In 1979, the National Education Association saw an ambition of theirs realized with the creation of

In 1979, the National Education Association saw an ambition of theirs realized with the creation of a cabinet-level Department of Education. The records of the NEA suggest that the Association had been campaigning for this development for almost a decade before it came to pass. This item, found in the collection, predates that campaign by 50 years. The Association has long fought for the value of public education, and a federal office devoted to public schools and school teachers was considered an important asset for their cause.