The historical evolution of concern for education of gifted students is traced, along with the philosophical tides accompanying that evolution from the 1950s through the 1980s. It is argued that the public is alternatively supportive and antagonistic toward the gifted/talented. Periods of intense concern about their educational welfare are often followed with periods of apathy, antagonism, or lack of concern. The pre-Sputnik 1950s are contrasted with the post-Sputnik 1950s in terms of action on behalf of the gifted. The 1960s are viewed as a decade of turmoil during which large numbers of able students were encouraged to enroll in science programs early in the decade while attention turned to other pressures later, such as school integration, compensatory education, and Vietnam and the disenchantment of youth. The 1970s then saw renewed attention to the gifted, due to federal legislation targeting gifted students and the issuing of the Marland report which documented the deteriorated condition of gifted programs. The 1980s were marked by well-established programs for the gifted/talented in many American schools, educational provisions for underprivileged minorities, and less reliance upon Intelligence Quotients as measures of giftedness. The monograph closes with a "bill of rights" for the gifted. (JDD)