Economic Democracy — A Two-Year Integrated Sequence

Design Principles

·Depth over breadth: fewer topics, examined repeatedly across time

·Then ↔ Now: every historical unit culminates in a contemporary parallel

·Power first: institutions, markets, and incentives drive events

·Citizenship as practice: students deliberate, decide, and reflect

·Economic literacy for everyone: not just future elites

·Students as actors: not passive test-takers, but future participants

	Unit	Historical Anchors & Key Figures	Contemporary Bridge
Unit 1	Economic Democracy Begins Power, Markets, and the Founding	Colonial economy · Revolution · Articles of Confederation · Constitutional Convention · Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, Washington, Franklin, Paine Performance task: Place founders on the matrix. Defend which vision dominates the U.S. today.	Federal vs. state power · Central banks · National debt · Regulation
Unit 2	Expansion, Labor, and Exclusion Who Got Opportunity — and Who Didn't	Westward expansion · Slavery and the plantation economy · Indigenous dispossession · Early labor systems · Immigration waves Performance task: Role-play on immigration and labor policy across eras.	Immigration debates · Labor rights and gig work · Racial wealth gaps
Unit 3	Industrial Capitalism & Corporate Power Robber Barons, Workers, and the State	Industrial Revolution · Railroads, steel, oil · Trusts and monopolies · Labor movements Carnegie, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, J.P. Morgan Performance task: Should the government break up Big Tech? Use Gilded Age precedents.	Big Tech and platforms · Antitrust debates
Unit 4	Crisis, Reform, and the Role of Government The New Deal as a Turning Point	Great Depression · New Deal programs · Keynesian economics · Labor protections Performance task: Design a crisis response package. Compare 1930s vs. today.	Pandemic response · Economic stimulus · Debt and deficits

	Unit	Historical Anchors & Key Figures	Contemporary Bridge
Unit 5	Globalization, Finance, and Market Power From Factories to Capital	Postwar economy · Deregulation · Financialization · Trade and globalization Keynes, Friedman, Piketty, Marx (selectively) Performance task: Debate — Markets vs. government in managing the economy.	Global supply chains · Inflation and interest rates
Unit 6	Technology, Platforms, and Attention Who Controls the Digital Economy	Internet rise · Software and platforms · Media consolidation Gates, Jobs, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Andreessen, Thiel Performance task: Analyze your social media feed as an economic system.	Algorithmic influence · Network effects · Data as power
Unit 7	Artificial Intelligence, Work, and the Future Automation and Human Agency	Automation precedents · Labor transitions Sam Altman, Jensen Huang, Timnit Gebru Performance task: Role-play — Who should control AI?	Innovation vs. displacement · Ethics and bias · Regulation lag
Unit 8	Citizenship, Rights, and Belonging Who Gets a Voice?	Voting rights expansions · Civil rights movement · Immigration law Performance task: Design a modern citizenship framework.	Voting access · Worker status · Immigration debates
Unit 9	Wealth, Philanthropy, and Redistribution What Do the Powerful Owe?	Progressive Era · Taxation · Social insurance Buffett, MacKenzie Scott, Raworth, Mazzucato Performance task: Wealth responsibility role-play.	Inequality · Redistribution · Public vs. private solutions
Unit 10	Media, Narrative, and Democratic Power Who Shapes How We Understand the Economy?	Yellow journalism · Radio & TV · Modern media Maddow, Carlson, Rogan, Klein, Colbert, Shapiro Performance task: Place media figures on the matrix and defend.	Narrative power · Trust and legitimacy · Polarization

Capstone — Economic Democracy in Practice

Final Task Options

Students choose one of three culminating projects:

Design an economic reform proposal — financially plausible, politically defensible, historically grounded
Interview community members and map their economic worldviews on the Power–Democracy–Economy matrix
Create a public guide: "How the Economy Actually Works" — written for a general audience

Final reflection: Where do you sit in this system — and how do you want to participate?

Why This Sequence Works

Required Content

Covers U.S. History, Government, and Economics standards across both years without sacrificing depth.

Conceptual Continuity

The same two-axis framework threads through every unit — students return to it with greater sophistication each time.

Civic Preparation

Prepares students for work, entrepreneurship, and participation — treating them as future actors, not passive test-takers.

Full Tension

Every unit holds the full ideological range. Students never see only one side of a debate. Disagreement is the curriculum.

Economic DemocracyA Two-Year Integrated Sequence

Economic Democracy
A Two-Year Integrated Sequence