History teaches us that properous advanced national economies like the U.S. share a common institutional framework conducive to creativity, production, and exchange. That institutional framework of individual freedom, rule of law, clearly stated rights to private property, and open competitive markets shapes incentives to encourage material advance. The multiple perspectives approach to historical-scholarship requires viewing events, trends, and developments through a variety of analytical lenses. Often overlooked in traditional history curricula are the insights that the economic way of thinking adds to social, political, and geographic perspectives. Emphasizing the role of institutions, Economic Forces in American History looks at the impact of seven key forces in shaping the development of the United States.

The Foundation for Teaching Economics is pleased to make available to teachers the content outlines, classroom activities, and teacher materials (demonstration videos and lecture presentations) for each of our residential, one-day, and online curricula. Each curriculum topic link on the left connects you to an overview and table of contents. From there, you may: browse the lessons as web pages; access download links for lessons as editable word documents; use live source links to update statistical data; print instructions and student handouts for classroom activities; and, review and prepare for your classroom by reviewing activity videos and powerpoint lectures.