<P> The first universities in the United States were modeled on the liberal curricula of the great English universities and were meant to educate clergymen and lawyers rather than teach vocational skills or conduct scientific research . The U.S. Military Academy, established in 1811, broke the mold of traditional universities and military academies alike by including practical engineering - related subjects in its earliest curricula . By the middle of the 19th century, polytechnic institutes were being founded in increasing numbers to train students in the scientific and technical skills needed to design, build, and operate increasingly complex machines . In 1824, Stephen van Rensselaer established the first American institute granting a bachelor's degree in technical subjects and in the 1850s several Ivy League schools began to offer courses of study in scientific fields . </P> <P> Congressional legislators, recognizing the increasing importance and prevalence of these eastern polytechnic schools, passed the 1862 Morrill Land - Grant Colleges Act providing large grants of land that were to be used toward establishing and funding the educational institutions that would teach courses on military tactics, engineering, and agriculture . Many of the United States' noted public research universities can trace their origins back to land grant colleges . Between 1900 and 1939, enrollments in post-secondary institutes increased from 238,000 to 1,494,000 and higher education had become so available and affordable that a college degree was increasingly required for scientific, engineering, and government jobs that previously only required only vocational or secondary education . </P> <P> After World War II, the GI Bill caused university enrollments to explode as millions of veterans earned college degrees . </P> <P> Great White fleet, Spanish--American War, tanks, machine gun, medicine, chemical weapons, </P>

Which geographic region of the united states gained the most wealth during the industrial era