BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Today Museum of the Rockies will release a historical document that historians consider to be a "national treasure."

The document, signed by Abraham Lincoln, enabled legislation that created all the land-grant colleges and universities in the nation, including Montana State University.

Named after Justin Smith Morrill, the Vermont senator who championed the land-grant concept, the act was passed after the first year of the Civil War. It was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on July 2, 1862.

The museum will display The Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862 on exhibit from September 3 to October 2, 2010.

Historians say this document influenced the course of U.S. history and is up there in significance with the Declaration of Indepence, the Constitution, and the Cilvil Rights Act.

Shelley McKamey, dean of the Museum of the Rockies, said in a press release that this is the first time the Museum of the Rockies has hosted a document of this level of national significance.

The press conference will be held at 1:30 today. MSU President Waded Cruzado will be there to discuss the importance of the document to the university.

To find out more on the meaning of land grants click here.