Ohio History Topics 2014 -2015 Leadership and Legacy in History Topic Date(s) Description Research Category Benjamin Lundy 1815 Benjamin Lundy, a Quaker, was of the first important figures in Ohio to oppose the actions OHS: Collection. Abolition and beliefs of the Ohio Colonization Society which encouraged the return of African Benjamin Lundy Americans to Africa out of a racist fear. Lundy founded one of the first anti-slavery societies Papers. 1821-1904 in 1815 and went on to publish a small anti-slavery newspaper, Genius of Universal [MSS 112]; OVS 2560. Lundy, Benjamin, n.d. Emancipatio . What qualities and actions made Lundy a leader in the anti-slavery [OVS collection] movement? What was his legacy? Harriet Beecher Stowe 1830s In 1832, Harriet Beecher Stowe moved to Cinncinnatti, Ohio. She would later become Harriett Beecher Abolition famous for publishing the book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" based on her research with former Stowe House, slaves during her time helping with the underground railroad. During the Northwest Cincinnati, Ohio Ordinance of 1787, slavery had been declared illegal north of the Ohio River. Stowe lived http://www.ohiohis just north of Kentucky where slavery was still legal and was instrumental in assisting slaves tory.org/museums- who fled north for freedom. The stories she heard from slaves during her time in Ohio and-historic- contributed significantly to stories in her famous book "Uncle Tom's Cabin." How did sites/museum-- Stowe's actions and leadership affect the affect the istitution of slavery? historic-sites-by- name/harriet- beecher-stowe- house Underground Railroad mid 19th century Ohio boasted several prominent abolitionists who played a vital role in the Underground Ohio History Center Abolition in Ohio Railroad. Once they arrived in Ohio, those runaway slaves who decided to remain in the Archives, state, usually settled in neighborhoods with other African Americans. Due to the racism Columbus, Ohio: that existed in Ohio, these people hoped that they would have some safety by residing in Online Catalog- neighborhoods separate from whites. Many runaway slaves continued on to Canada. At http://www.ohiohis least eight cities, including Ashtabula, Painesville, Cleveland, Sandusky, Toledo, Huron, tory.org/collections- Lorain, and Conneaut, along Lake Erie served as ferrying points to transport the former -archives/online- slaves to true freedom in Canada. collections-catalog/ ; Ohio History Central Paul Lawrence Dunbar 1888-1891 Paul Lawrence Dunbar was an African-American classmate of Orville Wright at Ohio Central Dunbar House, African American High School in Dayton, Ohio. Paul got his big break after high school in 1892 when he was Dayton, Ohio: Ohio able to read his poetry for the Western Association of Writers. How did the publication of History Center Paul's pieces contribute to increased rights for African Americans? Is this his legacy? Archives, Columbus, Ohio: Online Catalog- http://www.ohiohis tory.org/collections- -archives/online- collections-catalog/ Jesse Owens 1913-1980 Ohioan Jesse Owens was one of America's greatest participants in track and field athletic Ohio State African American competition. He won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic games. Adolf Hitler, the University: Chancellor of Germany, hoped to use the Olympics to prove that the "Aryan" race was http://library.osu.e superior to all others. If this was the case, Jesse Owens dashed his dreams. At the Olympics, du/projects/jesse- Owens won four gold medals and set or helped to set four Olympic records. The events owens/ were the one hundred-meter dash, the two hundred-meter dash, the broad jump, and the four hundred-meter relay. Owens was the first American track and field athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympics. By the end of the competition, even German fans were celebrating Owens's accomplishments. What was Owens' legacy in terms of African American rights? Did his athleticism and popularity following the games make him a leader? Larry Doby 1923-2003 Larry Doby was the second African American to play professional baseball and the first Ohio History Center African American African American to play in the American League. Later he became the second African Archives, American to manage a major league baseball team. How did his time on the field impact Columbus, Ohio: the future of America's favorite past time? Online Catalog- http://www.ohiohis tory.org/collections- -archives/online- collections-catalog/ (newspapers) Carl Stokes 1927-1996 Carl B. Stokes was born June 21, 1927. His father, Charles, died when Carl was less than Ohio History African American two years old. He grew up poor in Cleveland living with his mother, Louise, a domestic Central worker, and his brother, Louis. He served honorably in the United States Army. He graduated from the University of Minnesota and received a law degree from Cleveland Marshall Law School. He was the first African American democrat elected to the Ohio legislature. He was also elected Mayor of Cleveland, becoming the first African American Mayor of a major American city. He was elected judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court and was appointed by President Bill Clinton as ambassador to the Seychelles. John Brown 1800-1859 John Brown was born on May 9, 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut. He spent most of his Ohio History Cenral African American youth in Ohio. Brown gained national attention in 1859. On October 16, Brown led a group of twenty-one men on a raid of Harper's Ferry, Virginia. A detachment of United States Marines arrived and stormed the arsenal on October 18, capturing seven men, including Brown. On December 2, 1859, Brown was hanged. He became a martyr for many Northerners. Many Southerners became convinced that all abolitionists shared Brown's views and his willingness to utilize violence. John Brown's Harper's Ferry raid raised issues for the presidential election of 1860. It also was one of the events that led to the eventual dissolution of the United States and the civil war that followed. Levi Coffin 1798-1877 Levi Coffin was an important figure in the Underground Railroad network that helped Ohio History African American thousands of runaway slaves escape to freedom in the years before the American Civil War. Central, Ohio In 1847, Coffin moved to Cincinnati. With the aid of abolitionists in Indiana, he opened a Memory business that sold only goods produced by free laborers. He also became an active participant in the Underground Railroad. He purportedly helped more than three thousand slaves escape from their masters and gain their freedom in Canada. Levi Coffin helped African Americans in other ways as well. In 1854, he helped found an African-American orphanage in Cincinnati. He also pressured the federal government during the Civil War to establish the Freedmen's Bureau. William Walker 20th century Dr. William O. Walker was a prominent journalist, publisher and political leader in Ohio History African American Cleveland, Ohio for much of the mid to late twentieth century. In 1932, he became the Central, Ohio publisher and editor of the Cleveland Call and Post, one of the most influential African- Memory American newspapers in the United States. Walker used this weekly paper to educate the community about racial injustices occurring in both Cleveland and across the United States. He served as a Cleveland city councilman during the 1940s. In 1963, Walker became the first African-American cabinet member in the history of Ohio when Governor James Rhodes selected him to be Director of the Ohio Department of Industrial Relations Art Tatum 1909 Born in Toledo in 1909, Art Tatum made his mark as a jazz pianist despite being blind in one Ohio History Arts and Music eye and partially sighted in the other. He was an innovator in jazz music in the way he re- Central invented harmonies and the use of dissonance in jazz. George Bellows 1882-1925 Artist George Bellows was born and raised in Columbus and kept close ties with the city Ohio History Arts and Music throughout his life. He is known for his vivid portrayals of Central modern urban life, and became a leader among a group of artists nicknamed the "Ashcan School," which advocated the depiction of American society in all forms and all socio-economic contexts. Milton Caniff 1930's-1950's The impact Milton Caniff had on comics cannot be overestimated; he was the first Ohio History Arts and Music cartoonist who brought realism, suspense and sensuality into comics Central, Ohio State and he inspired many artists with his beautiful drawings, earning him his nickname, "the Cartoon Library Rembrandt of the comic strip." Roy Lichtenstein 1940's- Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent twentieth-century American cubist artist. It was not until Ohio History Arts and Music the early 1960s that Lichtenstein adopted the abstract Central impressionistic and pop art styles that made him famous. His early works reflect American comic strips and advertisments. Zane Grey 1910-1939 From Zanesville, Zane Grey penned over 90 novels. He is best known for his stories about Ohio History Arts and Music the west and is credited for creating the ideal "old west" that Central, Zane became prominent is other books and media, like the spaghetti westerns. Grey's West Society Neil Armstrong 1946-1975 Prior to becoming famous as an astronaut and the first man to walk on the moon; Neil Ohio History Aviation Armstrong earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Central, Ohio Engineering from Purdue University in 1955. This background as well as some military Memory experience prepared him to work for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the predecessor to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). While with NACA, Armstrong worked at the Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio.