The author describes the federal role in the education of gifted and talented children both from a social and a political perspective. The history of federal involvment with the gifted/talented population is depicted within a context of four time periods: the years prior to 1951; the period from 1951 to 1959; the decade from 1960 to 1970; and the years from 1971 to 1980. Among the highlights considered are P.L. 81-507, the National Science Foundation Act (which emphasized development of the sciences and basic research and for the first time focused attention on the needs of the gifted and talented); the National Defense Education Act (which called for the fullest development of the mental resources and technical skills of young men and women, increased talent identification efforts, and provided assistance to educational programs that were vital to national defense); P.L. 91-230, the Elementary and Secondary Education Amendments of 1969 (which expressed concern over lessening national attention to the gifted and talented and voiced an intention that monies under the act be spent for gifted and talented programs); P.L. 93-380, the Education Amendments of 1974 (which included gifted and talented education as part of the Special Projects Act); and the Gifted and Talented Children's Education Act of 1978 (which called for the creation of a combination state formula grant and Commissioner discretionary grant program for gifted and talented education). Section by section analysis of the Gifted and Talented Children's Education Act of 1978 is provided. (SBH)