Supply or Demand Shifts in American History

Start with the salt market table, then graph with the Gold Rush sheet. Use the shifts sheet as review and the scarcity sheet for discussion.

Tell which curve shifted for events from the cotton gin to the telegraph and how prices moved. The directions on the page read: Read the box. For each event, name the market it changed, write S or D for the curve that shifted, R or L for right or left, and Up or Down for the price. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 8th grade Economics and Money, and it works the same at home or at school. At home, a student can work through it alone and then go over it with you, which shows quickly what is solid and what needs another look. In class it works as independent practice, homework or a warm-up, and you can print one copy or a full set.

A shortage is when buyers want more than sellers offer at a price. The salt market sheet finds the shortage at each price after the Union blockade cut supply.

Buyers want more than sellers will offer, so there is a shortage. The price controls sheet finds the shortage at a $30 ceiling on a sample graph.

A change in a good's own price moves buyers and sellers along the curves. A change in a shifter, such as new technology, moves the whole curve.