Inquiries Filed Under:

The Panic of 1837

About the inquiry

Students investigate the compelling question, “How Did Cotton Sow the Seeds of Panic?” Students identify the market forces of demand and supply during the boom and bust of the cotton industry in the United States during the time surrounding the Panic of 1837. They learn how economic and political forces impacted the treatment of enslaved persons in the United States during the lead up to The Panic of 1837. The depth of this inquiry is in the reflection on what role reliance on enslaved people as labor played in the economic growth of the United States. This emphasizes that individual and institutional choices can lead to the exploitation of individuals and groups. This lens is vital to understanding that the choices that students make have far reaching opportunity costs.

Compelling Question

How Did Cotton Sow the Seeds of Panic?

Staging Question

Look and listen to selected sources from the 1619 Project and discuss the differences between a recession and a panic.

Supporting Question

What market forces impacted the demand for cotton in the early 1800s?

Formative Tasks

Students construct a demand and supply T-chart and add examples of demand side market forces to the chart.

Sources

Source A: Capitalism, Desmond, 2019 Source B: America's First Great Recession, Roberts, 2012 Source C: Cotton, cotton trade of the United States, 1884 Source D: Staunton Spectator, 1892

Supporting Question

What market forces impacted the supply of cotton in the early 1800s?

Formative Tasks

Students add examples of supply side market forces to the T chart and summarize findings.

Sources

Source A: Chained Migration, Miles, 2019 Source B: Mississippi cotton gin at Dahomey, 1899 Source C: United States slave trade, 1830 Source D: Cotton picking, Mississippi, 1896 Source E: Cherokee Agency, 1838 Source F: The Native American - 3rd Column, 1839

Supporting Question

How did economic and political factors contribute to the brutality of slavery in the early 1800s?

Formative Tasks

Students construct an annotated timeline that portrays key political and economic changes and their impact on slavery.

Sources

Source A: Cotton in a Global Economy, Dattel, 2017. Source B: The Forced Migration of Enslaved People in the United States, 2011 Source C: The ship GLAD TIDINGS, ,1865 Source D: The History of American Slavery, Rothman, 2015 Source E: Fred Economic Data, St.Louis Federal Reserve

Supporting Question

How did economic and political factors contribute to the Panic of 1837?

Formative Tasks

Students add key political and economic changes and their impact on the Panic of 1837 to annotated timeline from Task 3.

Sources

Source A: New edition of MacBeth. Bank-oh's! Ghost, Clay, E. W. & Robinson, H. R. ,1837 Source B: Morning herald, 1837 Source C: Uncle Sam sick with la grippe Clay, E. W. & Robinson, H. R. ,1837

Summative Performance Task

Argument: How Did Cotton Sow the Seeds of Panic? Construct an argument (e.g., detailed outline, poster, essay) that discusses the compelling question using specific claims and relevant evidence from historical and contemporary sources while acknowledging competing views.

Extension: Compare and contrast the Panic of 1837 and the 2008 Great Recession.

Taking Informed Action

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