Ohio V. The World

EP. 1: William McKinley v. the World (Part 1). We’re back and ready to get presidential in 2020. We kickoff Season 5 with a two-part episode on our 25th President, William McKinley from Canton, OH. Part One examines McKinley’s childhood in NE Ohio, Civil War service (he was the final Civil War vet to be POTUS), rise in Ohio and national politics and his election to the White House in 1896 against the Democrat challenger, William Jennings Bryan. 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 will let us know just how President McKinley became the architect of the American Century with his understated style of leadership and why that has lead to his distinguished career to be too often forgotten in American history. Alex also speaks with University of Akron history professor Kevin Kern about McKinley’s career and life in Ohio and in Congress in the 19th century. We meet with Amber Farris, the museum director at the McKinley Birthplace Museum in Niles, OH about the Will McKinley’s early years in the Youngstown area, his Civil War years and his move to Canton, OH. Visit that great museum online (for now) at https://mckinleybirthplacemuseum.org. It’s great to be back for our 5th season which will focus on Ohio and the Presidency. Don’t forget to listen to the exciting conclusion of Episode One in Part 2 of “William McKinley v. the World” which is always out now! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram (@ohiovtheworldpodcast) and Twitter (@ohiovtheworld). You can reach us at [email protected] as well.

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Season 5 Preview: We’ll preview Season 5 of Ohio v. the World with clips and sneak peaks of all 13 episodes for our election year season. We’re calling Season 5: “Ohio v. the Presidency.” From President Monroe to President Trump we’ll relive all the famous presidents and presidential moments from the history of the Buckeye State. Episode 1: William McKinley v. the World will premiere on Sunday May 10th. It’a two-part episode on our 25th President from Canton, Ohio. New episodes come out every other Sunday all the way up until Election Day 2020. Subscribe to the pod on iTunes, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram (ohiovtheworldpodcast) and Twitter (@ohiovtheworld). Email the show directly at [email protected] and check out our website www.ohiovtheworldpodcast.com.

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Episode 12: Ohio v. Segregation (Tuskegee Airmen). Our Season 4 finale celebrates Black History Month 2020 by studying the trailblazing Tuskegee Airmen of World War II. Alex meets with Dr. Anthony Milburn and Warren Mott to discuss the segregation of the US military and the courage of the “Red Tails” as well as their years in the Buckeye State following the war. We learn how the Tuskegee Airmen’s service helped accelerate the long-stagnant civil rights movement. Dr. Milburn, a professor of history and the chairman of the Humanities Dept. at Ohio’s Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio shares the proud history of African American service in the military and the racism and discrimination faced by the pilots at Tuskegee. Alex and Dr. Milburn discuss the journey to full desegregation of the armed forces and the impact of the Harlem Hellfighters, Eleanor Roosevelt, William Hastie and the complicated roles of FDR and President Truman. Warren Mott, Director of Mott’s Military Museum in Groveport, Ohio, shares his favorite stories of the Tuskegee Airmen and his personal relationships with late Red Tails. A number of Tuskegee Airmen from Ohio are discussed as well as their years following the war stationed at Lockbourne Air Base in Central Ohio. Go visit Mott’s Military Museum, a true hidden gem of US military history. www.mottsmilitarymuseum.org Thanks for listening to Season 4 of Ohio v. The World. Stay tuned to our website www.ohiovtheworldpodcast.com and our Facebook page for updates on Season 5: The Presidents coming in May 2020. Don’t hesitate to email the show at [email protected] and please rate/review the show on iTunes.

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Episode 11: “Ohio v. Water” (Mark Hanna). Alex discovers the important life and even more important death of Cleveland’s Mark Hanna. The political kingmaker’s rise to the top of American politics is analyzed with Case Western Reserve Univ. professor, John Grabowski. We also discuss the dangerous history of drinking water in the United States and how Hanna’s death in 1904 led to a comprehensive change and improvement in water treatment known as the “Great Columbus Experiment.” We talk about water with author and former Columbus Dept. of Water manager, Conrade Hinds and his excellent book, “The Great Columbus Experiment of 1908: Waterworks That Changed the World.” Click link to purchase. https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/9781609497798/The-Great-Columbus-Experiment-of-1908-Waterworks-that-Changed-the-World Alex travels to Case Western to learn about Mark Hanna’s meteoric rise from middle class everyman to Gilded Age robber baron and his ultimate ascension to the top of the political world through his support of Ohio’s leading politicians. John and Alex discuss Hanna’s invaluable campaign managing of Ohio legends: James Garfield, John Sherman and William McKinley. His role in McKinley’s famous 1896 presidential victory is discussed and how it made the most powerful man in not just Ohio but Washington DC as well. Conrade Hinds leads us through the history of drinking water in the US in the 19th Century. We discuss how Hanna’s untimely death was blamed on an illness caused by Columbus’ tainted water supply. Hinds shows us how Hanna’s death helped to spark a giant civic effort in Columbus to transform and modernize their water treatment process. This “experiment” would become the model of the world and it’s Mark Hanna’s shocking death the helped to change the world forever. The future of water is also discussed in the ever-changing 21st Century. Rate and review the show and don’t forget to email us at [email protected] with thoughts and show ideas. Only one episode left in Season 4! Buy Conrade’s book and get a much deeper dive into how Columbus’ water changed the world. https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/9781609497798/The-Great-Columbus-Experiment-of-1908-Waterworks-that-Changed-the-World

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Episode 10: “Ohio v. the Copperheads” (Clement Vallandigham). Alex talks with US Air Force Academy Professor of History, Jennifer Weber, about the copperhead political movement in the North during the Civil War. We travel back to the homefront in Ohio and the Midwest during the war and find out millions of Americans were against the war effort and President Lincoln. We discuss the life of leading Copperhead politician, Clement Vallandigham, from Dayton, Ohio and Jennifer Weber’s great book: Copperheads: the Rise and Fall of Lincoln’s Opponents in the North. https://www.amazon.com/Copperheads-Rise-Lincolns-Opponents-North-dp-0195306686/dp/0195306686/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid= Alex and Jennifer analyze the rise of the Peace Democrats in American Civil War politics and their ultimate collapse after the fall of Atlanta and the 1864 re-election of Lincoln. Events such as the Emancipation Proclamation, the suspension of Habeas Corpus and the New York City Draft Riots are discussed as the Copperheads nearly ascend to the White House where they would surely sue for peace from the South. We follow the arrest, exile and eventual gubernatorial run of Vallandigham in the State of Ohio in 1863 and his ultimate banishment from the history books. We look at the misguided political movement of Copperheadism and come to realize just how close this country was to giving up on the Civil War and officially recognizing the Confederate States of America. We follow Clement Vallandigham from Capitol Hill to Mount Vernon, OH to behind Confederate lines to exile in Canada and back to Ohio and his death in Lebanon, Ohio in 1871. Special thanks to Jenny Weber and go buy this book! It’s ground-breaking and a real page turner. https://www.amazon.com/Copperheads-Rise-Lincolns-Opponents-North-dp-0195306686/dp/0195306686/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid= Disclaimer: *Everything Jennifer discussed was her opinion and not the position of the US Air Force Academy or the Department of Defense*

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Episode 9: “Ohio v. Annexation” (Hawaii). Mele kalikimaka and happy holidays! Alex journeys to the Aloha State to discover the story of the overthrow of the Hawaii Kingdom in the 1890s by a group of mostly American businessmen. We sit down with Australian author and historian, Stephen Dando-Collins, to discuss his book Taking Hawaii: How 13 Honolulu Businessmen Overthrew the Queen of Hawaii in 1893, With A Bluff. Purchase this awesome book here: https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Hawaii-Thirteen-Businessmen-Overthrew/dp/B00RYB6WWS\ Alex follows the life of one of those 13 businessmen from the “Committee of Safety” that led the coup of the Hawaiian kingdom, Cincinnati, Ohio’s own, John Emmuluth. Our story tracks the history from the arrival of American missionaries in 1820 to the eventual annexation of Hawaii in 1898 and its later addition to become the 50th state in 1959. Stephen Dando-Collins leads us through the “bluff” pulled off by Emmuluth and his co-conspirators to dethrone Queen Liliuokalani on January 17, 1893 in a mostly bloodless coup. “Ohio v. Annexation” analyzes the rise of American business interests and the political machinations of these sugar barons and business elites into taking over Hawaii for their own political and financial gain. This was only possible with the help of the American ambassador and military stationed just offshore. Thanks to Stephen for his help in explaining this convoluted and tragic story during the US’ imperial past. Buy Stephen’s excellent book Taking Hawaii here: https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Hawaii-Thirteen-Businessmen-Overthrew/dp/B00RYB6WWS Also, his new book is available and I’m throughly enjoying it, Caligula: The Mad Emperor of Rome. Link here: https://www.amazon.com/Caligula-Emperor-Rome-Stephen-Dando-Collins/dp/1684422868 Special thanks to Matt Crumpton for his assistance on the original music used for this episode and don’t forget to email the show at [email protected] with show ideas comments, etc. Also rate and review the show and we will read it on air. Happy New Year…see you all in the Twenties.

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Episode 8: “Ohio v. Organized Crime” (Black Hand Society). Alex meets up with co-authors William Oldfield and Victoria Bruce to discuss the first major Italian organized crime ring and their subsequent trial. This little-known piece of Ohio and American history is the story behind Bill and Vicki’s hit book Inspector Oldfield and the Black Hand Society (Simon & Schuster, 2018). Buy your copy of this best seller here. https://www.amazon.com/Inspector-Oldfield-Black-Hand-Society/dp/1501171208 This episode focuses on the life of Inspector Frank Oldfield, the great grandfather of our guest, William Oldfield. Oldfield reveals this 100 year old family story of his great grandpa’s investigation and the first conviction of a Sicilian/Italian organized crime family, known as the "Society of the Banana.” We discuss the massive influx of Italian immigrants to America at the turn of the 20th century and the impact of the criminal element of those immigrants to the difficult assimilation of Italian Americans. This story takes place in cities all over Ohio, big and small, such as: Columbus, Toledo, Marion, Bellefontaine, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Athens and Dennison, Ohio. We follow the investigation and trial of the Black Hand Society members and its leader Sam Lima of Marion, Ohio. We dive into the investigation of US Postal Inspector Frank Oldfield and his effort to take down this secretive criminal society in Ohio. This interesting story and great research is thanks to our guests’ amazing book, Inspector Oldfield and the Black Hand Society (Simon and Schuster, 2018). Buy the book here! https://www.amazon.com/Inspector-Oldfield-Black-Hand-Society/dp/1501171208 Ohio v. the World is the world’s ONLY Ohio history podcast. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram (@ohiovtheworldpodcast) and Twitter @ohiovtheworld. Email us with episode ideas at [email protected]. Go Bucks!

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Episode 7: “Ohio v. Abolitionists” (John Brown/Harriet Beecher Stowe): Alex travels to Hudson, OH, Cincinnati and Harpers Ferry, WV in this in depth investigation of two of U.S.’s most most famous abolitionists, John Brown and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The abolition movement to end slavery in the mid-19th Century was the most important political and social movement of its time. We travel back to the turbulent decade of the 1850s to explore how Brown and Stowe changed millions of minds on the subject of slavery, one by the sword and one by the pen, respectively to help spark the Civil War. Alex journeys to Hudson, Ohio the hometown of John Brown to meet with Gwendolyn Mayer of the Hudson Library and Historical Society. Alex and Gwen discuss Hudson’s long abolitionist history and the early years of John Brown. Gwen oversees one of the country’s largest collections of John Brown writings and artifacts. We then travel to the Queen City of Cincinnati, Ohio to the Stowe House to meet with Christina Hartlieb, the Executive Director of the Stowe House Museum. www.stowehousecincy.org. We learn about the famous author and activist Harriet Beecher Stowe. Christina lays out how Harriet’s experience of living in Cincy lead her to write the classic novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Christina and Alex discuss the importance of that book and how it helped to accelerate the Civil War. Lastly, we met with Dennis Frye, author and former Chief Historian at Harper’s Ferry National Park. Dennis describes in detail John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859. Frye, the author of Confluence: Harper’s Ferry as Destiny is a wealth of knowledge about Brown’s attempt to spark a Southern slave uprising. We follow Brown’s mission from Bleeding Kansas to his eventual martyrdom and his execution in Virgina following the failed raid. Buy his awesome book here: https://www.harpersferryhistory.org/product/confluence-harpers-ferry-destiny Join us in the 1850s as we discuss the roles of Harriet and John in the lead up to the Civil War. We’ll discuss the Fugitive Slave Act, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Caning of Sen. Charles Sumner, the Dred Scott decision, Brown’s relationship with Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman and ultimately the start of the Civil War. Happy Thanksgiving and don’t forget to email the show or order your Ohio v. the World t-shirts by reaching us at [email protected]. Rate and review the show and share our podcast over the Thanksgiving dinner table with your family and friends.

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EPISODE 6: "Ohio v. War Crimes” (John Demjanjuk). Alex delves into the mystery of who is John Demjanjuk? Is he the kindly Cleveland grandpa that’s a victim of mistaken identity? Or is he the infamous and sadistic Nazi death camp guard, Ivan the Terrible? Or something else entirely... Our guest is author and professor Lawrence Douglas who helps us understand this convoluted and disturbing story. Douglas the author of the incredible 2016 book, The Right Wrong Man breaks down the nearly 40 year legal odyssey to determine one simple question: who was John Demjanjuk during World War II? Buy Lawrence’s book The Right Wrong Man. https://www.amazon.com/Right-Wrong-Man-Demjanjuk-Crimes-ebook/dp/B00U7OQMCE This episode examines Demjanjuk’s legal battles in the US, Israel and Germany. Demjanjuk is the only person to twice lose his American citizenship. We also look back at previous Nazi war crime trials, Nuremberg and the trial of Adolf Eichmann. We relive the Holocaust and the people who perpatrated the most heinous crime of the 20th century. Don’t forget to check out the new Netflix series “The Devil Next Door” which also focuses on Demjanjuk’s trial in Israel. Rate/review the show and don’t forget to email the show at [email protected].

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Episode 5: “Ohio v. Invention” (Garrett Morgan). Alex travels to Cleveland to meet with Sandra Morgan, the granddaughter of one of most important inventors in U.S. history, Garrett A. Morgan. We discuss his prolific ability to invent things like: the modern traffic light, hair relaxer and the gas mask. Sandra talks about her grandpa, the son of Kentucky slaves, and his journey to overcome racism and discrimination to be known as the “Black Edison” in Cleveland, Ohio. Alex and Sandra discuss famous events like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, the first use of chemical weapons in World War I and the Lake Erie Crib Disaster in 1916 and Garrett Morgan’s role in all those transformative and tragic events. Don’t forget to rate/review the show and email us at [email protected] with your thoughts and future show ideas.

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