Patricia W. Aigner
Thomas Harrison Middle School
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Patricia Aigner is a former social studies teacher for Harrisonburg City Schools. She developed this lesson plan while teaching at Thomas Harrison Middle School. "Industry Under Fire" won a first-place award in the Virginia Council on Economic Education Awards for Middle Education. Patricia currently serves as K-5 technology coordinator for Harrisonburg City Schools.
Katherine H. Richey
Harrisonburg City Schools
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Katherine Richey is a former social studies teacher for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System in North Carolina. She currently works as an educational translator for Harrisonburg City Schools.
Objectives Students learn about the history of tobacco from the Colonial era to present and create a timeline of important events.
Time Required
Materials
www.harrisonburg.k12.va.us/technology/tobacco/tobacco.htmOverview
Most students know very little about the history of tobacco, and they may ask many questions about how it grew to be such a powerful economic force in our country. "Industry Under Fire: The History and Economics of Tobacco" was designed to introduce students to the story of tobacco, the impact of advertising and the media on consumers, the role of government intervention, and the wide range of public opinion. Activities described below cover nine exciting days and introduce students to economics by using a familiar subject that they are concerned about.Teaching Activity
General Knowledge of the Tobacco Industry
Introduce students to the tobacco industry by discussing the important role tobacco has played in the United States. Show students the state seals of Virginia and North Carolina which include tobacco leaves, and ask them to comment on the seals. Lead them in a conversation about the historical importance and the known dangers of tobacco. After this brief discussion, introduce Leaves of Gold, the Story of Tobacco, a History Channel documentary film. Include an overview of some of the economic terminology that is used in the film, e.g., monopoly and government regulations. During the film, pause so students can create a timeline of events. Afterwards, discuss Handout 1, History and Economics Notes.Survey
List the following terms on the board: family, advertising, lawsuits, trade, government intervention, and health. Assign students into cooperative groups of four. Each group should choose a recorder, timekeeper, motivator, and leader. Ask students to develop questions for adults about tobacco. Use the terms listed on the board to engage students in brainstorming. After 20 minutes, ask groups to read their questions aloud. Record questions on the overhead and choose the best ones to create a "Yes/No Survey" in a spreadsheet format. Assign students to give the survey to three adults as part of their homework.Next, ask students to respond to the same tobacco survey they administered to adults. Using spreadsheet software and a projection system, record adult and student data in the survey's yes/no fields and display the information for the class. Then create a bar graph with the adult responses to the tobacco survey. Ask students to analyze the height of the bars and discuss the importance of the data. Then add student responses to the bar graph. Ask the class to compare adult responses to student responses and discuss the comparison.
(Bar graph hint: Use a horizontal bar graph so questions will be easy to read.)
Political Cartoons
Show students a political cartoon and discuss the component parts. Ask student pairs to interpret tobacco-industry political cartoons on the lesson's Web site and record their results on paper. Then discuss their responses as a class. Next class period, quickly review the components of political cartoons using an overhead and sample cartoon; then brainstorm ideas for political cartoons with the class. Possibilities include tobacco monopolies, government intervention, lawsuits, health concerns, and more. Ask students to create rough drafts of political cartoons in class and complete final drafts for homework. This is a great opportunity to display student cartoons in the classroom or hallway.Advertising
Lead a discussion on advertising and the tobacco industry using copies of magazine and newspaper ads. Students should discuss the intent of the advertising, its factual content (if any), and its intended audience. Ask student pairs to go to the lesson's Web site and answer questions on historical tobacco advertisements.Supply and Demand
Using a textbook with good illustrations, introduce students to supply and demand curves. Ask students to go the lesson's Web site and answer the economic questions on tobacco advertising, supply and demand, and health issues. If time allows, ask students to draw supply and demand curves incorporating subsidies.Conclusion
It is important for students to understand how and why the tobacco industry grew to be an international economic force. This unit introduces students to economic theory while allowing them to evaluate advertising and the media, government policy, public opinion, and personal opinion on the tobacco industry. The Internet provides students access to relevant information. This lesson provides students the opportunity to practice using the Internet and to learn about economics.
Automatic Stabilizer Programs that automatically adjust payments as total income changes.
Competition A business rivalry between two or more persons or firms contending for the same customers or markets.
Demand The amount of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to buy at a certain price.
Diversification To invest or deal in various lines of products (e.g., RJR Nabisco).
Equilibrium The special market price where the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied (where the supply line intersects or crosses the demand line).
Government Regulations Laws established by the government for specific industries (e.g., you must be 18 years of age to buy a pack of cigarettes).
Market Economy An economy based on free choice by consumers and producers.
Merger One company gains control of another company by buying more than half the acquired company's stock.
Monopoly A market with only one seller. The single seller makes all of the price, quantity, and quality decisions concerning goods and services.
Supply The amount of goods and services producers are willing and able to offer for sale at a certain price.
History and Economics NotesTobacco arrived in Virginia with the early colonists. Originally, Europeans thought the New World would contain gold, silver, and other valuables that could be sent back home. Once the English discovered that the New World, Virginia in particular, was rich in certain natural resources (trees, fertile soil, etc.) but not gold, their interests in the new Colonies shifted. Colonists attempted to grow all types of crops, one of which was tobacco. Tobacco was transplanted from other British colonies, including Africa and India. The New World provided unlimited space and fertile soil; the tobacco plant flourished in the Southern Colonies.
After the U.S. Civil War, the tobacco industry boomed. North Carolina tobacco farmer and businessman James Buchanan Duke started the boom. Duke was founder of the American Tobacco Company. Duke's business savvy allowed him to quickly control much of the tobacco industry in America. By 1899, he was able to buy out his main rival, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. This purchase gave Duke a virtual monopoly in the tobacco industry. (A monopoly exists when the market has only one seller.) Duke was able to determine the price, quantity, and quality decisions concerning the entire tobacco industry.
Eventually, the U.S. government ended the monopoly of the American Tobacco Trust over the tobacco industry. In years to come, the government began playing a bigger role in regulating the industry. Restrictive regulations, health warnings, and legal battles have affected the tobacco industry greatly. Today the industry faces numerous challenges in the United States.