Modern Presidents - Foreign
and Domestic Policy
http://www.pbs.org/
wgbh/pages/amex/
presidents/frames/
featured/featured.html
Description: This PBS site has
a wealth of primary material and
overview descriptions of the 
domestic and foreign policy 
of the major 20th c. presidents 
from Teddy Roosevelt to Ronald 
Reagan.
Comments: A teacher's guide 
is available on the page. This 
accompanies the American
Experience film series.
Resource Type: True
Graphics Content: True
 

New Deal Network
http://newdeal.feri.org/
index.htm
Description: The New Deal 
Network includes a database 
of photographs, political 
cartoons, and texts (speeches, 
letters, and other historic 
documents) from the New Deal
period. Every few months new
features are added. These 
include lessons and student
projects.

Resource Type: Mix of Text
and Graphics
Graphics Content: High
 

The Inflation Calculator
http://www.westegg.com/
inflation
Description: This site uses the
Consumer Price Index statistics from the years 1880 to 1994 to allow you to calculate the rate of inflation for that time period. 
It also has a link to the Consumer Price Index Homepage of theBureau of Labor Statistics.
Comments: This site is also
good for government policy 
issues.
Resource Type: Secondary Text
Graphics Content: High
 

United Nations Development 
Programme
http://www.undp.org/
indexalt.html 
Description: The UNDP home 
page has news, statistics and focus areas on such topics as poverty, environmental problems and gender issues in the World. 
Comments: Excellent site for
both teachers and students 
interested in Model United 
Nations and International 
Affairs issues. 
Resource Type: Mix of Text 
and Graphics
Graphics Content: High
 

Virtual Congress
http://ibert.org/
VC/Schedule.html
Description: This project was 
an Internet-based dialog 
among high school government
classes through the U.S. about 
priorities of government, as 
expressed in the Federal 
budget. Students advocated 
and negotiated just as 
Congress does, only online.
Look for new rounds of the
activity in the Virtual Project
and Fieldtrips section of
SCORE.

Resource Type: Other
 

The Department of the 
Treasury - Bureau of Public Debt
http://www.publicdebt.
treas.gov/
Description: Here is Treasury
Department general information and data on notes, security, current rates and policies. The site also has press releases on current changes and proposals.

Resource Type: Mix of Text
and Graphics
Graphics Content: Low
 

U.S. National Debt Clock
http://www.brillig.com/
debt_clock/
Description: Want to know about national debt? Try this and write down the debt amount. Try again it again a minute later and see the difference in the amount.
Comments: You can also play the National Budget Simulation at http://garnet.berkeley.edu.
3333/budget/budget.html
Resource Type: Mix of Text and Graphics
Graphics Content: High
 

Washington Post - Business
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
wp-srv/business/front.htm
Description: This newspaper site has daily business news and stock quotes. It also has investment tips by James K. Glassman and Hoover's Corp. Directory.

Resource Type: Secondary Text
Graphics Content: High

Show Me the Money
http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/
activity/showmoney/
What kind of currency will the world need in the future? Will electronic "money" work or will we still need currency? You decide.
Author: Leanne Westphal
 

Eli Whitney's Patent for the Cotton Gin
http://www.nara.gov/
education/cc/whitney.html
In Article I, Section 8, Clause
8, the Constitution empowers Congress "To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries." This led to the deveopment of patent law. Patent law must carefully balance the rights of the inventor to profit from his or her invention (through the grant of a temporary monopoly) against the needs of society at large to benefit from new ideas. 
Author: Joan Brodsky Schur
 

Federal Monetary Policy
http://www.ny.frb.org/
pihome/educator/
fomcsim.html
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), made up of the seven members of the Board of Governors and the presidents of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks, is the Fed's most powerful monetary policy-making group. Meeting eight times a year, the FOMC discusses current and near-term economic and financial conditions, prior to making a decision to raise, lower or keep short-term interest rates the same. Take part in a mock Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
Author: Federal Reserve Bank of New York
 

How Has the Constitution Shaped the Economic System in the U.S.?
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/
lessons/fecg1.htm
Students find examples from the newspaper of the six characteristics of a market economy as they exist in the U.S. today. Then find how the U.S. Constitution supports those characteristics. Finally, compare the economic provisions of the U.S. Constitution with that of China to understand the difference between a command and a free system.
Author: Focus on Economics in Civics and Government
 

Monetary and Fiscal Policy Simulations
http://www.frbsf.org/econedu/
curriculum/interdl.html
These interactive computer simulations demonstrate how monetary and fiscal policy affect the economy. Players make fiscal and monetary policy decisions, and see what happens to inflation and unemployment as a result. Also, players learn to appreciate how uncertainty makes the task of the policymaker a very difficult one. The simulations are currently only available for Mac. These materials must be downloaded to your computer in order to be used by students. The support materials may be ordered from the Federal Reserve Board.
Author: Federal Reserve Board of San Francisco
 

National Budget Simulation
http://garnet.berkeley.edu:3333/
budget/budget.html
Using the 1995 Federal Budget, learn economic decision making by developing a plan to eliminate the deficit. You will need to make choices and analyze the various political assumptions from which you are making your decisions. Don't forget to check the outcomes of your choices against the current budget. 
Author: Andres Schneiderman and Nathan Newman
 

Prohibition Then - MADD Today
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/
lessons/feusA.htm
Read short histories of Prohibition and Mothers Against Drunk Driving and evaluate each of these policies on consumer behavior.
Author: Focus on Economics: U.S. History
 

Schools for Sale
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/
ecedweek/lesson19.htm
Examine the case for privatizing schools. Learn about public goods, private goods, costs incentives and economic efficiency.
 

Unhappy Returns of Social Security
http://www.fee.org/education/
lessons/9902/dolan.html
The Social Security Act was the centerpiece of the New Deal social programs. Yet, when the first monthly benefit checks were mailed in 1940, few could have predicted its growth from just over 200,000 beneficiaries to a roll of over 43 millionÑabout one beneficiary for every 3.4 workers in the economy. The concept behind Social Security was not only to mandate retirement saving throughout the life of the worker, but to pay a guaranteed income in retirementÑnot from returns on capital investments, but from the pockets of the younger workers. 
Author: Harry Dolan
 

What Are the Economic Functions of Government?
http://ecedweb.unomaha.edu/
lessons/fecga.htm
Governments provide the legal and social framework for the economy of a nation. Citizens, interests groups, and political leaders disagree on how large the scope of government should be. Use the newspaper to discover and discuss what the limits on the economic functions of government should be. 
Author: Focus on Economics in Civics and Government
 

Why the War on Poverty Failed
http://www.fee.org/education/
lessons/9901/payne.html
In the mid-1960s President Lyndon Johnson declared a "war on poverty." Dozens of government programs were created or expanded with the goal of "abolishing poverty." Three decades and over $5 trillion later, the percentage of American's living below the poverty line is greater than when these welfare programs were established and even many activists who once advocated increasing federal assistance to the poor now agree that the attempt has been a failure. What happened? Were the government's efforts simply inadequate to meet a rising tide of poverty? Or was government assistance itself responsible for some of the problem? 
Author: James L. Payne