Free College Education Started With Jefferson, Lincoln

Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln knew a simple concept that seems so hard for Ronald Reagan and generations of Republicans since to understand: When you invest in young people, you’re investing in your nation.

Photo Insert: Lincoln was equally proud of the free and low-tuition colleges he started.

Jefferson founded the University of Virginia as a 100% tuition-free school; it was one of his three proudest achievements, ranking higher on the epitaph he wrote for his own tombstone than his having been both president and vice president, Thom Hartmann Reports revealed.

Lincoln was equally proud of the free and low-tuition colleges he started.

As the state of North Dakota notes: “Lincoln signed the Morrill Act on July 2, 1862, giving each state a minimum of 90,000 acres of land to sell, to establish colleges of engineering, agriculture, and military science. … Proceeds from the sale of these lands were to be invested in a perpetual endowment fund which would provide support for colleges of agriculture and mechanical arts in each of the states.”

Fully 76 free or very-low-tuition state colleges were started because of Lincoln’s effort and since have educated millions of Americans,

Every other developed country in the world knows this, too: Student debt is rare or even nonexistent in most Western democracies. Not only is college free or close to free around much of the developed world; many countries even offer a stipend for monthly expenses like our GI Bill did back in the day.

As mentioned earlier, Thom Hartmann wrote, thousands of American students are currently studying in Germany at the moment for free. Hundreds of thousands of American students are also getting free college education right now in Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic, among others.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic