American History, Midwest

Enchanted Ground
The Spirit Room of Jonathan Koons
By Sharon Hatfield

In a fascinating work of religious history and cultural inquiry, Hatfield brings to life the true story of a nineteenth-century farmer-spiritualist, Jonathan Koons, whom thousands traveled to Ohio to see. As heirs to the second Great Awakening, he and his followers were part of a larger, uniquely American moment that still marks the culture today.

The Saints and the State
The Mormon Troubles in Illinois
By James Simeone

James Simeone’s case study uncovers in the 1846 expulsion of Mormons from Illinois an important object lesson for American democracy today, revealing the impossibility of state neutrality in the face of entrenched group beliefs and segregated settlement.

On the Plains in ’65
The 6th West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry in the West
By George H. Holliday
· Edited by Glenn V. Longacre

This annotated edition of George H. Holliday’s military memoir features new research that captures the untold story of Appalachian Ohio’s soldiers and their experiences during the Civil War era at home and in the American West.

Fire in the Big House
America’s Deadliest Prison Disaster
By Mitchel P. Roth

Roth explores the lives of prisoners and others as well as the political and social circumstances of the Ohio Penitentiary Fire in this first comprehensive account of a tragedy whose circumstances—violent unrest, overcrowding, poorly trained and underpaid guards, unsanitary conditions, inadequate food—will be familiar to prison watchdogs today.

Michigan’s War
The Civil War in Documents
Edited by John W. Quist

Building upon the current scholarship of the Civil War and the Midwest, Michigan’s War is a history as told by the state’s residents in private letters, newspapers, and other sources. Clear annotations and thoughtful editing allow students to delve into the political, social, and military context of the war, making it ideal for classroom use.

Bad Boys, Bad Times
The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Prewar Years, 1937–1941
By Scott H. Longert

In 1937, the Great Depression was still lingering, but at baseball parks across the country there was a sense of optimism. Major League attendance was on a sharp rise. Tickets to an Indians game at League Park on Lexington and East 66th were $1.60 for box seats, $1.35 for reserve seats, and $.55 for the bleachers. Cleveland fans were particularly upbeat—Bob Feller, the teenage phenomenon, was a farm boy with a blistering fast ball. Night games were an exciting development.

Enchanted Ground
The Spirit Room of Jonathan Koons
By Sharon Hatfield

In a fascinating work of religious history and cultural inquiry, Hatfield brings to life the true story of a nineteenth-century farmer-spiritualist, Jonathan Koons, whom thousands traveled to Ohio to see. As heirs to the second Great Awakening, he and his followers were part of a larger, uniquely American moment that still marks the culture today.

Barns of the Midwest
Edited by Allen G. Noble and Hubert G. H. Wilhelm
· Introduction by Timothy G. Anderson

Originally published in 1995, editors Noble and Wilhelm gathered experts in history and architecture to write on the nature and meaning of Midwestern barns. Featuring a new introduction by Timothy G. Anderson, Barns of the Midwest is the definitive work on this ubiquitous but little studied architectural symbol of a region and its history.

Asylum on the Hill
History of a Healing Landscape
By Katherine Ziff
· Foreword by Samuel T. Gladding
· Afterword by Joseph Shields and Shawna Bolin

Asylum on the Hill is the story of a great American experiment in psychiatry, a revolution in care for those with mental illness, as seen through the example of the Athens Lunatic Asylum. Katherine Ziff’s compelling presentation incorporates rare photos, letters, and records, offering readers a fascinating glimpse into psychiatric history.

Peoples of the Inland Sea
Native Americans and Newcomers in the Great Lakes Region, 1600–1870
By David Andrew Nichols

David Andrew Nichols offers a fresh history of the Lakes peoples over nearly three centuries of rapid change. As the people themselves persisted, so did their customs, religions, and control over their destinies. Accessible and creative, this book is destined to become a classroom staple for Native American history.

The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission
A History, 1943–2013
By Phillip J. Obermiller and Thomas E. Wagner
· Foreword by Michael E. Maloney

In the summer of 1943, as World War II raged overseas, the United States also faced internal strife. Earlier that year, Detroit had erupted in a series of race riots that killed dozens and destroyed entire neighborhoods. Across the country, mayors and city councils sought to defuse racial tensions and promote nonviolent solutions to social and economic injustices.

In Essentials, Unity
An Economic History of the Grange Movement
By Jenny Bourne
· Preface by Paul Finkelman

In In Essentials, Unity, Jenny Bourne presents a lively picture of a fraternal organization—the Patrons of Husbandry, or the Grange—devoted to improving the lot of small farmers but whose legacies extend far beyond agriculture, shaping the very notion of collective action and how it is deployed even today.

The Jacksonian Conservatism of Rufus P. Ranney
The Politics and Jurisprudence of a Northern Democrat from the Age of Jackson to the Gilded Age
By David M. Gold

In The Jacksonian Conservatism of Rufus P. Ranney, David M. Gold works with the public record to reveal the contours of the life and work of one of Ohio’s most intriguing legal figures. The result is a new look at how Jacksonian principles crossed the divide of the Civil War and became part of the fabric of American law and at how radical antebellum Democrats transformed themselves into Gilded Age conservatives.

Driven toward Madness
The Fugitive Slave Margaret Garner and Tragedy on the Ohio
By Nikki M. Taylor

Margaret Garner was a runaway slave who, when confronted with capture, slit the throat of her toddler daughter rather than have her face a life in slavery. Driven toward Madness probes slavery’s legacy of violence and trauma to capture her circumstances and her transformation from a murdering mother to an icon of tragedy and resistance.

No Money, No Beer, No Pennants
The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Great Depression
By Scott H. Longert

A lively history of the ups and downs of a legendary team and its iconic players as they persevered through internal unrest and the turmoil of the Great Depression, pursuing a pennant that didn’t come until 1948. Illustrated with period photographs and filled with anecdotes of the great players, this book will delight fans of baseball and fans of Cleveland.