin Public Radio, December 18, 2023. https://www.wpr.org/diversity-and-inclusion/uw-madison-cover-full-cost-college-native-students-wisconsin-tribes#:~:text=Beginning%20in%20fall%202024%2C%20the,recognized%20Indigenous%20tribes%20in%20Wisconsin. Read Article Here
- Bombardieri, Marcella. & Horwedel, Dina. “For Native Americans, Tribal Colleges Tackle the ‘Present-Day Work of Our Ancestors.” Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/for-native-americans-tribal-colleges-tackle-the-present-day-work-of-our-ancestors/ Read Article Here
- Second Morrill Act of 1890. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/second-morrill-act-1890/ Read Source Here
Key Concepts for Understanding Expropriation of Indigenous Land in Wisconsin and Beyond
Key Concepts for Understanding Expropriation of Indigenous Land in Wisconsin and Beyond,” provides key concepts as well as historical moments for understanding the histories behind Land Grant Universities and whose land was granted. This PPT also includes some short activities for students as well as resources for further study.
Key Concepts PowerPoint: View PowerPoint Here