The United States of Ohio: One American State and Its Impact on the Other Forty-Nine

by David E. Rohr

Overview

Electoral significance has always distinguished the small northern state sandwiched between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. Only twice since the beginning of the twentieth century has Ohio failed to pick the candidate who ultimately won the presidential election. But presidential elections are only part of the Ohio story. That’s because the state has always been an innovator, an incubator, and a bellwether for the American experience. In a unique look at Ohio, David E. Rohr chronicles key stories that come from the Buckeye State and the remarkable effect Ohio’s development has had on the larger country.
 
The United States of Ohio covers little-known facts about Ohio, such as how the state was the birthplace of both the National Football League and Major League Baseball and how it was Ohioans who led efforts toward racial integration in both sports. Readers will learn what makes the state a manufacturing and agricultural powerhouse—with both the largest tire company, Akron’s Goodyear, and the largest consumer products company, Cincinnati’s Proctor & Gamble, based there. The state grows, processes, and builds on a level that far outpaces the size of its population or expanse of its borders. And it is the birthplace of many prominent US figures—from Thomas Edison to John Glenn to Neil Armstrong. From sports to a century’s worth of entertainment superstars to aviation and space exploration, Ohio’s best have made for America’s greatest stories—all captured here in a look at the Buckeye State and its impact on the other forty-nine.
  


 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814255155
Publisher:	Ohio State University Press
Publication date:	02/05/2019
Series:	Trillium Books
Edition description:	1
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	677,537
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Born and raised in Ohio, David E. Rohr spent his working career in the state until the age of twenty-nine. Even though he’s been a resident of other states since then, David remains a frequent Buckeye State visitor and an enthusiastic fan of Ohio sports teams.

Read an Excerpt

It was over when they called Ohio.

No matter who you were rooting for in the 2008 election, everyone knew the outcome shortly after 9:30 p.m. on November 4, when several networks announced that Barack Obama had won the 2008 election in the Buckeye State. Presidential elections, as everyone knows, are won state by state and tallied via electoral votes. Although Obama would have won the election even without the state of Ohio, you could tell by the reaction in Chicago’s Grant Park (named after Ohioan Ulysses S. Grant) that candidate Obama’s supporters had ultimate confidence in his victory. The notion that the election was “over” when the Ohio results were announced was relevant not only to the 2008 election but to countless others before it. George W. Bush could not have won either his 2004 or 2000 elections without Ohio. The camp of his 2004 opponent, John Kerry, was heard to lament many times, “If only we’d changed 75,000 minds in Ohio.”

Electoral significance has always distinguished the small- to medium-sized northern state sandwiched between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. Since the Civil War, almost every Democrat who has won the presidency has done so with the help of Ohio’s electoral votes. John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt are the only two exceptions to this rule in the last 100 years (Roosevelt won the state in most of his elections). Republican presidents have been elected since the time of Abraham Lincoln, and all of them have had to carry Ohio to do it. No Republican candidate has ever won the presidency without Ohio.

Only twice since the beginning of the twentieth century has Ohio failed to pick the candidate who ultimately won the presidential election. New York, in contrast, has failed to pick the winner four times just since 1988, and California, the nation’s most populous state, has been wrong five times since just 1960. While Ohio is among the country’s larger states in population, it is by no means large enough to sway results on its own. What could be relevant here is that Ohio’s voters serve as such a worthy sample of the nation as a whole.

But presidential elections are only part of the Ohio story. That’s because the state has always been an innovator, an incubator, and a bellwether for the American experience. If you have products made by General Electric, thank Thomas A. Edison of Milan, Ohio. Like football? Tip your hat to the Canton Bulldogs, Akron Pros, Cleveland Tigers, Columbus Panhandles, and Dayton Triangles. Ohio is not only the birthplace of the National Football League, it served as the home state of nearly half the league’s original teams.3 You say you’re more of a baseball fan? Then surely you know that the first Major League team was the Cincinnati Reds. First known as the Red Stockings, the team got its start in the Queen City in 1869. But if you’re more of a Yankees fan, then thank the late Cleveland native George Steinbrenner. (Or not.)

From sports to a century’s worth of entertainment superstars to aviation and space exploration, Ohio’s best have made for some of America’s greatest stories. The same goes for the business world. The country’s largest tire company (Akron’s Goodyear) and largest consumer products company (Cincinnati’s Procter & Gamble) are based in Ohio. The state grows, processes, and builds on a level that far outpaces the size of its population or expanse of its borders. If you have homeowners, auto, or life insurance, chances are good that you’re insured by Nationwide, Grange Mutual, Safe Auto, or any one of Columbus’s behemoth insurers, or maybe Cleveland’s Progressive. Ohio and Ohioans have played a major role in almost everything that defines and distinguishes the country.

Table of Contents

Contents

List of Illustrations

Introduction

Chapter 1         Sister Theory

Chapter 2         America Writ Small

Chapter 3         Crossroads, Thrill Rides, and Lunch

Chapter 4         Moondogs and Rock Halls

Chapter 5         Harriet and the Generals

Chapter 6         Porkopolis

Chapter 7         The Soap That Floats

Chapter 8         Ruthless

Chapter 9         Mother of Invention

Chapter 10       Henry Ford’s Front Lawn

Chapter 11       Up from the Bicycle Shop

Chapter 12       From Dayton to the Moon

Chapter 13       The Internal Melting Pot

Chapter 14       Where Sports First Met Money

Chapter 15       More Than a Game

Chapter 16       Being Cleveland

Chapter 17       Killing Marilyn and Sam

Chapter 18       Ending the ’60s

Chapter 19       The Electoral Collage

Chapter 20       Eight Average Presidents

Chapter 21       Yard Signs in the Heartland

Acknowledgments

Notes

Bibliography

About the Author

Editorial Reviews

The only topic missing from David Rohr’s fun read on Ohio is the one about the impressive young talents coming out of the state’s high schools. As I can personally attest, David was one of them. It's no surprise to me that my classmate has written a delightful book that anyone who is from Ohio—or wishes they were—will love.”—Christine Brennan, USA Today columnist, CNN and ABC News commentator, best-selling author of Inside Edge and Best Seat in the House

From the Publisher