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BOOK REVIEWS |
PALAEO-INDIANS OF OHIO. By Olaf H. Prufer and Raymond S. Baby. (Col- umbus: Ohio Historical Society, 1963. v ??68p.; appendix and bibliography. $3.00.) Prufer and Baby's report is the result of a two-year survey of Palaeo-Indian re- mains in the state of Ohio, undertaken with the financial support of the National Science Foundation. All the material dealt with is contained in public and private collections. Although some of the tools were recovered from what appear to have been camp sites, all items are surface finds. The majority of artifacts located by the survey were collected by amateur archaeologists and collectors and by farm- ers who casually picked up stray speci- mens in their fields. Only those specimens with reliable provenience data were used in the study. The stray specimens were subjected to a typological analysis and their lo- cations according to point types were plotted on county maps of Ohio which contained pertinent geological features. The resultant patterns of distribution were then analyzed to discover their sig- nificance. Tool assemblages from bona fide Palaeo-Indian sites in Ohio were analyzed and compared in relation to the distribution patterns of the stray speci- mens. The results of these investigations were then compared with data from other areas of eastern United States to discover the position of Ohio remains in the overall pattern of Palaeo-Indian occupation. One of the major tasks of the study was the establishment of a typological scheme for the Palaeo-Indian points found in Ohio. Two main criteria--morphology and technology--were used to define the types. Fluted points were divided into six main categories: Type 1, Convex- |
parallel-sided points (Clovis); Type 2, Concavo-convex-sided points; Type 3, Ross County Points; Type 4, Pentagonal, or shouldered, points; Type 5, Triangular, or convergent-sided, points; and Type 6, Cumberland Points. In addition to the fluted points, several non-fluted Palaeo- Indian point forms were found in Ohio. Among these were lanceolate and stemmed Plano Complex forms similar to the Scotts- bluff and Eden types in the Plains and three Dalton - like points. Many points conforming in general outline to the fluted point types, but without flutes, also were recorded. Drills, end scrapers, and knives were also present, especially at sites at- tributed to the Ohio Piano Complex. Prufer and Baby found the pooled series of all fluted point types to show two in- terrelated patterns of distribution. The maximum distribution of fluted points seems to follow a diagonal line across Ohio from southwest to northeast cor- responding roughly to the maximum Wis- consin glacial boundary. Secondary con- centrations were found below the glacial margin in the Great Miami and Scioto rivers that flow southward to the Ohio. Only a few specimens were found in the rough, unglaciated areas of southeastern Ohio and in the northwestern part of the state. The authors suggest that the scar- city of fluted points in the latter area was due to the repeated covering of the area by the predecessors of Lake Erie and that the southeastern area was avoided by Early Man because of the rough ter- rain. Fluted point types 1, 2, 3, and 5 were found to be similar in distribution to the pooled series. This group of types includes the Clovis Point and the types most closely related to it. The Type 4 pentag- |
50
OHIO HISTORY |
onal point and the Type 6 Cumberland Point have specific patterns of occurrence which may be significant. The Cumberland type is centered primarily in southwest Ohio, while the pentagonal type has a northern center and a southern center of distribution. The Cumberland Point is of southern derivation, since it is a typical late fluted type in the Tennessee Valley. The origin of the pentagonal type is more difficult to pinpoint, but its closest relative appears at Ritchie's Reagan Site in Ver- mont, a late Palaeo-Indian manifestation. On the basis of geochronological evi- dence and radiocarbon-14 dating the au- thors believe that Early Man, bearing the fluted point complex, entered Ohio from the south and southwest prior to 17,000 years ago, the estimated age of the maxi- mum Wisconsin glacial boundary. He could not have penetrated north of central Ohio until the retreat of the ice margin to the Wabash Moraine about 14,500 years ago, and effective penetration of the areas close to Lake Erie could not have occurred until after 12,500 years ago. In northwestern Ohio this penetration was perhaps as late as 8,500 years ago. Thus, the distribution of fluted points when correlated with the ice retreat suggests a gradual movement northward. The relative scarcity of fluted points in northwestern Ohio suggests that by the time, 8,500 years ago, these areas were free of ice and water, the fluted point tradition was near its end. In contrast to the distribution of fluted points, Prufer and Baby found the lanceo- late and stemmed points of the Piano Com- plex to be centered in northwestern Ohio in the areas of repeated lake transgres- sions. They concluded that the Piano Com- plex came into Ohio from the northwest by way of northern Indiana and south- ern Michigan. The presence of "unfluted fluted" points, believed to be late, decadent forms of the earlier fluted points, at some Piano Complex sites in Ohio indicates the arrival of the Plano Complex before the Fluted Point Complex became extinct. The absence of fluted point forms at other Plano sites in the area suggests their occu- pation after the Fluted Complex had dis- appeared. The presence in Ohio of the Piano Com- plex in a chronological position between |
the Palaeo-Indian Fluted Point Complex and the later manifestations assigned to the Archaic brought Prufer and Baby to grips with the often debated problem of whether Plano should be classified as Palaeo or as Archaic. Their conclusion that Plano seems more closely linked with the fluted point configurations than with any known later Archaic assemblages is well founded. Prufer and Baby are to be commended for their very valuable contri- bution to our knowledge of the Palaeo- Indian in the eastern United States. Their report on the Ohio materials demonstrates admirably what can be accomplished when professional and non-professional arch- aeologists pool their resources to tackle a difficult problem. This report establishes an excellent foundation for all future work on Early Man in Ohio. DON W. DRAGOO Carnegie Museum THE VIOLENT YEARS: SIMON KEN- TON AND THE OHIO-KENTUCKY FRONTIER. By Patricia Jahns. (New York; Hastings House, 1962. ix?? 309p.; end-paper maps, bibliography, and index. $5.95.) Simon Kenton lived an adventurous life on the trans-Appalachian frontier, and his restless wanderings carried him from his native Virginia to Fort Pitt to the canebreaks of Kentucky and the for- ests of Ohio. During his long life he fought Indians from 1774 in Lord Dunmore's War to the War of 1812. He was spy, scout, militia officer, and the leader of Kenton's Boys, an informal band of rangers who patrolled the Ohio River and protected the northern approaches to Kentucky. He saved Daniel Boone's life at Boonesboro, accompanied George Rogers Clark to Kas- kaskia, survived Indian captivity and tor- ture, ran the gantlet several times, and concluded his active career with William Henry Harrison at the battle of the Thames in 1813. Simon Kenton was re- markable in character, physique, and woodsman lore; he was one of the great- est frontier scouts in the history of the nation; and he was a man fitted to his times and honed to his purposes. This book tells his story in popular |
BOOK REVIEWS 51 |
fashion. It is pleasant reading, it flows with the plentiful action of his life, and it is rich in description of persons and places. Unfortunately it is marred with minor errors of information, and it re- veals hasty proofreading. There is a dis- concerting interpolation of opinions, feel- ings, and attitudes attributed to historical figures. The author is biased against the Indians and is anthropologically naive. She recounts the tortures of the eastern woodland tribes in relished details and the atrocities of the whites in hasty words. The absence of footnotes prevents any checking of statements, and the biblio- graphy is incomplete: volumes are cited incorrectly, and many key works are omit- ted. For example, although Miss Jahns presents a balanced picture of Simon Girty, the renegade who was a great and good friend of Kenton's, she does not list the germane work on him, Consul Will- shire Butterfield's History of the Girtys. Although Simon Kenton was only a minor historical figure, he was a man who came "at the proper season." As an auth- entic frontier hero, his name has been used repeatedly in our frontier literary works. He has often been cast as the hero in apposition to Simon Girty, but Miss Jahns errs in her claim that he was the model for James Fenimore Cooper's Lea- therstocking Tales. There is ample pub- lished research to prove that Cooper took his prototype from a local frontiersman around Otsego Lake, New York. The Violent Years is a Look to be en- joyed as an introduction to those decades of frontier warfare which saved the Old Northwest, but it is not to be cited as his- tory. The definitive biography of Simon Kenton is yet to be written. ROY M. BOATMAN Hagley Museum MINNESOTA: A HISTORY OF THE STATE. By Theodore C. Blegen. (Min- neapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1963. xiv??688p.; maps, illustrations, bibliographical essay, and index. $8.50.) Minnesota, the thirty-second state to enter the Union, long has needed a one- volume, substantial history which, with depth and insight, would carry the story |
of the beginnings of a "forgotten wilder- ness" through decades of development--if not progress--to the approximate present. The North Star State lacked as sturdy a book as E. H. Roseboom and F. P. Weisen- burger's A History of Ohio and had noth- ing to compare with the excellent multi- volume history of Ohio edited by Carl Wittke some twenty-odd years ago. Until the publication of Mr. Blegen's Minnesota: A History of the State, the most reliable general source was William W. Folwell's four-volume narrative. Folwell, for the period which he surveyed, is still the best reference, for a couple of his volumes have been revised and republished. Mr. Blegen writes in his preface that he wanted to try his hand at writing the Minnesota "story" for the general public, for citizens of Minnesota, and for people elsewhere who might be interested. His story, written for a popular and lay audi- ence, achieves its purpose. His twenty- seven chapters sweep across the panorama of the past, touching upon prehistoric geo- logical influences, the coming of the white man, the conflict between settler and In- dian, the Civil War, and the era of re- construction. There are discussions of pioneer agriculture, early developments in the lumber industry, and the frontier days when iron ore was discovered. Ohioans, interested in Minnesota's past and present cultural patterns, will find abundant material concerning the rise of churches, the role of education, the part played by musicians, artists, writers, and architects. Although Minnesota is known the world over for its cooperative market- ing devices, the author seems to pay too slight attention to the part played by huge state cooperatives. Indeed, the story, as it moves into the twilight zone of contempo- rary current events, seems to deteriorate. The author senses the frailness of his judg- ment, for he writes: "Perspective is in- evitably lacking in any review of con- temporary history and appraisal must await the passing of time." Perhaps judg- ments would have been sounder and the book stronger had it terminated with the close, say, of World War II. It is some- what curious that an entire chapter is given to the Civil War and relatively scant space to the men and women who served |
52 OHIO HISTORY |
during later conflicts. The discussion of the rise, development, and present-day tac- tics of organized labor seems sparse. Yet, after all, this narrative of Minne- sota was conceived as a general story written for the general public, and most certainly there is scarcely a citizen of the state who will not find something of which he knew little previously. If such readers wish to read further, the author has ap- pended suggestions for additional study. PHILIP D. JORDAN University of Minnesota MESSAGES AND PAPERS RELATING TO THE ADMINISTRATION OF DAVID WALLACE, GOVERNOR OF INDIANA, 1837-1840. Edited by Dor- othy Riker. Indiana Historical Collec- tions, Volume
XLIII. (Indianapolis: In- diana Historical Bureau, 1963. vii?? 501p.; illustrations and index. $7.50.) This volume marks another forward step in making available to scholars and in- formed citizens the official papers of the governors of Indiana. Beginnings of the project were made in 1922-24 by the In- diana Historical Commission (forerunner of the Indiana Historical Bureau of today), when two volumes dealing with the papers of the territorial governors and one covering the state administrations before 1825 were issued. After a period of about thirty years, further efforts resulted in the publishing of the messages and papers of James Brown Ray, governor from 1825 to 1831 (1954) and of those of Noah Noble, governor from 1831 to 1837 (1958). The present volume covers the administration of David Wallace, who, unlike his imme- diate predecessors, served only one three- year term. Wallace was born in Pennsylvania in 1799, but during his youth the family lived in southwestern Ohio. General William Henry Harrison secured the appointment of the young man to the United States Military Academy at West Point, from which he was graduated in 1821. In the meantime the family moved to Brookville, Indiana, where Wallace settled down, mar- ried, and became a successful lawyer. Wallace was a National Republican and then a Whig. Elected to the lower house of the Indiana legislature in 1828, he later |
served two terms (beginning in 1831) as lieutenant governor until he resigned to run for governor in 1837. Elected by a comfortable margin, he faced severe prob- lems, for the previous administration had incurred heavy indebtedness for canals and other internal improvements, and the panic of 1837 had severely taxed the financial stability of the nation and state. Wallace pressed for a continuance of the various projects rather than a concentration on those of most importance, as seemed wise to some conservative leaders. Accordingly, he presented an unrealistic picture of the state's financial situation. Another prob- lem faced by his administration was as- sistance to the federal government in the final removal of the Potawatomi Indians. Adequate taxes could not readily be col- lected, and the difficulties encountered had aroused so much opposition that Wallace did not seek reelection. Later, he served one term (1841-43) as a member of con- gress from the Indianapolis district, took part in the Indiana Constitutional Conven- tion of 1850, and finally was a common pleas judge from 1856 until his death in 1859. Wallace was not a strong executive or an effective party leader but was a man of integrity. The account of his ad- ministration as governor when Indiana spent more money on premiums for wolf scalps than for the state library (p. 67), is accurately presented. Much better known to history is Wallace's son, Lewis (Lew), of "Ben Hur" fame. FRANCIS P. WEISENBURGER Ohio State University THE CHOLERA YEARS: THE UNITED STATES IN 1832, 1849, AND 1866. By Charles E. Rosenberg. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962. x??257p.; frontispiece, bibliog- raphy, and index. $5.95.) We of this relatively enlightened scien- tific age may wonder what the reactions were of the peoples of former times to the great epidemics of their experience. With their innate curiosity but limited scientific knowledge, what were their expressed opin- ions as to the causes of widespread disease and on what were their attempts at con- trol measures based? |
BOOK REVIEWS 53 |
Answers to these very questions of human reactions and social behavior were sought by Rosenberg, and he chose as his central issue the epidemics of cholera in the United States in 1832, 1849, and 1866. For his analysis of contemporary thinking he went to the printed records of the re- spective times, which he objectively pre- sents in faithful quotations and para- phrases. The monotony of listing the printed evidence is fortunately relieved by the author's effective literary style. Rosenberg limits his study to the ex- perience of New York City, which he ex- plains is illustrative of that had by large cities of the country. To the uninitiated, this limitation gives a false impression of the extent of the cholera epidemics in ques- tion. This leads to the comment that the book presents an entirely too restricted view of the disease itself; a more complete description of its character and of factors involved in its migration across the coun- try would have enhanced the non-medical reader's concept of what was hidden from the contemporary public and what was available for speculation at those times. The book concludes with a seven-page chapter touching on some of these points, but too briefly for full comprehension of the text. There are no charts, tables of incidence, or maps, and only relatively few statistics. It must be understood, however, that The Cholera Years is not a medical his- tory. It uses the printed record to describe the social ecology of disease of the times, and the reader can see for himself the in- terpretations of epidemic visitations in the four decades involved. Reactions and pro- nouncements are presented in three cate- gories: social, religious, and medical, with considerable overlapping, especially in the earlier epidemics, and public administra- tion of health affairs playing a significant role in later years. The span of time represented by the epi- demics is of interest because of the shift in thinking in these years from almost complete attribution of the epidemics to God's punishment of the wicked (with men- tal squirming and raised eyebrows when citizens considered exemplary fell victim to the disease) to a confession that perhaps there was a combination of divine punish- |
ment superimposed on a natural phenome- non of some scientific merit. It should be noted that, although the bacteriologic era had not yet come to full bloom by 1866, the current stirring of science and ad- vances of medicine were being felt by and influencing the public mind. Indeed, the volume reflects the changing views of American society in respect to religion, disease, and civic responsibilities for the public health. Rosenberg has made this significant con- tribution to social interpretation as a mem- ber of the departments of history and history of science at the University of Wis- consin. The work is a scholarly exhibition of historical writing, thoroughly docu- mented by numerous footnotes and a ter- minal "Annotated Bibliography" of exten- sive proportions. The books ends with an adequate index. N. PAUL HUDSON Ohio State University BLACK UTOPIA: NEGRO COMMUNAL EXPERIMENTS IN AMERICA. By William H. Pease and Jane H. Pease. (Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1963. xiv??204p.; bibliog- raphy and index. $4.00.) These conscientious authors provide a well-documented monograph which ex- amines experiments in Negro community organization in pre-Civil War decades. It is largely a story of failure, and, consider- ing the good will which motivated some leaders and the hope for social advance- ment generated among many Negroes, a tragic one. Social experiments in some cases exemplified "white philanthropy," notably in Frances Wright's Nashoba colony, which deteriorated into aimless association and licentiousness. Wilberforce, in Ontario, Canada, was designed to serve refugees from Ohio's "Black Laws," but inspired fund-raisers who more consist- ently served themselves. Dawn, in Canada West, engaged the famous Father Henson and responsible patrons; nevertheless, it became a tale of incompetence and dissen- sion. Elgin, near Chatham, Ontario, was the creation of William King, a Pres- byterian minister, and earned the best title to success. It was carefully organized, |
54 OHIO HISTORY |
and selected settlers purposefully. Self- help and support kept the community promising and respectable for some twenty years, despite local resistance. The authors conclude that "immediate triumph was long-range failure." Elgin, being a self- contained settlement, offered no program for the great body of American Negroes. Interesting for other reasons was the Port Royal experiment in the Sea Islands of South Carolina. Here came humanitarians from the North to aid Negroes whom the advent of Union forces had freed in 1861. They gave form and substance to the Negro community, and helped run the cotton plantations. Casual cohabitation was outlawed and education was under- taken. The practical purposes of the fed- eral officers kept utopianism at a mini- mum. Port Royal experienced a brief per- iod of less opportunistic life under the energetic Edward Philbrick, but at the war's end the government overthrew most of its promising features. The authors' judgment on these communities is largely negative. Their leaders were in most cases men of good hope, but "their vision was unrealistic; their practice, at last, unfruit- ful." LOUIS FILLER Antioch College THE EDUCATION OF NEGROES IN OHIO. By Frederick A. McGinnis. (Wilberforce, Ohio: the author, 1962. xii??104p.; appendix and index. $2.25.) In a book of less than one hundred pages Frederick A. McGinnis, a member of the faculty of Wilberforce University, has compressed the history of education of Negroes in Ohio. The record of Ohio in the treatment of its Negro minority is typical of northern states. The pattern with regard to education has been similar to that in the neighboring states of Indiana and Illinois, but Ohio repealed her segregation law earlier than did her sister states. Briefly summarized, Mr. McGinnis' find- ings are as follows. Before 1848 there was no provision of any sort for the edu- cation of Ohio Negroes at public expense. Subsequent laws passed in 1849, 1853, 1854, and 1878 provided for separate schools in districts where there were as |
many as thirty Negro children and for the consolidation of districts for the pur- pose of establishing separate schools where the number was smaller. By the 1880's approximately half of the Negro children enrolled in schools were in separate schools, about half in schools with mixed enrollments. Soon after the Civil War and the adoption of the thirteenth and four- teenth amendments a campaign was be- gun to end the segregated schools. Both governors Hoadly and Foraker, as well as the Negro churches and Negro leaders, gave their support to a movement which resulted in the repeal of the separate school law in 1886. The effect of the re- peal was to stop the establishment of additional segregated schools, but it did not necessarily mean the end of those already in operation. During the early years of the twentieth century, and especially as the result of the northward migration of Negroes during and after World War I, there was a marked trend toward increased segrega- tion in areas where there was a heavy concentration of Negroes. Although state law made no provision for segregation, this separation of the races had a quasi- legal status. Some Negroes acquiesced in separate schools because they provided opportunities for the employment of Negro teachers. A series of doctoral dissertations written at the University of Cincinnati on the effects of segregation during the 1920's and 1930's purported to show that separate schools better met the needs of Negro children than did integrated schools. This had the effect of strengthening and perpetuating segregation. In some communities of southern Ohio segregated schools persist to this day. But in recent years, especially since the United States Supreme Court decision of 1954, separate schools have been abolished in several smaller communities. In some places, especially the larger cities, there has been marked progress in the integra- tion of teaching staffs in recent years. Mr. McGinnis deals briefly with the history of opportunities--or lack of oppor- tunities -- for the higher education of Negroes. He found that as recently as 1949 Negro students were in attendance at only forty-four of sixty-seven institu- |
BOOK REVIEWS 55 |
tions of higher learning in the state. Since that date there have been rapid changes. The number of Negroes enrolled at colleges and universities has increased steadily, and the number of institutions with no Negroes has diminished greatly. The book provides a useful summary and is a contribution to the neglected field of the history of Negroes in the northern states. But it is written almost entirely |
from secondary materials, some of which can scarcely be classified as scholarly works. An abundance of printed sources, such as legislative journals, court reports, and newspapers, to mention only a few, must have been readily available, and their use would greatly have enriched this study. EMMA LOU THORNBROUGH Butler University |
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BOOK REVIEWS |
PALAEO-INDIANS OF OHIO. By Olaf H. Prufer and Raymond S. Baby. (Col- umbus: Ohio Historical Society, 1963. v ??68p.; appendix and bibliography. $3.00.) Prufer and Baby's report is the result of a two-year survey of Palaeo-Indian re- mains in the state of Ohio, undertaken with the financial support of the National Science Foundation. All the material dealt with is contained in public and private collections. Although some of the tools were recovered from what appear to have been camp sites, all items are surface finds. The majority of artifacts located by the survey were collected by amateur archaeologists and collectors and by farm- ers who casually picked up stray speci- mens in their fields. Only those specimens with reliable provenience data were used in the study. The stray specimens were subjected to a typological analysis and their lo- cations according to point types were plotted on county maps of Ohio which contained pertinent geological features. The resultant patterns of distribution were then analyzed to discover their sig- nificance. Tool assemblages from bona fide Palaeo-Indian sites in Ohio were analyzed and compared in relation to the distribution patterns of the stray speci- mens. The results of these investigations were then compared with data from other areas of eastern United States to discover the position of Ohio remains in the overall pattern of Palaeo-Indian occupation. One of the major tasks of the study was the establishment of a typological scheme for the Palaeo-Indian points found in Ohio. Two main criteria--morphology and technology--were used to define the types. Fluted points were divided into six main categories: Type 1, Convex- |
parallel-sided points (Clovis); Type 2, Concavo-convex-sided points; Type 3, Ross County Points; Type 4, Pentagonal, or shouldered, points; Type 5, Triangular, or convergent-sided, points; and Type 6, Cumberland Points. In addition to the fluted points, several non-fluted Palaeo- Indian point forms were found in Ohio. Among these were lanceolate and stemmed Plano Complex forms similar to the Scotts- bluff and Eden types in the Plains and three Dalton - like points. Many points conforming in general outline to the fluted point types, but without flutes, also were recorded. Drills, end scrapers, and knives were also present, especially at sites at- tributed to the Ohio Piano Complex. Prufer and Baby found the pooled series of all fluted point types to show two in- terrelated patterns of distribution. The maximum distribution of fluted points seems to follow a diagonal line across Ohio from southwest to northeast cor- responding roughly to the maximum Wis- consin glacial boundary. Secondary con- centrations were found below the glacial margin in the Great Miami and Scioto rivers that flow southward to the Ohio. Only a few specimens were found in the rough, unglaciated areas of southeastern Ohio and in the northwestern part of the state. The authors suggest that the scar- city of fluted points in the latter area was due to the repeated covering of the area by the predecessors of Lake Erie and that the southeastern area was avoided by Early Man because of the rough ter- rain. Fluted point types 1, 2, 3, and 5 were found to be similar in distribution to the pooled series. This group of types includes the Clovis Point and the types most closely related to it. The Type 4 pentag- |