Florida Banking By Michelle LaPointe, Jewett School of the Arts

Transcription

1 Lesson G-11 I. Lesson Summary Florida Banking By Michelle LaPointe, Jewett School of the Arts Summary Florida s banking industry went through many changes in the Decade of Distinction, between 1983 and This lesson will focus on these changes while taking students back in banking s history to Issues such as ongoing deregulation, structural changes, technological advancements, and changing consumer attitudes (all within the framework of a highly volatile economy) will be discussed in this lesson. Objectives Students will: 1.) Design timelines to note periods of bank history that have influenced Florida s presentday banking system; 2.) Read/discuss Bunny Money and use currency to follow along with the money activity; 3.) Meet with a bank representative as a guest speaker (representative will introduce concepts of savings, bonds, and checking accounts; if possible, faux checkbooks will be distributed for students to record checks and withdrawals and to practice writing a check); 4.) Read a story from Trophy s Grade 4 textbook to learn more about the Great Depression; 5.) Write a research paper about this era and how it pertained to Florida banking. U.S. History Event or Era This lesson can be implemented into any unit dealing with the Great Depression, economics, finances, or Florida banking dating from 1913 to the present-day. Grade Level This lesson is appropriate for Grades 3-5; however, it can be adapted to all grade levels. Materials Vocabulary list for banking (located in Activities section); Trophies 4 th -Grade textbook and Teacher s Guide; a list of important early and present-day Florida banking facts; books about banking from the media center; Bunny Money and play money; faux checkbooks and withdrawal/deposit slips; banking resource person from your community; sentence strips for timelines; markers; Monopoly money; transparencies (for Venn diagrams); A Decade of Distinction: Florida Banking by Jim Freer; and an overhead projector. Lesson Time A week of 45-minute blocks to introduce, research, and practice banking techniques.

2 II. Lesson Procedures Procedures Day One 1.) When introducing the lesson, put students in mixed-ability pairs. The lesson will start with vocabulary. Review important key words and develop a timeline to display in front of the room all week to refer back to as history unfolds. 2.) Explain to your students that to understand banking in Florida, the class must go back in time to Florida s history of banking. Pass out sentence strips and markers. Review on overhead transparency the changes in Florida s banking industry since 1913 (see resource books for references). Students record finding s on their timelines with teacher assistance. 3.) Introduce banking vocabulary on a chart, then read Bunny Money as a class. Complete activities with the play money (included in the Activities section) that go along with the book. 4.) Introduce the Great Depression by having students read the story in the Trophies 4 th -grade textbook (for more coverage of the Great Depression in Florida, have students read Great Depression and the New Deal, included in the Activities section). Day Two 5.) Review timeline data and vocabulary from Day One. Introduce the guest speaker from a community bank. The guest speaker will review checks, deposits, withdrawals, and other banking procedures with the students. 6.) Pass out faux checkbooks. Practice writing checking and recording withdrawals. Savings account and bonds will be highlighted to show students the value of saving. Day Three 7.) Review vocabulary from the story in Trophies about the Great Depression. Use Venn diagrams on transparencies to compare and contrast the banking industry in Florida in the early 20 th century, and banking today. Day Four 8.) Re-read Trophies story with a partner aloud. Teacher circulates to hear students read orally. Use Trophies discussion guide to ask questions (see Teacher s Edition). 9.) Pass out Monopoly paper money in individual baggies. Students will practice counting back change from a dollar bill, five-dollar bill, ten-dollar bill, and a twenty-dollar bill. Discuss the value of the dollar today as opposed to the Depression-era dollar ( Bunny Money bills have also been included, in $1 and $5 denominations, in the Activities section). 10.) Use the book A Decade of Distinction: Florida Banking by Jim Freer to review Florida facts about banking from 1913-today. List facts on overhead and refer to timeline as needed (some classes may want to take notes in a Florida history notebook for future reference). Day Five (Assessment) *See the Assessments section!

3 III. Activities Banking Vocabulary Balance Deregulation Economy Great Depression Inflation Interest rates Merger Money market accounts NCNB Profit Recession Stock market Savings & loan Treasury Real estate Banking Vocabulary Balance Deregulation Economy Great Depression Inflation Interest rates Merger Money market accounts NCNB Profit Recession Stock market Savings & loan Treasury Real estate Banking Vocabulary Balance Deregulation Economy Great Depression Inflation Interest rates Merger Money market accounts NCNB Profit Recession Stock market Savings & loan Treasury Real estate Banking Vocabulary Balance Deregulation Economy Great Depression Inflation Interest rates Merger Money market accounts NCNB Profit Recession Stock market Savings & loan Treasury Real estate

4 Florida History of Banking Timeline 1913 The Florida Legislature abolished branch banking. The change permitted each Florida bank to have just one office, making Florida a unit banking state Congress passed the McFadden Act, permitting national banks to establish branches in their home state if state laws gave state-chartered banks the same authority. As a result, Florida became one of several states in which multi-bank ownership was the only way to operate more than one office. This led to growth of the multibank holding companies, a trend that accelerated in the 1960s Congress passed the Glass-Steagall Act, which established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and prohibits banks from owning brokerage firms Congress passed the Bank Holding Company Act, requiring holding companies that control two or more banks to register with the Federal Reserve 1972 The Florida legislature passed a law barring out-of-state banks from buying trust companies in Florida. The law grandfathered Florida trust holdings of NCNB The Florida legislature approved a bill authorizing establishment of a single drive-in or walk-up facility within one mile of the main banking house property The Florida legislature passed a bill permitting limited branch banking. The bill allowed banks to establish statewide branch systems Congress passed the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act, which phased out federal deposit rate ceilings NCNB, using a loophole in the 1972 Florida trust law, acquired First National Bank of Lake City. -Congress passed a deregulatory law that gave institutions increased commercial real estate lending authority. It also permitted banks to offer money market accounts.

5 Great Depression and the New Deal From the Florida Center for Instructional Technology website ( Although there was an economic boom in Florida during the early 1920s, the economy went downhill as the decade came to an end. Two severe hurricanes damaged a large portion of South Florida. The first one hit the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas in the middle of the night, which came as a surprise to many people including tourists. Severe flooding and wind damage crippled the community. The second one hit the Palm Beach area, which caused Lake Okeechobee to flood and drown over 2,000 people in nearby communities. The next disaster occurred when there was an outbreak of the Mediterranean fruit fly in a grapefruit grove near Orlando. These insects quickly spread across the state and killed off most of the citrus crop. Because of a quarantine imposed on all remaining citrus, this was another blow to Florida's economy. These two hurricanes, the crop destruction, and an attempt to recover from the previous wars put a financial burden on Florida. The Great Depression All across the United States, people were facing economic difficulties. By 1929, our country was facing a depression, which is a situation when there isn't any money and there are very few jobs open to the public. "The Great Depression" began when the stock market fell. This was called the Great Stock Market Crash of People who invested their money in stocks began to lose all of their money. They couldn't pay their bank loans or personal bills. In 1931, the Florida State Legislature created a State Racing Commission which legalized betting at both horse and dog racing tracks and at all Jai Alai frontons. When people won money from betting, a tax was taken out of the money. This partially aided the state, but not as much as the legislature planned. After all, people did not have enough money to bet! This idea that the Legislature hoped would pull Florida out of the depression did not work. The depression affected the nation's banks as well. By 1932, many banks had closed their doors. This meant that people lost their savings. Without money, families could not afford a place to live or adequate food to eat. They also couldn't buy goods and services, which meant most businesses had to close as well. Over 12 million people across the U.S. were unemployed at the peak of the depression. In Florida, there were over 90,000 families affected by the depression. During the first years of the Great Depression, Florida's government did little to help people. But the federal government gave help by providing Floridians with financial aid called relief. One fourth of the people who lived in Florida were on relief. Tourism supported Florida's economy a little during the winter months. Many people drove to Florida to enjoy the warm climate. Because Floridians were facing economic difficulties, however, Florida State Police were stationed at Florida's border; if people did not have enough money or a job to support them, they were not allowed to enter the state. Florida was having a hard enough time supporting residents without increasing the extra number of people who wanted to live in a year-round warm state but who didn't have the means to take care of themselves or their family. The New Deal In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt became President of the United States. His presidency became known as the "New Deal" because of the promises that he made to Americans. This deal consisted of ideas to get the country and people back on their feet. Soon, millions of Americans were working again. One of the programs was called the Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC. Young men from all over the country lived in work camps. About 40,000 Floridians participated in the CCC. They received food and clothing and their paychecks were sent home to their families. Some of the work in Florida consisted of cutting down millions of trees to build fire lines. The CCC also planted 13 million trees in Florida and created many of the state parks and wildlife preserves. Other New Deal workers built federal buildings and schools.

6 The CCC also rebuilt the Overseas Railroad connecting Miami to Key West, originally built by Henry Flagler, but destroyed in 1935 by a hurricane. The reconstruction finished in 1938 and the railroad was opened once again. It helped bring tourism to Key West. It is 100 miles long and has more than 40 bridges. Florida owns many of its conservation projects, parks, and preserves thanks to President Roosevelt's CCC. Another New Deal program was called the Works Progress Administration, or WPA. This program gave jobs to researchers, writers, and editors. One Floridian writer, Zora Neale Hurston, became a very well known African American author who wrote about growing up in Florida. Through the New Deal era, many Florida businesses began to redevelop. Industries grew and Florida's banking business was becoming stronger. Alfred Du Pont, a wealthy businessman, took control of a few Florida banks and reestablished them. He bought forestland and used it to start the paper industry in Florida. Paper mills sprang up all around the state. The citrus industry began to ship fruit to other parts of the country, and by 1939, three airlines scheduled flights into Florida. Because of new roads, businesses, and air flights, tourism started to flourish. The United States was coming out of the depression by the end of the 1930s. Once again, people were able to find jobs and take care of their families.

7 Bunny Money

8 IV. Assessment -To review all banking facts, play Florida Banking Jeopardy. Use five categories and five columns to set up the game (the game board can be drawn on a whiteboard or a transparency). Record various questions from the week with vocabulary, timeline facts, banking terminology and procedures for the questions. Put questions on index cards with answers on the back. Place individual cards in separate columns. Categories to choose from could include: Banking Procedures, Florida Banking History Facts, Great Depression, Vocabulary, and/or Miscellaneous. Sample questions could include the following: a. What did the Florida Legislature abolish in 1913? Branch banking b. What was the McFadden Act of 1927? Permitted branch banking again c. What was one of the main reasons for the recession? Interest rate crunch d. What is a bond? A savings tool e. The Florida Legislature set up a single drive-up facility in what year? 1973 f. Name a key figure from Florida s banking industry past. Lawton Chiles, for one g. Name four banks. SunTrust, Wachovia, NationsBank, MidFlorida h. What is an ATM machine? An automated teller machine i. In 1933, Florida passed the Glass-Stegall Act to require banks to report to whom? The *See the timeline and other Florida banking books to develop more Jeopardy game questions. This can be used as an end-of-the-week assessment. V. Resources D ovell, J.E. History of Banking in Florida: Florida Bankers Association: Orlando, FL (1955). F reer, Jim. A Decade of Distinction: Florida Banking, Josten s Publishing Group: Encino, CA (1994). P owers, Ormund. Fifty Years: The SunBank Story, SunBank N.A., Orlando, FL (1984). h ttp://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/depress/depress1.htm - The University of South Florida s Florida Center of Instructional Technology website article Great Depression and the New Deal