Overview

The lure of the land for farming and hunting led men like Daniel Boone to bring their families across the Appalachian Mountains to places now known as Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Tennessee. The earliest of these pioneer families traveled by horseback on narrow trails, and they could only transport items by packhorse. Some drove a few cows and hogs with them, and some put chickens in baskets and tied them to the packhorse. A cherished piece of silver or china would be carefully wrapped for the journey. If space permitted, a spinning wheel, small chair, or chest might also make the trip. Waiting at the end of the long, difficult journey was a plot of land covered with trees and the hope of building a new and better life.

The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand that early pioneer-farm families demonstrated many of the traits and behaviors we associate with entrepreneurs today. The lesson also helps students see how early farms changed from relatively self-sufficient, independent economic units to interdependent economic units as more settlers arrived and villages were established.

Teaching Activity

Introduction
Ask students why a family would leave their home in a town or village and move across the Appalachian Mountains on horseback to a wilderness land without stores, houses, or cleared land, with Native Americans who wanted to keep them out. (Possible answers: adventure, hope for a better life, cheap land, more economic opportunities, etc.)

Inform students that when families went West, they had to think of what it would take to set up a new farm. They had to have enough productive resources (that which is required to produce the goods and services people want) to survive in the new land. Explain the three kinds of productive resources: human resources (labor and people), natural resources (the "gifts" of nature such as land, timber, etc.), and capital resources, also called capital goods (equipment, tools, wagons, etc.).

To help students understand these and other concepts used in this lesson, ask them to imagine they are building a modern house. Ask the following questions:

• What human resources do you need to build a house? (carpenters, plumbers, etc.)
• What natural resources do you need? (land, timber, field stones, etc.)
• What capital resources do you need? (bulldozer, shovels, trucks, etc.)
• Will all of the workers perform the same job? (No, each worker performs the job he or she is trained to do. This is division of labor.)
• In what areas might you have a scarcity (the condition of not being able to have all the goods and services you need)? (Answers will vary.)
• If the glass factory closes, will that affect building your house? (Yes.) What would the effect be? (May not be able to purchase windows, mirrors, etc., or it might take longer to receive them.)
• What economic term describes the impact the glass factory closing has on your house? (Interdependence — the mutual dependence on others for goods and services that occurs because of specialization.)

Objectives Students analyze the farm as an economic unit. Students understand the economic concepts of scarcity, human resources, natural resources, capital resources, and interdependence as applied to pioneer farms. Students understand and discuss the entrepreneurial traits and behaviors of pioneer farmers. Students describe how the early farm shifted from a self-sufficient, independent economic unit to an interdependent economic unit. Time Required 2-3 class periods Materials Handout 1 -- Economics and Early Farms Handout 2 -- Traits and Behaviors of a Successful Entrepreneur 3x5 index cards Sawhorse or small narrow table Pillowcases

Activity 1
Divide students into groups of four to five. Groups may be larger if you want them to represent different-size families. Groups may want to establish family roles — father, mother, son, etc. This is not necessary for the activity, but roles may make the activity more interesting for students.

Tell students to imagine they are among the first families moving to the wilderness west of the Appalachian Mountains. Their new home will be a plot of land covered with trees. In order to build a new life and a new farm, they must make important decisions about what to bring before they leave. Remind them that everything will be transported by packhorse. Instruct groups to brainstorm, then list the items their families will bring and the reasons for their choices. Each group should share their list and explain the reasoning behind their choices.

A good visual for this activity is a sawhorse or small narrow table which represents the packhorse. Paper bags or pillowcases can be used to represent saddlebags. Have students bring in some of the items they are going to take and see how much they can load onto the "packhorse." (A math connection would be to find out how much a packhorse can actually carry and calculate how many horses it would take to carry the family possessions.)

Ask students to complete Handout 1, Economics and Early Farms. Afterwards, discuss their answers and reasoning.

Activity 2
Explain to the class that pioneer farmers and their families were entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are individuals willing to undertake new and risky ventures in search of profits and a better life. Distribute Handout 2, Traits and Behaviors of a Successful Entrepreneur, to the class. Once completed, have a few students share their lists and examples with the class.

Activity 3
Explain to students that as families continued to move west, villages and towns developed. Farm families no longer needed to produce all of their goods. The farm began to change from a self-sufficient economic unit to an interdependent economic unit.

Give each family group a 3x5 index card. Have the students list on the card a good or service their farm produces that can be bartered for something they want or need. Decide ahead of time whether you want it to be general (chickens, corn, milling, etc.), or specific (five chickens, three sacks of corn, etc.). Also, decide who will do the bartering, one member of the family or the family as a whole. Students should list each exchange they make on the back of the card (e.g., one sack of corn for one chicken, one ham for milling a sack of grain, etc.). Set a time limit. When bartering is complete, have the students share their transactions with the class. Discuss the activity and ask students the following questions:

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a self-sufficient, independent economic unit?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of being an interdependent economic unit?

Extension Activities

• Have students visit a farm in your area and interview the owner. How does a modern farm specialize? How is it interdependent?
• Invite a local farmer, county agent, or a representative from an agricultural group to talk to your class.
• Have students research early farm life in your area.