U.S. #1206 was issued to honor the role of higher education in the development of the United States. The stamp was issued in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. The stamp also marked the 100th anniversary of the first land grant institutions created in the United States – Michigan State and Pennsylvania State. They were created by a bill submitted by U.S. Representative Justin Morrill and approved by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. The purpose of the land grant institutions as expressed in the legislation is “…without excluding other scientific and classical studies and including military tactic, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life.”