The paper discusses how the Rugg social studies materials influenced subsequent social studies curricula and parallel the "New" Social Studies Curricula of the 1960s. Harold O. Rugg, trained as an engineer and, later, as an educational psychologist, developed, promoted, and refined his social studies materials over a 17 year period from 1921-1938. He was assisted by a team of teachers and graduate students at Teachers College, Columbia, in New York. His materials were unique in being: (1) the first nationally developed social studies materials; (2) the first social studies materials developed specifically for junior high school students; and (3) the first curriculum materials to compile data from a diverse team of experts. The materials reached their zenith of popularity in the late 1920s and early 1930s and were frequently revised within those years so that their topical quality would be maintained. Rugg's materials reflected his concern for training students to deal intelligently with the problems of a changing society. Although they have been criticized for being based on insufficient research, their conceptual structure is considered to be excellent. (Author/MK)