Minutes of the Meeting of the
Ohio Academy of History,
Columbus, April 12, 1958
THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNUAL MEETING of the Ohio
Academy of History
was held at the Ohio State Museum on
Saturday, April 12, 1958.
Three concurrent morning sessions
offered papers on a variety of topics.
In the area of American social history,
with Walter Rumsey Marvin of the
Ohioana Library in the chair,
"Protestantism and the American Labor Move-
ment, 1827-1869," was presented by
Clair M. Cook of the Religion and
Labor Foundation of Columbus, "The
Religious Sisters of Mercy in Ohio,"
by the Rev. Carl R. Steinbicker of The
Athenaeum of Ohio and Our Lady
of Cincinnati College, and "The
Struggle for an International Copyright
Law," by Stuart R. Givens of
Bowling Green State University. Eugene C.
Murdock of Marietta College presided at
the American political history ses-
sion, in which George H. Lobdell, Jr.,
of Ohio University spoke on "Frank
Knox and the Progressive Movement,"
and John J. Whealen of Xavier
University on "American Liberalism:
A Study in Consistency." Lawrence S.
Kaplan of Kent State University led the
discussion. As chairman of the
modern European history session, Carl G.
Gustavson of Ohio University
introduced Helmut Haeussler of
Wittenberg College and Philip Poirier of
Ohio State University who presented,
respectively, "Friederich Meinecke's
Reaction to World War I" and
"Fabian Myth and the Early Labor Party."
The discussion leader was Marion Siney
of Western Reserve University.
Landon Warner of Kenyon College,
president of the Academy, presided
at the luncheon, which was served to
ninety-nine persons at the Ohio State
University Faculty Club. Robert H.
Hilliard of Ohio Northern University
announced that the Committee on Awards
had selected Eugene H. Rose-
boom's A History of Presidential
Elections as the outstanding historical
achievement by a member of the Academy
in 1957. Dr. Roseboom was pre-
sented the annual Certificate of Award
by the president. Harold J. Grimm of
Ohio State University then delivered the
principal address, "Recent Trends in
Reformation Research."
Following the business meeting, a
summary of which appears below, two
afternoon sessions were held
concurrently. One was a panel discussion on
OHIO ACADEMY OF HISTORY 265
"Twenty-five Years of the New
Deal," with Eugene H. Roseboom of Ohio
State University as moderator.
Participants were Paul Craig of Ohio State
University, Fred Crane of Antioch
College, G. Wallace Chessman of
Denison University, Clayton Ellsworth of
the College of Wooster, and
Ronald Shaw of Miami University. Harry
R. Stevens of Ohio University
was chairman of the session on the
teaching of history. Kenneth E. Davison
of Heidelberg College presented
"Tools and Techniques in an American
Civilization Course," and Louis
Filler of Antioch College led the dis-
cussion.
The business meeting, with President
Warner in the chair, was attended
by thirty-seven members. The
secretary-treasurer reported a total active
membership of 104 persons, of whom 41
had been delinquent in dues since
January 1 or before.
Carl G. Klopfenstein of Heidelberg
College, chairman of the Committee
on Nominations, offered the following
slate of officers for 1958-59:
For president--Paul I. Miller, Hiram
College
For vice-president--James H. Rodabaugh,
Ohio Historical Society
For secretary-treasurer--John S. Still,
Ohio Historical Society
The motion was seconded and unanimously
approved, and the nominees
were declared elected.
James H. Rodabaugh of the Ohio
Historical Society, chairman of the
Committee on Revision of the
Constitution, submitted for consideration a
proposed new constitution. After Dr.
Rodabaugh had reviewed the history
of the organization and had explained
certain inconsistencies which would
be corrected by the proposed
constitution, Stanton Ling Davis of Case
Institute of Technology moved its
adoption, and William L. Fisk of Mus-
kingum College seconded the motion. In
the ensuing discussion two minor
amendments were approved, after which
the motion for adoption was passed
by a large majority. The approved
constitution is appended to these
minutes.
William J. McNiff of Miami University
proposed the following resolution:
Resolved, that the Ohio Academy of History express its
appreciation to Dr.
Robert H. Bremner and his colleagues on
the Program Committee; to Mrs.
S. Winifred Smith and Miss Louise James
of the Ohio Historical Society;
to the Ohio State University Faculty
Club; and to the Ohio State Museum
for their respective contributions to
the success of this meeting.
The president thanked his fellow
officers and the members of the various
committees, as listed below, for their
wholehearted cooperation during his
tenure, after which the meeting adjourned.
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THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Committee on Awards: Robert H. Hilliard,
Ohio Northern University,
chairman; Walter Rumsey Marvin, Ohioana
Library; John R. Oglevee,
Bowling Green State University; Phillip
R. Shriver, Kent State University.
Committee on Nominations: Carl G.
Klopfenstein, Heidelberg College,
chairman; Eugene C. Murdock, Marietta
College; Dwight L. Smith, Miami
University.
Committee on the Program: Robert H.
Bremner, Ohio State University,
chairman; Carl Gustavson, Ohio University;
John Hall Stewart, Western
Reserve University; Robert W. Twyman,
Bowling Green State University.
Committee on the Revision of the
Constitution: James H. Rodabaugh,
Ohio Historical Society, chairman;
William J. McNiff, Miami University;
Francis P. Weisenburger, Ohio State
University.
Committee on the Teaching of History:
Thomas LeDuc, Oberlin College,
chairman; Louis Filler, Antioch College;
Charles Morley, Ohio State Univer-
sity; Robert Seager II, Denison
University.
JOHN S. STILL
Secretary-Treasurer
OHIO ACADEMY OF HISTORY
CONSTITUTION
Adopted April 12, 1958
ARTICLE I
SECTION 1. The name of this organization
shall be the Ohio Academy
of History.
ARTICLE II
SECTION 1. Its object shall be to
promote the study and teaching of
history, historical research, and the
publication of historical works; to encour-
age historical organizations, libraries,
and archives; and to aid in the eleva-
tion of the general level of historical
consciousness in the state of Ohio.
ARTICLE III
SECTION 1. Active membership shall be
open upon payment of annual
dues to (1) members of the history
faculties of colleges and universities; (2)
officers and staff members of historical
societies, libraries, and archives; (3)
other persons engaged in teaching history,
doing research in history, or other-
wise interested in history.
SECTION 2. Only active members shall be
entitled to vote and hold office
in the Academy.
SECTION 3. Annual dues
shall be $2.00, payable to the Secretary-
Treasurer on or before the date of the
annual meeting.
A member of the Academy may enroll as a
joint member of the Academy
and the Ohio Historical Society by
paying to the Society annual dues of
$5.00, which shall include the annual
dues of the Academy.
OHIO ACADEMY OF HISTORY 267
SECTION 4. Students in good standing
working for advanced degrees in
history may, upon application to the Secretary and at
his discretion, be
enrolled as Student Members of the
Academy without paying dues.
ARTICLE IV
SECTION 1. The officers, elected by the active membership in
attendance
at the annual meeting, shall be a
President, Vice-President, and Secretary-
Treasurer.
SECTION 2. These officers shall be
chosen from a slate of nominees pre-
sented by the Nominating Committee and
from other nominations which
may be made from the floor. The
Vice-President, if he is available, shall be
the Nominating Committee's nominee for
the Presidency.
SECTION 3. If the office of President
shall become vacant, the Vice-
President shall thereupon become President. In such a
case the Vice-President
who becomes President shall be eligible
for reelection to the Presidency.
SECTION 4. The President,
Vice-President, retiring President, and Secre-
tary-Treasurer shall constitute the
Executive Committee, which shall have
full authority to conduct the affairs of
the Academy.
ARTICLE V
SECTION 1. An annual meeting shall be
held in the spring of each year
on a date fixed by the Executive
Committee. Other meetings may be called
by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE VI
SECTION 1. The President shall appoint a
Nominating Committee, com-
posed of three members of the Academy,
which shall prepare a slate of
candidates for the annual election of
officers.
SECTION 2. The President shall appoint a
Program Committee which
shall prepare the program for the annual
meeting.
SECTION 3. The President shall appoint a
Committee on Awards, com-
posed of three members of the Academy,
which shall select the winner of the
Academy's annual Award for Historical
Achievement.
SECTION 4. The first President serving
under this Constitution shall ap-
point a Committee on Standards, composed
of six members of the Academy,
two members of which shall be appointed
for three years, two members for
two years, and two members for one year.
Each succeeding President shall
appoint two members for the three-year
term. Each President shall name
one of the six members chairman of the committee
for one year. It shall be
the duty and responsibility of this
committee to consider, observe, receive
reports or complaints on, and
investigate the standards of the history pro-
fession and history teaching in the
state, with particular regard for methods
and procedures, qualifications, working
conditions, and salaries. The com-
mittee shall report from time to time
its activities, findings, and recommenda-
tions to the President and the Executive
Committee, and shall present a
report at the annual meeting of the
Academy.
ARTICLE VII
SECTION 1. At the annual meeting, the
Academy shall give an Award
for Historical Achievement to an active
member of the Academy. If no
member qualifies for such an award in a
particular year, no award shall be
268
THE OHIO HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
given. The Award shall be given for
outstanding publication or other
highly significant achievement in, or in behalf of, the
field of history, issued
or performed during the calendar year
preceding the annual meeting. A
person who has received the Award twice
shall be ineligible to receive it a
third time.
SECTION 2. At the annual meeting, the
Academy, upon the recommenda-
tion of the Executive Committee, may
give an honorary life membership in
the Academy for distinguished service in
the field of history. No more than
one such membership shall be given at an
annual meeting.
ARTICLE VIII
SECTION 1. Proposed amendments to this Constitution shall be submitted
in writing at the annual meeting. A
two-thirds majority of the members
present shall be necessary for passage.
Proposed constitution as presented April
12, 1958, by the committee to revise the
constitution, composed of Francis P.
Weisenburger, William J. McNiff, and
James H. Rodabaugh, and amended and
accepted at the business meeting.
JAMES H.
RODABAUGH
Chairman of the Committee
April 12, 1958