The Price Is Right- Money Simulation

During class this week, we had some interesting discussions, along with a visit from Mr. Busse. The topic of the week: Confederate money and the terrible inflation that occurred in the South. Just to express how awful the inflation got, a pair of shoes was valued at more than $600 and a winter jacket would run you around $1,200.

During Mr. Busse's talk, he told us about how the inflation process works. One way inflation occurs is when there is too much money in circulation, which makes the dollar worth less so the price goes up.

At the beginning of the week, we got a packet of Confederate money, which we found out was not the same throughout the South. For example, North Carolina had a different currency than Georgia, which often made trading and traveling difficult.

Throughout the week, we watched Gone With the Wind and had to face many of the challenges the Southerners had to face. One decision we had to make was whether or not to send our son into battle or to pay off someone to take his spot.

We got to choose from a different set of daughters, all of which had a little something written about them. Some of our daughters went to a ball and met the love of their lives, and some went to a ball and ended up marrying their cousins! Whether we paid $50 or $5 to the cause; all depended on if we were enthusiastic supporters of the Southern cause, or not.

At the end of the week, some of us had spent all of our money on necessities and lived day to day by buying food (such as cornbread, molasses, etc.) and some of us would have been millionaires--if the money would have been worth anything after the war.