Ohio V. The World

Episode 10: Benjamin Harrison v. the World. Alex goes to 4 different areas of the country to tell the story of one of America’s most forgotten Presidents, Benjamin Harrison. Our 23rd President was raised and educated in Ohio before moving to Indianapolis in his 20s and is claimed by both states. We discover that Harrison was a strong advocate for African American equality, an early environmentalist and a fantastic public speaker. He even stopped a pandemic as President before it could spread and kill Americans. Those qualities are compared to some of his failings as well. He was a one-term President and the country fell into a terrible depression shortly after he left the White House. Charles Hyde, President and CEO of the Harrison Presidential Site in Indianapolis, IN joins the show to discuss his youth in Ohio, his career in Indiana and his rise to General in the Union Army during the Civil War. Visit their excellent museum and check out their 3-D collection at www.bhpsite.org. Alexandra Petri, columnist at the Washington Post and self-proclaimed “Harrison enthusiast” talks about her love of the 23rd President and all of the important things that happened during his Presidency from 1889-1893. Alexandra discusses his cold nature in person, his narrow election win in 1888 and the introduction of electricity by the Harrisons to the White House. Follow Alexandra on Twitter @petridishes and check her hilarious new book Nothing is Wrong and Here is Why. Click link to purchase: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324006459 Returning guests Zak Taylor from Georgia Tech University and Bruce Carlson of the podcast “My History Can Beat Up Your Politics” come on to discuss the Presidency of Benjamin Harrison. Zak discusses Harrison’s career, how his economic policies lead to the Panic of 1893 and the Cholera Scare of 1892. Bruce joins the show again and looks at Harrison’s campaign, the near war with Chile, the admission of a record 6 states into the Union and why Harrison is considered the “father of the modern navy.” Dont’ forget to rate and review the show on iTunes and you buy an Ohio v. the World t-shirt by emailing the show at [email protected]. Also, check out the PBS documentary “A President at the Crossroads”. Click here to stream https://www.pbs.org/show/president-crossroads/ Only 3 shows left in Season 5: Ohio v. the Presidency!

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Episode 9: “Warren G. Harding v. the World”. Alex gives the 29th President, Warren G. Harding, a thorough reevalutation 100 years after his election. You might be surprised with what he found. Harding, from Marion, OH, is always ranked near the bottom of the presidential rankings. After our research, we have to ask why? There’s scandals but there’s also some huge successes. We visit Harding’s hometown of Marion and meet with Sherry Hall, site manager of the Harding Home and soon to be open Harding Presidential Center. Sherry discusses his early years, 1st Lady Florence Harding and Harding’s rise to power. Sherry walks us through the front porch campaign of 1920, his election to Presidential and his 2.5 years in the White House. Sherry discusses President Harding’s “Return to Normalcy.” Visit https://www.hardinghome.org for more information about the Harding Home and Memorial. As well as the Harding Presidential Center, opening in March to mark the 100 year anniversary of the inauguration. We are also joined once again by Jim Robenalt, author of The Harding Affair: Love and Espionage During the Great War. Buy a copy of that great book about President Harding here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780230609648. Jim discusses why Harding is an underrated President and sheds light on some of the personal and political scandals that have dogged Harding’s legacy for a century. Two other former guests join us to discuss Harding as well. Kyle Kondik, political analyst from the Virginia Center for Politics comes on to discuss Harding’s landslide win in the 1920 election over Ohio Governor James Cox. Yes, there were two Ohioans running for President in 1920. Political scientist, Zak Taylor from Georgia Tech joins us to discuss Harding’s excellent economic record and helping the country bounce back from a serious economic downturn following World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic. We are on the back stretch of Season 5: Ohio and the Presidency. Thanks so much for listening. Don’t forget to go buy Jim Robenalt’s amazing book about Warren G. Harding: The Harding Affair: Love and Espionage During the Great War. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780230609648.

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Episode 8: “Ohio v. Conventions”. Alex visits the convention hall floor and the smoke-filled rooms of America’s past political conventions in Ohio. Political conventions are going to look very different in 2020 but usually they’re the Super Bowl for political junkies. We breakdown all six major party political conventions that have taken place in Ohio in American history. We focus on the first convention to be held in the Buckeye State: the 1856 Democratic Convention in Cincinnati. This first Ohio convention nominates our 15th President, James Buchanan. Journalist and author, Robert Strauss joins us to discuss his book about Buchanan, Worst. President. Ever. Robert shares how Buchanan got the nomination in Cincinnati, won the election and why many historians consider him our worst president. Buy Robert’s book Worst. President. Ever. here https://www.amazon.com/Worst-President-Ever-Buchanan-Presidents/dp/1493030590 We hit two conventions in Cincinnati in 1876 and 1880 with former guests Mike Allbritain, Todd Arrington and Dustin McLochlin. They walk us through the unlikely nomination of Ohioan Rutherford B. Hayes at the 1876 Republican Convention and Winfield Scott Hancock’s almost presidency as the nominee at the 1880 Democratic National Convention. We are joined by former guest and history professor at Case Western Reserve University, John Grabowski, to discuss the 1924 and 1936 Republican Conventions in Cleveland, OH. The successful presidential run of Calvin Coolidge is discussed as well as why a total of 3 political conventions were held on the shores of Lake Erie in 1924. We visit Depression-era Cleveland and the ill-fated nomination of Alf Landon at the 1936 Republican Convention. John and Alex look at life in Cleveland in the midst of the Great Depression and discuss the reasons behind Landon’s landslide defeat to FDR. Lastly, we go back to 2016 and the Republican National Convention at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The unlikely nomination of Donald Trump is analyzed with author and political analyst, Kyle Kondik. Kyle was at the convention in 2016 and discusses Trump’s speech and the mood in the convention hall. We also look forward to President Trump’s re-election bid in 2020 in the ultimate swing state of Ohio.

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Episode 7: Ohio v. the Contenders. Alex catches “presidential fever” with 4 Ohioans who attempted to capture the highest office in the land. We sit down with the co-creators of “1865”, Steven Walters and Erik Archilla, to discuss the presidency and impeachment of Andrew Johnson. We discuss their 1865 Podcast, the impeachment of Andrew Johnson and the near presidency of Ohioan Benjamin Wade. Listen to 1865 here, my favorite podcast from 2019. https://wondery.com/shows/1865/ Erik and Steven discuss their excellent show and answer the question: why is Andrew Johnson our worst President ever? Bruce Carlson from the excellent “My History Can Beat Up Your Politics” podcast rejoins the show to discuss Senator Ben Wade. We discuss how close Sen. Wade came to becoming the 18th President of the United States. Alex also revisits the story of the first woman to run for President, Victoria Woodhull. Woodhull, from Homer, Ohio, is what Alex calls “the most interesting woman in the world.” We follow Woodhull’s brief time in the woman’s suffrage movement, her run as the presidential candidate of the Equal Rights Party in the 1872 Election and her arrest just days before that election. We replay our interview with Lisa Wood from the Ohio History Connection. Alex also discusses two more modern contenders: John Glenn in 1984 and John Kasich in 2016. Bruce rejoins us to discuss Glenn’s failed run at the Democratic nomination and the similarities between the crowded ’84 field and the two dozen Democratic candidates in 2020. Political analyst Kyle Kondik joins the show again to discuss the failed presidential campaign of Ohio Governor John Kasich in 2016. We look at the crazy 2016 Republican primary campaign and Kasich’s attempted run as the moderate Republican candidate vs. Donald Trump. Stop what you’re doing and go listen to the 1865 Podcast from our guests Steven Walter and Erik Archilla. https://wondery.com/shows/1865/ It’s my favorite history podcast from 2019 hands down. Also check out their great new show, American Election: Wicked Game. They breakdown the drama and the politics surrounding every US presidential election. https://wondery.com/shows/american-elections-wicked-game/

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Episode 6: Rutherford B. Hayes v. the World. Alex and his guests take a deep dive on Central Ohio’s only President and the most controversial election in US history. It’s time to talk some Rutherford B. Hayes, our 19th President (1877-1881). We visit the Hayes Presidential Museum & Library in Fremont, Ohio to discuss Rud’s career and his childhood in Delaware, Ohio. From Civil War general to Congressman and Governor to his run for the White House in 1876 we chat with Dustin McLochlin, historian from the Hayes Museum. Author Roy Morris, Jr. joins the show to explain the most complicated and controversial election in American history: the Election of 1876. Did Hayes actually lose the election against Democrat Samuel Tilden? Roy discuss his excellent book about the election, Fraud of the Century (Simon & Schuster, 2003). Buy the book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Fraud-of-the-Century/Roy-Jr-Morris/9780743255523 We’re also joined by Zak Taylor, political scientist and professor at Georgia Tech, to discuss why Hayes’ presidency is vastly underrated and how the Hayes administration brought the country out of the Panic of 1873 and set the U.S. on a path for 50 years of economic growth. David Simmons joins to discuss Hayes’ central role in the founding of the Ohio State University as the Governor of Ohio in 1870 and later in post-presidency years as a Trustee of the University. We focus on the “stolen” election of 1876 and why President Hayes was known as “Rutherfraud” B. Hayes during his early years in the White House. But also discover that Hayes was a much better President than historians realize. Also, we study Hayes’ often criticized role in ending Reconstruction in the South and why the popular belief that he was singlehandedly responsible for the end of the Reconstruction Era is incorrect. Roy Morris lays out the striking similarities between the Election of 1876 and the more recent controversial Election of 2000 (Bush v. Gore). Rate/review the show on iTunes and email us [email protected]. Don’t forget to go visit Dustin McLochlin at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum in Fremont, OH. www.rbhayes.org.

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Episode 5: William Henry Harrison v. The World. Alex jumps in the way, way back machine to the Campaign of 1840 to tell the story of the election of Ohio’s 1st President, William Henry Harrison. We learn why 1840 is truly the first modern presidential campaign from journalist and historian, Ron Shafer, as he walks us through the exciting campaign of “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.” Go buy Ron’s great book, The Carnival Campaign, click here. https://www.amazon.com/Carnival-Campaign-Rollicking-Tippecanoe-Presidential/dp/1613735405 The 1840 Campaign between North Bend, Ohio’s General Harrison and incumbent President Martin Van Buren was the source of numerous “firsts” in presidential campaign history. From popularizing the word Buckeye to the first presidential campaign speech and almost all of this incredible history happened here in Ohio. Mud throwing, huge campaign rallies and even the first President to die in office, this election had it all. Historian, podcast host and Harrison enthusiast, Jerry Landry, join us to talk about the election of Harrison and his untimely death only one month into office. Jerry produced the William Henry Harrison Podcast and now hosts the history show, The Presidencies of the United States. We discuss what exactly is the Whig Party, as Harrison was the 1st Whig to be President. Jerry helps us finally debunk the old theory that Harrison died from pneumonia caused by giving the longest ever inaugural speech in the cold. So much of what we see in 21st Century presidential elections got its start 180 years ago in the “Log Cabin and Hard Cider” campaign. Thanks to Ron Shafer for joining us to discuss this transformative moment in Ohio and presidential history. Click the link below to buy his book, The Carnival Campaign: How the Rollicking 1840 Campaign of "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" Changed Presidential Elections Forever. https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/carnival-campaign--the-products-9781613735404.php Don’t forget to rate and review the show and you can always email us at [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

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EPISODE 4: “OHIO v. THE CAMPAIGN”. Alex takes a break from Ohio’s presidents to go on the campaign trail through the history of presidential elections in the Buckeye State. We focus on the Ohio campaigns of four famous chief executives: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama. We visit the Ohio Statehouse to talk with Chris Matheney, the historic site manager of the Ohio Statehouse, about Abraham Lincoln’s three visits to “The People’s House” in downtown Columbus from 1859-1865. Alex also sits down with author and historian Jim Robenalt to discuss Teddy Roosevelt’s famous visit to Ohio in 1912 to declare his candidacy for the Republican nomination against incumbent Republican President, William Howard Taft. Robenalt takes us to both Cleveland and Columbus to lay out when Roosevelt “threw his hat in the ring” for another bid for the White House. Kyle Kondik, author of The Bellwether: Why Ohio Picks the President, joins us from his home at the Univ. of Virginia Center for Politics to relive the 1932 and 1940 campaigns of Franklin D. Roosevelt in Ohio. Hear from FDR himself on the stump in Ohio and buy Kyle’s awesome book, The Bellwether. It’s the ultimate book on presidential elections in Ohio, click link here to buy it. https://www.ohioswallow.com/book/The+Bellwether Lastly, Alex sits down with two friends both named Mike to discuss the 2008 campaign between Barack Obama and John McCain. Alex visits with Defiance, OH native Mike O’Neil, former special assistant to President Obama, to discuss Senator Obama’s victorious campaigns in Ohio in ’08 and ’12. It was one of the most fun interviews we’ve done on Ohio v. the World. We also welcome back to the show Mike Allbritain to discuss McCain’s announcement of Sarah Palin as VP in Dayton, Ohio. Mike and Alex also talk about the role of Toledo, Ohio native, “Joe the Plumber”, in the historic 2008 campaign. Don’t forget to rate/review the show on iTunes and don’t hesitate to reach out to Alex about the show and future show ideas at [email protected].

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Episode 3: James Garfield v. the World. Alex tells a story he’s waited years to share, the improbable rise and tragic death of our 20th President, Cleveland’s own James Garfield. We’re joined by one of Alex’s favorite authors and historians, the incomparable Candice Millard. Millard, the Ohio native, is the author of the award-winning book Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President (2012). BUY THIS BOOK here, you won’t be sorry. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/114423/destiny-of-the-republic-by-candice-millard/ Alex goes to Garfield’s home in Mentor, OH and meets with Todd Arrington, site manager of the James A. Garfield National Historic Site. Todd and Alex discuss Garfield’s humble beginnings in NE Ohio, his brilliance in all disciplines, rise to General in the Union Army and his career in the US Congress. We also discuss his dark horse nomination and narrow election to the Presidency in 1880. We encourage you to visit the National Park Service’s site that Todd manages in Mentor. http://www.nps.gov/jaga Lastly, we met with Sarah Chase, graduate of Garfield’s alma mater Hiram College in NE Ohio and producer of the awesome podcast, Clear and Vivid w/ Alan Alda. https://alanalda.com We focus on Garfield’s unlikely election in 1880 and his short presidency. His rivalry with powerful Senator Roscoe Conkling and their battle over civil service reform dominates his healthy months in office. Candice introduces us to his assassin, the deranged office seeker, Charles Guiteau. She takes us through the medical malpractice that dooms the President’s recovery and the political fallout of his slow and agonizing death. Don’t forget to rate and review the show and you can always email us [email protected]. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@ohiovtheworld) and Instagram.

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Episode 2: Ulysses S. Grant v. the World. Alex is back with the story of one of the most famous Ohioans of all time, our 18th President Ulysses S. Grant of Georgetown, Ohio. We explain why Grant, the hero of the Civil War, is one of America’s most underrated Presidents. In fact no President is rising faster in 21st Century presidential rankings than US Grant. Our episode will focus on Grant’s youth near the Ohio River in Georgetown, OH and his presidency from 1869-77. We’ll leave his Civil War heroics for a different show. Or just go watch the new mini-series, GRANT, out Memorial Day 2020 on the History Channel. Alex is joined by biographer and historian, Dr. Ronald C. White, Jr., to discuss his New York Times bestseller, American Ulysses (2016). This incredible biography of General Grant helped to spark a new analysis among historians of President Grant’s administration and his standing in presidential rankings. Buy Ron’s book here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/200282/american-ulysses-by-ronald-c-white/ Alex is also joined Lee Schweickart from the US Grant Homestead Association. Lee joined us to discuss Ulysses’ youth in SW Ohio, his time at West Point and how he got the name Ulysses S. Grant, because that’s not his given name at his birth in April 1822 in Pt. Pleasant, OH. You can visit the historical sites in Georgetown, Ohio at: www.usgrantboyhoodhome.org. Lastly, Alex sits down with Ryan Semmes from the US Grant President Presidential Library. This beautiful new building dedicated to Grant and the era of Reconstruction is located on the campus of Mississippi State University in Starkville, MS. Ryan joins to talk about the Grant Administration’s major foreign policy initiatives, his 1872 reelection and his eventful post presidential years. Don’t forget to Subscribe to the show on iTunes. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram (ohiovttheworldpodcast) and Twitter (@ohiovtheworld). Or just email us at [email protected]. Happy Memorial Day!

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EP. 1: William McKinley v. the World (Part 2). Thanks for listening to the exciting conclusion of our Season 5 premiere. We discuss with our guests McKinley’s relationship with Theodore Roosevelt, the “Splendid Little War” known as the Spanish American War, the economic boom of the McKinley years and his tragic assassination in Buffalo, NY in 1901. We are joined in Part One by Robert Merry, author of the book President McKinley: Architect of the American Century (Simon&Schuster, 2017). Buy that book! It’s fantastic. Here’s a link: https://www.amazon.com/President-McKinley-Architect-American-Century/dp/1451625448 Robert helps us breakdown how the United States became a world power and an empire in McKinley’s 4.5 years as Commander in Chief. We look at the success of the Spanish American War and McKinley’s complicated legacy following his death. Alex also speaks again with University of Akron history professor Kevin Kern about McKinley’s foreign policy successes, the humanitarian crisis in Cuba that lead to the Spanish American War and the President’s assassin, Leon Czolgosz. We are also joined by Anthony Greco from the Buffalo History Museum to discuss the McKinley’s tragic killing at the Pan American Exposition in 1901. Visit the great Buffalo History Museum (online for now) at www.buffalohistory.org. Make sure you listen to Part 1 of “William McKinley v. the World” before enjoying Part 2 of our Season 5 premiere episode. Thanks for joining us in 2020 for our season on Ohio and the Presidency. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram (@ohiovtheworldpodcast) and Twitter (@ohiovtheworld). You can reach us at [email protected] as well.

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