Ohio History Journal

MINUTES OF

THE OHIO ACADEMY OF HISTORY

Columbus, Ohio

April 7, 1951

 

The Ohio Academy of History met in Columbus, April 7, at 10:00 A.M.,

with Dr. Raymond W. Bixler of Ashland College in the chair. Grover C.

Platt of Bowling Green State University opened the morning session with

a discussion of "The Civilization Course in the Ohio College History

Curriculum," and Frederick B. Joyner of Miami University spoke on "The

Basic American History Course in Ohio Colleges." Donald R. Tuttle of

Fenn College, representing the committee on teacher certification of the

English section of the Ohio College Association, presented some sug-

gestions on the problem of improving the education and preparation of

teachers. Dr. Tuttle asked the Ohio Academy of History to join his com-

mittee in a study of the preparation provided for prospective teachers by

Ohio colleges.

On motion of Charles Morley of Ohio State University the committee

on the teaching of history of the academy was instructed to work with

the committee on teacher certification of the English section of the Ohio

College Association.

William J. McNiff of Miami University, president of the academy for the

year 1950-51, presided over the luncheon and business sessions. Carl

Wittke of Western Reserve University addressed the luncheon session on

"The Challenge of the Times to the Historian." Immediately following

this talk Paul A. Varg of Ohio State University presented Dr. Wittke with

the academy's annual award for an outstanding achievement in the field

of history. The award was given for his book The Utopian Communist: A

Biography of Wilhelm Weitling, Nineteenth-Century Reformer (Baton

Rouge, Louisiana State University Press, 1950).

At the business meeting the following officers were elected for the year

1951-52: president, Lowell Ragatz of Ohio State University; vice president,

Paul H. Bloomhardt of Wittenberg College; secretary-treasurer, James H.

Rodabaugh of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society. Reports

of the secretary-treasurer and the committee on publications were read

308

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Ohio Academy of History                      309

and approved. An invitation to the academy to hold a fall meeting in

Oxford was extended by members from Miami University and Western

College and accepted. A lengthy discussion of a bill before the Ohio

General Assembly to require the teaching of American history in the

public schools concluded the business meeting.

Committees for the past year appointed by President McNiff were as

follows:

 

Awards--Thomas LeDuc, Oberlin College, chairman; Kenyon C. Kramer,

Case Institute of Technology; Paul A. Varg, Ohio State University.

Nominations--Carl Gustavson, Ohio University, chairman; Eugene H.

Roseboom, Ohio State University; Wilfred Steiner, University of Dayton.

Program--Raymond W. Bixler, Ashland College, chairman; C. William

Vogel, University of Cincinnati; Aletha M. Herwig, Findlay College.

Publications--C. E. Van Sickle, Ohio Wesleyan University, chairman;

Hilmar G. Grimm, Capital University; Keith Churchman, College of Edu-

cation and Industrial Arts, Wilberforce.

Teaching of History in Ohio Colleges--Frank L. Esterquest, Western

College, chairman; Robert L. Jones, Marietta College; Grover C. Platt,

Bowling Green State University.

Teaching of History in Ohio High Schools--Duane D. Smith, Uni-

versity of Toledo, chairman; C. N. Knapp, Kent State University; and

Irl P. Fast, Cleveland Heights High School.

 

Ninety persons attended the sessions.

Respectfully submitted,

JAMES H. RODABAUGH

Secretary-Treasurer

 

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Report of the Committee on Publications

Your committee followed the custom of previous years in sending out

questionnaires to members of the Ohio Academy of History requesting

lists of their published writings. Two hundred and sixty-seven were sent

in all, and of these, six were returned unclaimed. The deadline date for

the return of questionnaires was set at March 10, but this was not rigorously

observed.

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310     Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly

The results are classified as follows in comparison with those of 1949:

Ohio and Local History             1950                   1949

Articles and Booklets             13 contributed by 7 authors               26 by 13 authors

Books                                     6      "     "  6   "       5 " 5  "

United States History

Articles and Booklets             22         "          " 15         "                 23 " 13     "

Books                                     7           "          "  6 "       4" 4            "

Europe and Africa

Articles                                   6           "          "     4                          "        3 "  2             "

Books                                      1           "          "     1       "                           0 "  0 "

The Far East

Articles                                   1           "          "  1 "                          2 " 2  "

Books                                      0                       "              "0                         "                    1 " 1 "

The Ancient World

Books                  1      "     "1     "        1" 1 "

Bibliography

Articles                                   1           "                 "                          1        "

Books                                      2                       "              "                           1                    "         4" 1 "

 

It is interesting to note the names that recur from year to year on the

list of authors. Thus under the heading of Ohio History six articles were

written by three persons who account for four articles in the 1949 list,

and one author of a book in this field was also represented by a book

last year. In United States History one author who published three articles

in 1949 produced a pamphlet and an article in 1950, while another pro-

duced a book in 1949 and another in 1950. In Far Eastern History the

author of a chapter in a collaborative book published in 1949 also wrote

a periodical article in 1950. Two histories of Ohio colleges--Capital Uni-

versity and Urbana University--are included in the list.

Contributions dealing with Ohio and United States history made up 80

percent of the total, but the actual number of such writings had fallen off

sharply as the statistics just quoted prove. The loss was principally in the

field of articles and booklets on Ohio history, which dropped from 26 in

1949 to 13 in 1950. On the other hand, 6 books were published in 1950,

as compared with 5 in 1949. Articles on United States history numbered

22 in 1950 as compared with 23 in 1949. Articles and booklets in European

history doubled in number (from 3 to 6) but books fell off, due in part

to our practice of listing bibliographical publications under a separate

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Ohio Academy of History                      311

heading. Had the same system been used, it would have shown 3 books

in 1950, as compared with 4 in 1949. There were no publications of any

kind on medieval European history. The prevalent interest in Russian

history is not reflected in publications by Ohio historians, not one of whom

dealt with the subject. Far eastern and ancient history have their customary

scanty records of achievement.

Articles appeared in Agricultural History, the Ohio State Archaeological

and Historical Quarterly, Pennsylvania History, Western Pennsylvania His-

torical Magazine, the Journal of the History of Medicine, the American

Historical Review, and other periodicals. The Ohio State Archaeological

and Historical Quarterly proved its usefulness and popularity with Ohio

historians by the large use which they made of it.

C. E. VAN SICKLE, Chairman

H. G. GRIMM

KEITH CHURCHMAN

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