What is an economy? What makes all those jobs that you thought of different? Peoples' jobs are different because they produce different goods or services. They produce goods or services that meet other peoples' wants or needs. To help you understand this idea, think about what doctors do for a minute. What goods or services do doctors provide? How about people who work in a factory? What wants or needs do factory workers meet? What about people who work in a mine? What all these different workers have in common is that they create wealth by producing and consuming resources. The resources they produce or consume might be human, in the case of the doctor, or natural, in the case of the mine worker, or capital in the case of the factory worker. A system that meets the wants and needs of people that consume and produce resources is called an economy. In this Maryland Exploration, you will explore two economies: tobacco in 1751 and wheat in 1774. You will then think about and compare these economies to Maryland's economy today.

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