Social studies is a survivor, enduring as a mainstay of the American curriculum for nearly 100 years. Its longevity is not a tribute to its curricular power nor can we credit a cadre of finely trained professionals for maintaining its influence. Rather, social studies' remarkable survival is due to the near-universal acceptance of the idea that this chameleon-like entity allows practitioners to cast and recast its form and substance into whatever shape desired. This flexible-all-inclusive-eclectic nature of social studies stems from its first "official definition" issued in 1916: The social studies are understood to be those whose subject matter relate to the organization and development of human society, and to man as a member of social groups. This report provides a brief history of Social Studies. (Contains 20 endnotes and 2 tables.)