Ohio: A History

By Walter Havighurst

Book Overview

Ringing hammers, swinging cranes, the hot breath of furnaces and the gush of molten metal, a skyline ringed with belching smokestacks--the energy of industry, both in manufacturing and in old-fashioned human diligence, has fueled Ohio since its earliest history as the first state in the Northwest Territory.

From Harvey Firestone's rubber rims for buggy wheels to John Leon Bennet's wire flyswatter, from O. C. Barber's first book matches to Dr. Edwin Beeman's flavored chewing gum, Ohio has buzzed with inventive drive and creativity. The Wright brothers flew a winged crate over a Dayton cow pasture; Stephen Foster allegedly wrote "Oh Susanna" while working as a bookkeeper in a Cincinnati riverfront shipping office; and Ohio native Victoria Claflin Woodhull declared herself the first woman presidential candidate. The state also produced some of the Civil War's greatest leaders, including Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman.

Havighurst gives a moving portrayal of Welsh inventor Samuel Milton Jones, who made his fortune with a device used in oil production and then turned his energies to creating his own "new deal" for his factory workers and, as mayor of Toledo, for his constituency. At the other end of the scale, shrewd, autocratic George B. Cox ruled Cincinnati through a sticky web of back-room corruption.

Focusing on the people who stamped the state with their vision, Havighurst captures the vibrancy and ingenuity of Ohio's inventors, manufacturers, leaders and dreamers, as well as the consequences, for the land and its inhabitants, of unchecked industrial excesses.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0252070178
• ISBN13: 9780252070174
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A Splendid Work

Being a native (and Conservative) Buckeye, I approach all books (even Havinghurst's) about my land with my hackles up and, frankly, "Ohio, a History" didn't get my tail wagging right away. At the end of the read I was pleased and had to accord Havinghurst with having done a very good, and fair, job, as well as presenting a wealth of fresh and interesting observations of events in Ohio. MUCH to his credit he kept it about Ohio and didn't make it a collection of "portraits" of Ohio's famous people (thank you, thank you, thank you!). Especially noteworthy are the astute perceptions and accurate depictions of the unique "Ohio attitudes" that came in and out of play as the State developed. Havinghurst understands well the unique mindset(s) of the "dark and bloody land". That alone makes the book worth reading whether you are a Buckeye or an Unfortunate.

A Flavor Of Ohio

This book provides the reader with a overview of the social history of Ohio. It presents Ohio as the center of everything, center between North and South and East and West, country and city. It tells the story of the pioneers and later ethnics, who found homes in Ohio. The book is arranged in a combination chronological and topical order. Fortunately for author Walter Havighurst, the topics fall fairly well in sequence. Chapters are devoted to the promise of Ohio, the pioneers who cleared the land, the growth of agricultural abundance, the rise of industry and finance, labor strife and how Ohio dealt with it and, at the end, the stirrings of the environmental movement. Not overlooked is Ohio's involvement in the Civil War, when it, like the nation, was torn between North and South, and its numerous contributions to the list of presidents. While the Tafts and other presidents are mentioned, this is clearly not a "great man" book. The characters covered are merely incidental to the telling of the story of Ohio's people. While not a detailed history, it does give the reader, and prospective visitor, an introduction to the flavor of Ohio