Julian played an important role in securing passage of the Homestead Act in 1862. To Julian the legislation "was a magnificent triumph of freedom and free labor over slave power." After discovering that the law contained many loopholes that favored land speculators, he introduced measures to correct the situation. Julian was also an outspoken critic of railroad land grants and adamantly opposed the Morrill Act, passed in 1862, that provided federal funds through grants to help establish agricultural and mechanical colleges.