A Land Grant College Comes to Auburn
Original Lecture Date and Time: March 2, 2006, at 4PM
Location: Special Collections & Archives, Ralph Brown Draughon Library
Speaker: J. Wayne Flynt
About the Speaker
J. Wayne Flynt recently retired from his position as Distinguished University Professor at Auburn University and has written numerous books, articles, and reviews on Alabama and Southern history.
About the Lecture
Following the Civil War, Alabama took advantage of the provisions of the Morrill Act, which encouraged the establishment of a land grant college in every state. Tuscaloosa, Florence, and Auburn became embroiled in the political struggle to determine the new school's location. African-Americans, who had a new found political voice, also entered the fray by advocating that the state set aside a portion of the land grant funds to support agricultural education for blacks. Eventually, the legislature selected Auburn and the new land grant school took over the facilities of the East Alabama Male College.