On January 19, 1869, a certified copy of the act passed January 16 by the Tennessee legislature designating the university (then East Tennessee University) as the recipient of the land-grant endowment of the Morrill Act of 1862 was presented to the board of trustees, and the trustees voted to accept the act as an amendment to the charter of the institution.
The institution had to meet a number of requirements. The Morrill Act required instruction in agriculture, the mechanic arts, and military tactics. The Morrill Act also prohibited the use of the endowment or interest from it for “the purchase, erection, preservation, or repair of any building or buildings.” The Tennessee Act designating the university as the recipient of the endowment additionally required (1) selection of three students from each Tennessee county to be granted free tuition to the state agricultural college, with preference being given first to “the children of deceased federal soldiers; second, to children of those who lost their lives because of their loyalty; and third, to those who excel in public schools”; (2) that the university have buildings to accommodate 275 students; (3) that the institution own two hundred acres of land suitable for the agricultural college; (4) that the university own property worth at least $125,000; (5) that the institution use profits from the sale of crops grown on the agricultural land to pay the “necessary expenses of students in indigent circumstances”; (6) that all physically able students had to work on the farm, but not exceeding two hours per day except as punishment; (7) restructuring of the board of trustees to provide statewide representation by adding three members from Middle and West Tennessee and by adding the governor, secretary of state, and state superintendent of public instruction as ex officio members; (8) that East Tennessee University “foster, encourage, and inculcate loyalty to both the state and national governments, as well as in the general administration of the institution.”
The Tennessee Act additionally contained two prohibitions: (1) racial exclusion, but provided that the trustees should make “such provisions as may be necessary for the separate accommodation or instruction of any persons of color, who may be entitled to admission”; and (2) institutional control “in the interest of any particular sect or religious denomination whatever.”