A study of value change, this unit for college-preparatory students focuses on the ethic of work in America. The student is asked to evaluate the ethic of work from the Puritans to the present and to account for changes in the concept brought about by industrialism and, most importantly, by the depression of the 1930's. He is then confronted with challenges to the ethic raised by affluence and automation, and is, in effect, asked to reevaluate his own value system. Readings include, among others, the Puritans, Benjamin Franklin, McGuffey's "Readers," Horatio Alger, William Graham Sumner, David Riesman, and modern proponents of a guaranteed annual wage. (Author)