In 1994, the National Association for Music Education (MENC) adopted nine content standards that have, since that time, helped to standardize curricula for elementary music education and have given curriculum writers a more well-defined goal for their product. The questions then arise: What elements in the history of music education in America led to the adoption of each of the nine standards? After over a century of curricular development, how did MENC determine what was to be included or omitted? The purpose of this article is to analyze the historical development of curriculum for music education in American public schools as revealed through an examination of the elementary music series from a variety of time periods and to describe the significant implementations leading to the nine national standards for music education.