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Family budget activity

This activity is designed to provide students with real-world application of classroom curriculum. Students will be required to make budgeting decisions in the light of inflation, unemployment, and other unforeseen additions or strains to the family budget.

Format: lesson plan (grade 10 Social Studies)

By beth carroll.

Confederate currency: An inflation simulation

Using primary sources from the Documenting the American South collection, this lesson provides a brief simulation of inflation during the Civil War while introducing students to issues faced on the home front.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Lewis Nelson.

Paper money in the Civil War

In North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction, page 6.5

The Confederate government and the states issued paper money during the Civil War -- a great deal of it, and in many forms. This article includes some examples of North Carolina's paper money, and explains the effect of paper money on prices.

Format: article

North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction

Primary sources and readings explore North Carolina during the Civil War and Reconstruction (1860–1876). Topics include debates over secession, battles and strategies, the war in North Carolina, the soldier's experience, the home front, freedom and civil rights for former slaves, Reconstruction, and the "redemption" of the state by conservatives.

Format: book (multiple pages)

"No one has anything to sell"

In North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction, page 6.8

Diary of Julia Johnson Fisher, a Georgia woman, in March and April 1864, in which she describes the difficulty finding food and other necessities during the Civil War. Includes historical commentary.

Format: letter

The value of money in colonial America

In Colonial North Carolina, page 6.5

This article explains the many kinds of money that circulated in colonial America and why it is nearly impossible to say what they were worth "in today's money."

Format: article

By David Walbert.

Whigs and Democrats

In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 11.1

After the War of 1812, the two-party system of Federalists and Democratic-Republicans collapsed, and an era of one-party rule was known as the Era of Good Feelings. But new conflicts arose over the presidency of Andrew Jackson, the Second Bank of the United States, and tariffs, and two new parties, the Whigs and the Democrats, emerged. In North Carolina, the Whigs gained power in the 1830s and began a period of reform.

Format: article

By David Walbert.

Colonial North Carolina

Colonial North Carolina from the establishment of the Carolina in 1663 to the eve of the American Revolution in 1763. Compares the original vision for the colony with the way it actually developed. Covers the people who settled North Carolina; the growth of institutions, trade, and slavery; the impact of colonization on American Indians; and significant events such as Culpeper's Rebellion, the Tuscarora War, and the French and Indian Wars.

Format: book (multiple pages)

The rise of Populism

In North Carolina in the New South, page 7.1

American farmers faced new economic difficulties after the Civil War. In response, they organized to promote cooperation and to defend their interests politically. In the 1890s, they joined with labor unions to create the People's (or Populist) Party.

Format: article

From Caledonia to Carolina: The Highland Scots

In Colonial North Carolina, page 5.5

Many Scots immigrated to North Carolina due to growing population, changing methods of farming, and the defeat of the Highland Scots by English and Scottish forces in 1746. The first organized settlement of Highland Scots was in Cumberland County, where 350 people moved to in 1739.

Format: article

By Kathryn Beach.

Leonidas Polk and the Farmers' Alliance

In North Carolina in the New South, page 7.3

Speech given by Leonidas L. Polk before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, 1890. Polk provided data showing the decline in farmers' wealth since the Civil War, argued that this decline was not the farmers' fault, and asked the Senate to enact laws that would help farmers. Includes historical commentary and explanations of some of the economic principles discussed (including supply and demand).

Format: speech

Commentary and sidebar notes by David Walbert.

Resources on the web

Inflation Calculator

A form that adjusts any given amount of money for inflation, according to the Consumer Price Index, from 1800 to 2007. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: S. Morgan Friedman

Comparative Chronology of Money

A chronology of monetary history and essays on inflation, warfare and financial history, celtic coinage, the Third World and debt, and more. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: University of Exeter

Inflation Conversion Factors for Dollars 1774 to Estimated 2018

Find out how much $10 was worth in 1774 and more. Convert monetary amounts from years past into years present and find out about movie prices, millionaires, government spending, debt and deficits, election costs, minimum wages, congressional pay, and various... (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: Oregon State University

A case study: The inflation rate

Using current data, students interpret rates of fluctuation in the U.S. economy. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 10–12 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Council on Economic Education

Planet Orange

Visit the world of money, providing graphic navigation through the basic concepts of value and cost. (Learn more)

Format: website/activity

Provided by: ING Direct

The CPI- A Crystal Ball?

Students read and analyze the information on a web site to learn about the Consumer Price Index. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 10–12 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Council on Economic Education

EconEdLink

EconEdLink maintains a large library of online economics lessons for K-12 teachers and their students, and provides essential information about creating economics lesson plans for teachers who are new to the field. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: National Council on Economic Education

A case study: Productivity

Students explore the economic concept of productivity by examining current statistics and a wide range of backgound materials. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 10–12 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Council on Economic Education

The Wizard of Oz visits Japan

This EconomicsMinute examines the extent to which the deflationary “wizard” can be expected to influence economic prosperity in Japan at the dawn of the twenty-first century. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 Social Studies)

Provided by: National Council on Economic Education