The introduction to this historical survey notes that the Federal educational legislation of 1965--the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act--did not in fact represent the kind of "breakthrough" claimed for these two measures. The Federal government had been involved in educational legislation even before the Morrill Act of 1862 which established the land grant colleges. Moreover, the acts of 1965 were not even a "conceptual breakthrough," for Federal aid began in the early years of the nation. The document presents material on Federal aid before and after 1860. (NH)