Trade Development in American Cities

Lesson correlates with National Business Education Association National Standards for Business Education, 1995, Reston, Virginia.

Standard I: Awareness.

Achievement Standard: Explain the role of international business and analyze its impact on careers and doing business at the local, state, national, and international levels.

A. Role and Impact

Level 3 (Secondary) Performance Expectations: Explain the role of international business at local, regional, and national levels.

Trade Development in American Cities

TIME REQUIRED: Two 50-minute class periods

RECOMMENDED GRADE: Grades 11-12

MAJOR CONCEPTS:

Why countries trade.

Why countries engage in specialization.

Theories of comparative and absolute advantage.

Impact of international trade on the local community, the state, and the nation.

Definitions of barter and economies of scale.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES: The students will:nbsp;

Trace the historical significance of trade in the location of four majorAmerican cities, including geographical location, industrialization, socialization, and development of transportation and communication.

Relate the concept of specialization to the development of trade, markets and natural resources the four major American cities.

Explain how comparative and absolute advantage have promoted the growth and development of these four major American cities.

Demonstrate how trade, specialization, and comparative and absolute advantage have impacted on each of these four American cities in their efforts in international trade. Use terms related to trade, such as barter,economies of scale.

MATERIALS:

United States map, on which students will locate four major cities, such as Denver CO, Detroit MI, New York NY, San Francisco CA, Charleston SC, Miami FL, Dallas TX, Pueblo CO, Tulsa OK, Sacramento CA, New Orleans LA, Anchorage AL, St. Louis MO, or other cities relevant to the students' area. Cities and/or rural areas may be added to the map as needed. Rivers and ports may be added.

Handout A-1. This handout will require the student to research information, which may be found in a school library or on the Internet, if access is available.

RATIONALE: A brief history of the development of trade from early England and Europe, might explain how castles were self-sufficient (in theory) until they found a surplus of craftsmen of one particular skill, and a deficit of another. Trade began by trading the craftsmen. Specialization allowed them to trade the products and reap the benefits of economies of scale.By producing greater quantities of goods, cheaper than trading partners, there existed the absolute advantage (the ability to produce a good using fewer resources than another country) or comparative advantage (the ability to of a country to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than another country).
The castles continued to have a surplus or a deficit of craftsmen skilled in the ideal variety of needed skills. It was necessary for craftsmen to move to locations which would provide access to their natural resources, access to their markets, and access to transportation which would allow them to reach other markets. Thus, industrial areas developed--and became cities.

PROCEDURE:

Ask students what castle-produced products they can think of which would be examples of early trade. (clothing, wine, armor, leather products, firewood, building supplies, etc.)

Ask students what natural resources would be necessary for some of these products (land, leather, lumber, stone, metal ores, water, textile producing animals and produce, etc.)

Point out that in the United States, as a developing nation, cities were located in relation to the same inputs to production: land, labor, capital, and natural resources. The decision to locate cities close to sea harbors and river transportation was a major consideration in an extremely large country and far from established trade routes.

Ask students to name factors which may have caused particular cities to be located where they are.

Assign students to work in groups to complete this assignment. Each group should choose four cities, a seaport, a highly industrialized city, a centrally located city, and any other city of their choice. For each chosen city/area the students should identify an exportable good, recognizable in international markets.

EVALUATION: Upon completion of the Handout A-1 have groups present the importance of international trade to the four cities/areas chosen by their group, and compare findings with other groups.
Have each individual student write a paragraph on how their community is affected by international trade, what exports originate from their city/area, what imports are used daily by their family, and if they know of a comparative (or absolute) advantage the United States has, in the production of an exported good.

AUTHOR: Rosemary Piserchio, College of San Mateo, San Bruno, CA.

EDITORS: Les Dlabay, Lake Forrest College, Wildwood, IL.
Robert Ristau, Eastern Michigan University (ret.), Ypsilanti, MI.

Click here to download Microsoft Word version of the plan including handouts.

*TIME REQUIRED:*	Two 50-minute class periods
*RECOMMENDED GRADE:*	Grades 11-12
*MAJOR CONCEPTS:*	Why countries trade. Why countries engage in specialization. Theories of comparative and absolute advantage. Impact of international trade on the local community, the state, and the nation. Definitions of barter and economies of scale.
*INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES:*	The students will:nbsp; Trace the historical significance of trade in the location of four majorAmerican cities, including geographical location, industrialization, socialization, and development of transportation and communication. Relate the concept of specialization to the development of trade, markets and natural resources the four major American cities. Explain how comparative and absolute advantage have promoted the growth and development of these four major American cities. Demonstrate how trade, specialization, and comparative and absolute advantage have impacted on each of these four American cities in their efforts in international trade. Use terms related to trade, such as barter,economies of scale.
*MATERIALS:*	United States map, on which students will locate four major cities, such as Denver CO, Detroit MI, New York NY, San Francisco CA, Charleston SC, Miami FL, Dallas TX, Pueblo CO, Tulsa OK, Sacramento CA, New Orleans LA, Anchorage AL, St. Louis MO, or other cities relevant to the students' area. Cities and/or rural areas may be added to the map as needed. Rivers and ports may be added. Handout A-1. This handout will require the student to research information, which may be found in a school library or on the Internet, if access is available.
*RATIONALE:*	A brief history of the development of trade from early England and Europe, might explain how castles were self-sufficient (in theory) until they found a surplus of craftsmen of one particular skill, and a deficit of another. Trade began by trading the craftsmen. Specialization allowed them to trade the products and reap the benefits of economies of scale.By producing greater quantities of goods, cheaper than trading partners, there existed the absolute advantage (the ability to produce a good using fewer resources than another country) or comparative advantage (the ability to of a country to produce a good at a lower opportunity cost than another country). The castles continued to have a surplus or a deficit of craftsmen skilled in the ideal variety of needed skills. It was necessary for craftsmen to move to locations which would provide access to their natural resources, access to their markets, and access to transportation which would allow them to reach other markets. Thus, industrial areas developed--and became cities.
*PROCEDURE:*	Ask students what castle-produced products they can think of which would be examples of early trade. (clothing, wine, armor, leather products, firewood, building supplies, etc.) Ask students what natural resources would be necessary for some of these products (land, leather, lumber, stone, metal ores, water, textile producing animals and produce, etc.) Point out that in the United States, as a developing nation, cities were located in relation to the same inputs to production: land, labor, capital, and natural resources. The decision to locate cities close to sea harbors and river transportation was a major consideration in an extremely large country and far from established trade routes. Ask students to name factors which may have caused particular cities to be located where they are. Assign students to work in groups to complete this assignment. Each group should choose four cities, a seaport, a highly industrialized city, a centrally located city, and any other city of their choice. For each chosen city/area the students should identify an exportable good, recognizable in international markets.
*EVALUATION:*	Upon completion of the Handout A-1 have groups present the importance of international trade to the four cities/areas chosen by their group, and compare findings with other groups. Have each individual student write a paragraph on how their community is affected by international trade, what exports originate from their city/area, what imports are used daily by their family, and if they know of a comparative (or absolute) advantage the United States has, in the production of an exported good.
*AUTHOR:*	Rosemary Piserchio, College of San Mateo, San Bruno, CA.
*EDITORS:*	Les Dlabay, Lake Forrest College, Wildwood, IL. Robert Ristau, Eastern Michigan University (ret.), Ypsilanti, MI.
Click here to download Microsoft Word version of the plan including handouts.