The main purpose of this paper is to examine recurring themes which emerge from past federal programs in early education and to identify potential areas where critical historical research is necessary. The author, after a brief survey of federal involvement in early education from 1933 to 1973, suggests that the historical perspective might provide a critical context for policy decisions in early childhood education if future historical research would shift from a descriptive to an analytic level of inquiry. Numerous examples of such an analytic historical method are provided in the text, along with a variety of suggestions for further historical public policy research, such as the impact of early education on: (1) the lives of American children, (2) the development of the professional organizations, (3) public attitudes regarding early education, and (4) on the development of private institutions of early education. The task ahead for a 'new history' of the federal presence in early education lies not so much in the questions which are raised but in the identification of alternative frameworks which organize the questions in relation to each other. (CS)