On the silver anniversary of the U.S. Department of Education, participants on all sides of the perpetual debate over the proper role of the federal government in education are taking its survival for granted. The Cato Institute this year issued its customary biennial call for Congress to demolish the department. Based on interviews with some of the major players of the past quarter century and on research going back to the days shortly after the Civil War, in this article, the author tells the story of the department that would not die.