Dream Ticket Draft

Teams draft a two-person ticket from a single historical era and defend it to the class — why these two, what they would have stood for, and which voters they would reach. Students build a historical argument from evidence they gathered in play.

Learning Objectives

• Synthesize what they know about multiple historical figures into a coherent argument.
• Support a claim with specific historical evidence.
• Consider how a candidate’s background shapes their appeal to different groups.

How to Run It

1. Assign each team one era (Founding, Civil War, Progressive, Mid-Century, and so on).
2. Teams research the figures in their era — using the game to browse and a real source to verify — and choose a president and vice president.
3. Teams prepare a 2–3 minute pitch: why this pairing, what they’d stand for, and who they’d win over.
4. Teams present. The class votes on the most convincing ticket — judged on argument, not popularity.

Discussion Questions

• Did the strongest ticket have the most famous people, or the best-matched people?
• How did teams balance a ‘big name’ with someone who broadened the ticket’s appeal?
• What did you learn about an era by having to choose only two people to represent it?