For many centuries, education was only available to the relatively elite classes of society (and then only to the males of that class). When settlers arrived in America in the early 1600s, it was generally agreed upon that education should be offered to nearly everyone - though questions still lingered. The extent to which education should be made available to females, especially above the elementary levels, is just such an example. Today in the United States, education has evolved such that it is considered desirable to provide all children present in the country (citizen or not, handicapped or not) with a basic, free education regardless of gender, race, or ethnic background. Similarly, higher education is available without restrictions to all adults who can both afford it and meet the necessary academic requirements. In an era of globalization, the country's majority maintains that the success of any nation is proportional to the degree to which its inhabitants are educated and thus capable of performing tasks necessary to sustain the economy. records how we have arrived at such a conclusion, amid many conflicts of opinion along the way. Seven appendices are included focusing on topics such as bachelor degrees awarded by gender, ratios of both students to computers and staff members to students in the public school system, the percentage of students age 25 or older who have completed high school or obtained a GED, and the effect of Title IX.