CHAPTER 1
A Brief Economic History of the United States
A. After studying this chapter the student should be able to
1. Summarize America’s economic development in the 19th century.
2. Describe the effect of the Great Depression on our economy and evaluate the
New Deal measures to bring about recovery.
3. Discuss the impact of World War II on our economy.
4. List and discuss the major recessions we had since World War II.
5. Summarize the economic highlights of each decade since the 1950s.
6. Differentiate the “new economy” from the “old economy.”
7. Assess America’s place in history.
B. Ideas for use in class
Getting started
1. Make certain that students have read the book’s two page introduction. It
provides a helpful overview of the textbook format and course content. Also, it
defines micro- and macro-economics, often a distinction that bothers students at
the outset of their economics study.
2. This first chapter sets Slavin’s Economics apart from most other textbooks. It
begins with economic history so that students see how economic institutions
and economic policies have changed over time. Explain the approach to
students, emphasizing:
Students come to the course with varying backgrounds in U.S. history. This
chapter provides everyone with a common level of knowledge necessary for
the remainder of the course.
, In order to understand today’s economic issues, we need to know: Why do
we have our current economic institutions? What policies have been tried in
the past? What worked? What didn’t?
3. Gauge how much your students already know about economic history. Starting
off with a quiz likely will frighten students—and perhaps the results will
distress you, the instructor. Instead, use a creative approach to find out what
students have learned in previous courses and what they still need to learn.
Ask students what questions have puzzled them about the U.S. economy. Prompt
them to use higher level critical thinking questions such as: “How did…?, and
Why would…?, rather than “What is…? And When did…?. (See “Questions for
Critical Thinking in Introduction.)
,If all the questions are about the current economy, prompt students to think historically,
by asking why the current situation arose.
Active learning strategies
1. Students may feel overwhelmed by the names, dates, and events described in
the chapter. Construct a time line which the links between events are
highlighted. For example, the national railroad network, constructed between
1850 and 1890, enabled mass production and mass consumption; the Great
Depression ended only with US entry in World War II; oil price increases
preceded stagflation of the 1970s. There are many more event-pairs described
in the chapter.
Draw a large time line on the board. In teams of two, students receive two pieces
of paper each with one of the two connected events. Ask students to decide
which event came first and its approximate time frame. Students tape the two
pieces of paper on the time line for other students to see and, if necessary,
correct.
2. Break down the chapter’s historical presentation into time periods (for example,
pre-Civil War, reconstruction, and so on). Assign one time period to a group of
four students. Within that group each student has one of the following tasks:
What new terms are presented in the section (define them)?; What was the main
idea in this section?; What questions remain unanswered?; and provide a visual
representation of the ideas in the section (such as a time line or concept map).
For more on activities that divide work and give each student a task.
Because this is a short chapter, work completed in small groups need not be
reported to the entire class; that would be tedious and time-consuming.
C. Homework questions and projects
, 1. For updated summaries and wry commentary on research on economic history
see Brad DeLong’s course and blog http://www.delong.typepad.com.
Extensive further research is possible for this chapter. For overviews see:
“Symposium: Looking Backward at Economics and the Economy” Journal of
Economic Perspectives, 14(1) Winter 2000.
Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the
American Industrial Enterprise.
Robert L. Heilbroner and Aaron Singer, The Economic Transformation of
America: 1600 to the Present.
2. U.S. economic history can be compared with that of other nations. On the
Internet, country by country economic analyses are available at the CIA factbook
at:
http://www.hodci.gov/cia/publications/factbook.
For a provocative historical approach see David Landes, The Wealth and Poverty
of Nations: Why some are so rich and some so poor
For a long-term anthropological approach see Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and
Steel.
3. The chapter presents the U.S. economy as successful in some ways, yet facing
problems in other ways. For an introduction to the debate about the current U.S.
economy—is it half-full or half empty?—see two contrasting views:
For an optimistic view of U.S. economic equality, see Michael Cox, Myths of rich
and poor: why we’re better off than we think.
A Brief Economic History of the United States
A. After studying this chapter the student should be able to
1. Summarize America’s economic development in the 19th century.
2. Describe the effect of the Great Depression on our economy and evaluate the
New Deal measures to bring about recovery.
3. Discuss the impact of World War II on our economy.
4. List and discuss the major recessions we had since World War II.
5. Summarize the economic highlights of each decade since the 1950s.
6. Differentiate the “new economy” from the “old economy.”
7. Assess America’s place in history.
B. Ideas for use in class
Getting started
1. Make certain that students have read the book’s two page introduction. It
provides a helpful overview of the textbook format and course content. Also, it
defines micro- and macro-economics, often a distinction that bothers students at
the outset of their economics study.
2. This first chapter sets Slavin’s Economics apart from most other textbooks. It
begins with economic history so that students see how economic institutions
and economic policies have changed over time. Explain the approach to
students, emphasizing:
Students come to the course with varying backgrounds in U.S. history. This
chapter provides everyone with a common level of knowledge necessary for
the remainder of the course.
, In order to understand today’s economic issues, we need to know: Why do
we have our current economic institutions? What policies have been tried in
the past? What worked? What didn’t?
3. Gauge how much your students already know about economic history. Starting
off with a quiz likely will frighten students—and perhaps the results will
distress you, the instructor. Instead, use a creative approach to find out what
students have learned in previous courses and what they still need to learn.
Ask students what questions have puzzled them about the U.S. economy. Prompt
them to use higher level critical thinking questions such as: “How did…?, and
Why would…?, rather than “What is…? And When did…?. (See “Questions for
Critical Thinking in Introduction.)
,If all the questions are about the current economy, prompt students to think historically,
by asking why the current situation arose.
Active learning strategies
1. Students may feel overwhelmed by the names, dates, and events described in
the chapter. Construct a time line which the links between events are
highlighted. For example, the national railroad network, constructed between
1850 and 1890, enabled mass production and mass consumption; the Great
Depression ended only with US entry in World War II; oil price increases
preceded stagflation of the 1970s. There are many more event-pairs described
in the chapter.
Draw a large time line on the board. In teams of two, students receive two pieces
of paper each with one of the two connected events. Ask students to decide
which event came first and its approximate time frame. Students tape the two
pieces of paper on the time line for other students to see and, if necessary,
correct.
2. Break down the chapter’s historical presentation into time periods (for example,
pre-Civil War, reconstruction, and so on). Assign one time period to a group of
four students. Within that group each student has one of the following tasks:
What new terms are presented in the section (define them)?; What was the main
idea in this section?; What questions remain unanswered?; and provide a visual
representation of the ideas in the section (such as a time line or concept map).
For more on activities that divide work and give each student a task.
Because this is a short chapter, work completed in small groups need not be
reported to the entire class; that would be tedious and time-consuming.
C. Homework questions and projects
, 1. For updated summaries and wry commentary on research on economic history
see Brad DeLong’s course and blog http://www.delong.typepad.com.
Extensive further research is possible for this chapter. For overviews see:
“Symposium: Looking Backward at Economics and the Economy” Journal of
Economic Perspectives, 14(1) Winter 2000.
Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the
American Industrial Enterprise.
Robert L. Heilbroner and Aaron Singer, The Economic Transformation of
America: 1600 to the Present.
2. U.S. economic history can be compared with that of other nations. On the
Internet, country by country economic analyses are available at the CIA factbook
at:
http://www.hodci.gov/cia/publications/factbook.
For a provocative historical approach see David Landes, The Wealth and Poverty
of Nations: Why some are so rich and some so poor
For a long-term anthropological approach see Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and
Steel.
3. The chapter presents the U.S. economy as successful in some ways, yet facing
problems in other ways. For an introduction to the debate about the current U.S.
economy—is it half-full or half empty?—see two contrasting views:
For an optimistic view of U.S. economic equality, see Michael Cox, Myths of rich
and poor: why we’re better off than we think.
