
Grades 6-8, 9-12
Economic Literacy Colorado Presents: Personal and Corporate Debt
Presenter: Jay LeBlanc
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Your students will consider the following questions: In deciding to secede from the Union in 1861, did the South violate its own self-interest and thus disprove the basic economic principle that people seek to further their self-interest in the decisions they make? To get at the question, each student will assume the role of an ardent secessionist. Acting in this role, the students will apply principles of economic reasoning and use a decision grid to weigh the benefits and costs of the South's effort to create a new nation in which slavery and state's rights would forever be guaranteed by law.
In light of the clear economic advantages held by the North at the start of the Civil War, it seems in retrospect that the South’s decision to secede from the Union flies in the face of the economic principle that people seek to further their own self-interest in the decisions they make. Historical sources clearly show the North’s advantages, including a larger population, more railroads, more farms, more financial institutions and a stable central government. Confederate wealth was largely held in the form of slaves and land; this wealth was controlled by approximately 10% of the South’s population.
The students will examine information about the North and the South as both sides moved toward war, comparing and contrasting the advantages and disadvantages each side faced. They will also explore certain alternatives proposed before the war to eliminate slavery, considering the costs and benefits of each alternative. These analyses will help them evaluate the South’s decision to secede.
Working with the PACED Decision Model and the decision grid, the students will discover that the decision to secede was indeed motivated by what Southerners believed to be their self-interest. The students then analyze the opportunity cost involved in the Confederacy’s actions.
Answers to Handout 1:
*For larger classes, the teacher may want to assign some of the economic consequence perceptions to more than one group.
For additional economics lessons on the Civil War see United States History: Eyes on the Economy, Vol. 1, Unit 8, Lessons 1 and 2.
Grades 6-8, 9-12
Presenter: Jay LeBlanc
Grades 9-12
Presenter: Chris Cannon
Grades 9-12
Presenter: Julie Heath
Grades 9-12
Presenter: Julie Heath