Summary: Students will connect events and gain understanding of what triggers financial panics and apply that learning to the Panic of 1893. The guide identifies four common triggers of financial panics: unstable currency, excessive speculation, weakness of the banking structure and regulations, and concern about public finance and government debt. Students will be able to identify causes of financial panics, analyze connections among historical events and among continuity and change, compare documents as evidence, and compile a chart of what triggered the Panic of 1893 and cite their evidence
Overarching Questions:
- ECONOMICS: What is the proper role of government in the economy? (Especially with regard to economic crises, national defense/security, health and safety of the people, and economic development and practices.)
NJ Student Learning Standards for Social Studies:
- 6.1.12.EconEM.5.a: Analyze the economic practices of corporations and monopolies regarding the production and marketing of goods and determine the positive or negative impact of these practices on individuals and the nation and the need for government regulations.
- 6.1.12.EconNE.5.b: Analyze the cyclical nature of the economy and the impact of periods of expansion and recession on businesses and individuals.
Link to Lesson: