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Ohio

The academic journal Ohio History has ceased publication

Nadya Williams   |  February 25, 2025

It began in 1887.

Haitian evangelicals: GOP ticket “fuels xenophobia and perpetuates damaging stereotypes”

John Fea   |  September 15, 2024

In case you missed it, today on CNN JD Vance doubled-down on the view that Haitian immigrants, here in the country legally, are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. Watch: Vance comes across as really slimy in this interview. He tells […]

Trump picks J.D. Vance as his running mate

John Fea   |  July 15, 2024

It’s official. Trump has picked the Ohio Senator as his running mate. Vance has moved from chronicler of Trumpism in Hillbilly Elegy, to a member of the MAGA faithful, to Donald Trump’s running mate. More coming. Stay tuned. Donald Trump […]

1 in 3 “evangelical” or “born again” Christians supported a right to abortion in Ohio; pro-choice governor wins in red Kentucky

John Fea   |  November 7, 2023

An NBC news exit poll shows that 32% of white “evangelical” or “born again” Christians voted to enshrine the right to an abortion in the Ohio constitution. As expected, 68% of white evangelicals opposed the measure, but I was surprised […]

What does J.D. Vance want?

John Fea   |  April 24, 2023

University of Chicago historian Gabriel Winant asks this question in a recent longform piece at N+1. It’s a stinging criticism of Ohio’s GOP United States senator. A taste: WHAT MORE DOES J. D. VANCE WANT? With the Yale degree and the […]

The Author’s Corner with Stephanie Ryberg-Webster

Rachel Petroziello   |  April 5, 2023

Stephanie Ryberg-Webster is Associate Professor of Urban Affairs in the Levin College of Public Affairs & Education at Cleveland State University. This interview is based on her new book, Preserving the Vanishing City: Historic Preservation amid Urban Decline in Cleveland, […]

The Author’s Corner with Michael D. Pierson

Rachel Petroziello   |  April 4, 2023

Michael D. Pierson is Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. This interview is based on his new book, The Wild Woman of Cincinnati: Gender and Politics on the Eve of the Civil War (LSU Press, 2023). JF: […]

The Author’s Corner with Matthew Smith

Rachel Petroziello   |  November 21, 2022

Matthew Smith is Visiting Assistant Professor of History and Regional Director of Public Programming at Miami University of Ohio. This interview is based on his new book, The Spires Still Point to Heaven: Cincinnati’s Religious Landscape, 1788–1873 (Temple University Press, […]

Ohio Senate candidate Tim Ryan: “I have the privilege to concede this election to J.D. Vance”

John Fea   |  November 9, 2022

He lost to Vance, but in the process he showed how democracy works. Thanks Tim Ryan. It’s a shame that we live in a country where Ryan had to say this. Watch:

Ohio governor Mike DeWine wants guns in classrooms

John Fea   |  June 14, 2022

DeWine will probably sign a bill that will allow teachers to carry weapons in their classrooms after 24 hours of training. Here is NPR on Ohio House Bill 99: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is poised to sign a bill on […]

The power of a Trump endorsement in Ohio

John Fea   |  May 6, 2022

If you read one thing to get up to speed on the J.D. Vance’s win in the Ohio GOP primary for U.S. Senate, I recommend Alex Shephard’s short piece at The New Republic. A taste: In a seven-person race full […]

Ted Cruz endorses Josh Mandel in Ohio Senate race

John Fea   |  April 4, 2022

Ah Christian Right politicians! You’ve got to love the way they have each other’s backs. Josh Mandel is running for Senate in Ohio in the pro-Trump lane. He does not believe in the separation of church and state, thinks the […]

Putin and Ohio Republicans are rewriting history

John Fea   |  March 21, 2022

Here is Bowling Green State University historian Andrew Shocket at Ohio Capital Journal: Americans are united in denouncing Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, including how he has justified it with a warped view of Ukrainian history and has crushed Russian […]

Who is Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel?

John Fea   |  February 16, 2022

We haven’t spent too much time covering Josh Mandel, the 44-year-old GOP candidate for U.S. Senate from Ohio. The only sustained treatment has been a recent post on his rejection of the separation of church and state. According to New […]

Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandel does not believe in the separation of church and state

John Fea   |  January 30, 2022

In a recent debate between Ohio U.S. Senate candidates Morgan Harper (D) and Josh Mandel (R), the question of the separation of church and state came up. Watch: Here is Mandel’s answer in writing: I do not believe in the […]

The political philosophy of candidate J.D. Vance

John Fea   |  January 5, 2022

As many of you know, the author of Hillbilly Elegy is running for a United States Senate seat from Ohio as a national (Trump) conservative. Over at The Washington Post, Simon van Zuylen-Wood offers one of the best profiles of […]

Who is J.D. Vance? Apparently a lot of Ohio GOP voters haven’t read Hillbilly Elegy

John Fea   |  July 29, 2021

In his book Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, J.D. Vance interpreted Appalachia for a largely educated, non-populist reading public. He was able to do this because he left Appalachia for Yale Law School. He […]

“What do we call a man who turns on everything he once claimed to believe?”

John Fea   |  July 15, 2021

J.D. Vance Here is Tom Nichols at The Atlantic: What do we call a man who turns on everything he once claimed to believe? For a practitioner of petty and self-serving duplicity, we use “sellout” or “backstabber.” (Sometimes we impugn […]