Far from being the lone voice for a new social order, Harold Rugg was one many educators throughout the United States who believed that education should offer more to the American way of life than graduating students with some form of common knowledge, but with little ability to effect necessary change. And in 1934, few Americans would disagree that change was needed. The economic disaster of 1929 continued to cast its long shadow on the American economy. Schools across the land faced closings, and, according to the 1934 proceedings, thousands of teachers held school for months without collecting a paycheck. Drastic times called for drastic measures. In fact, a good portion of the 1934 proceedings of the National Education Association's (NEA) annual meeting was devoted to the notions of unresolved problems and new solutions. This article examines the proceedings of the 1934 annual meeting of the NEA and provides an analysis of the role of Harold Rugg within the context of the organization and the educational milieu, which is central to any understanding of education as a political and social force in the 1930s.