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Settling Ohio: First Peoples and Beyond
Scholars working in archaeology, education, history, geography, and politics tell a nuanced story about the people and dynamics that reshaped this region and determined who would control it. The Ohio Valley possesses some of the most resource-rich terrain in the world. Its settlement by humans was thus consequential not only for shaping the geographic and cultural landscape of the region but also for forming the United States and the future of world history. Settling Ohio begins with an overview of the first people who inhabited the region, who built civilizations that moved massive amounts of earth and left an archaeological record that drew the interest of subsequent settlers and continues to intrigue scholars. It highlights how, in the eighteenth century, Native Americans who migrated from the East and North interacted with Europeans to develop impressive trading networks and how they navigated complicated wars and sought to preserve national identities in the face of violent attempts to remove them from their lands. The book situates the traditional story of Ohio settlement, including the Northwest Ordinance, the dealings of the Ohio Company of Associates, and early road building, into a far richer story of contested spaces, competing visions of nationhood, and complicated relations with Indian peoples. By so doing, the contributors provide valuable new insights into how chaotic and contingent early national politics and frontier development truly were. Chapters highlighting the role of apple-growing culture, education, African American settlers, and the diverse migration flows into Ohio from the East and Europe further demonstrate the complex multiethnic composition of Ohio’s early settlements and the tensions that resulted. A final theme of this volume is the desirability of working to recover the often-forgotten history of non-White peoples displaced by the processes of settler colonialism that has been, until recently, undervalued in the scholarship.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
300 pages, Paperback
Published June 6, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 4, 2024
A collection of essays designed to flesh out the narratives surrounding that presented by McCullough in “Pioneers” (2019).
Overall, a very enjoyable collection. Several were a little too presentist IMO, but it was generally of a consistent and solid quality.
Overall, a very enjoyable collection. Several were a little too presentist IMO, but it was generally of a consistent and solid quality.
October 1, 2023
A collection of eleven essays by eleven different writers. The goal was to add other voices to the dominant Anglo-European/American narrative of the settling of Ohio.
The book is worth reading, if only for William Kerrigan's chapter, "Johnny Appleseed and Apple Cultures in Early Ohio." As I travel through rural Ohio today, it's easy for me to imagine the cider culture - "characterized by small, resource-poor farms, often remote from markets, where both labor and cash were scarce commodities."
The book is worth reading, if only for William Kerrigan's chapter, "Johnny Appleseed and Apple Cultures in Early Ohio." As I travel through rural Ohio today, it's easy for me to imagine the cider culture - "characterized by small, resource-poor farms, often remote from markets, where both labor and cash were scarce commodities."
February 25, 2026
reading for hist-society research- most of these i don’t expect to read in the entirety and will probably be scrapping through them for info/quotes, but this one was worthwhile enough to finish. functions primarily as a response to the very well-known David McCullough’s book on the first settlers in the Northwest Territory (which i’ve never had any interest in reading as i’m mostly allergic to popular history) but has a scope/intention on its own. especially liked the interdisciplinary nature of the contributors, even if it meant a few resonated with me less
obv preoccupied with expanding the idea of McCullough’s "Pioneers" to include the perspectives/histories of the othered in that paragram. namely, includes a lot of indigenous history that both frames and provides background information on the land’s inhabitants in the hundreds of thousands of years before the period of colonization, as well as the inclusion of indigenous diplomacy, movement, war, coalition-building, and inner conflict in response to not just the British (and later, Americans) but also the French etc. also tries to expand past just Marietta, which was ofc better for me/my purposes. could have used more black histories, esp given the contribution which touched on the way black history in the “frontier” is abundant but simply remains in the shadows in large part because of the belief it is so rare and the resources are not given to preserve or make those histories known. but the hearty bibliography provided does satiate that desire a little
probably most successful at incidentally stressing the importance of the land in the northwest territory which would become ohio not just in shaping/defining the us, but also was at multiple points a global catalyst for conflict as a result of its positionality as a place of meeting and overlap. pretty well-accepted if you are familiar with the history but by expanding the timeline of the McCullough narrative, this provides a very concise way of communicating that reality, with back-to-back articles which situate ohio as one of the precipitating causes of the seven year’s war, as well as the revolution and then later the northwest indian war, but also that war-debts incurred from each of these conflicts preceded the next by significantly shaping diplomatic behavior in the region. which, then, sets up the view of ohio as the answer to the infantile United State’s problems of both sovereignty and, well, money. not only does the government see land as the future of the country, a precursor to manifest destiny which is much more nakedly self-serving and driven by greed (speculation, for one), but that land presents the only real opportunity available to deal with the debt incurred by fighting the revolution: they "mortgaged [their] future on the sale of Western land”.
indeed, the military responses to the threat of an indigenous coalition forming in the territory is the foundation of the United States formalizing its military, as the embarrassing losses incurred by the hastily organized militias were an impetus for authorizing a more competent military expedition by way of forming a Legion of the United States. which, again, the willingness to do so even when badly in debt speaks to how urgently these matters were treated. and, if anything, the actions of the united states in ohio are all processes by which the state tests/employs the actual development of its power; even more important than its first military incursions is the US establishing organizational procedures meaning there is a convincing argument in the text that the passage of the Northwest Ordinance was equally (if not even moreso) significant to the initial drafting of the Constitution as it provided an overarching and delineated process by which to begin admitting states to the union and outlined how territorial governments would look. above all though, the whole text does a good job emphasizing westward expansion and the process of appropriating and selling land as probably the single most urgent interest of the early united states and, therefore, the issue by which much of its founding principles are enmeshed in. so a surprisingly good selection for orienting someone into this period and presenting a multitude of entryways into the scholarly discourse
obv preoccupied with expanding the idea of McCullough’s "Pioneers" to include the perspectives/histories of the othered in that paragram. namely, includes a lot of indigenous history that both frames and provides background information on the land’s inhabitants in the hundreds of thousands of years before the period of colonization, as well as the inclusion of indigenous diplomacy, movement, war, coalition-building, and inner conflict in response to not just the British (and later, Americans) but also the French etc. also tries to expand past just Marietta, which was ofc better for me/my purposes. could have used more black histories, esp given the contribution which touched on the way black history in the “frontier” is abundant but simply remains in the shadows in large part because of the belief it is so rare and the resources are not given to preserve or make those histories known. but the hearty bibliography provided does satiate that desire a little
probably most successful at incidentally stressing the importance of the land in the northwest territory which would become ohio not just in shaping/defining the us, but also was at multiple points a global catalyst for conflict as a result of its positionality as a place of meeting and overlap. pretty well-accepted if you are familiar with the history but by expanding the timeline of the McCullough narrative, this provides a very concise way of communicating that reality, with back-to-back articles which situate ohio as one of the precipitating causes of the seven year’s war, as well as the revolution and then later the northwest indian war, but also that war-debts incurred from each of these conflicts preceded the next by significantly shaping diplomatic behavior in the region. which, then, sets up the view of ohio as the answer to the infantile United State’s problems of both sovereignty and, well, money. not only does the government see land as the future of the country, a precursor to manifest destiny which is much more nakedly self-serving and driven by greed (speculation, for one), but that land presents the only real opportunity available to deal with the debt incurred by fighting the revolution: they "mortgaged [their] future on the sale of Western land”.
indeed, the military responses to the threat of an indigenous coalition forming in the territory is the foundation of the United States formalizing its military, as the embarrassing losses incurred by the hastily organized militias were an impetus for authorizing a more competent military expedition by way of forming a Legion of the United States. which, again, the willingness to do so even when badly in debt speaks to how urgently these matters were treated. and, if anything, the actions of the united states in ohio are all processes by which the state tests/employs the actual development of its power; even more important than its first military incursions is the US establishing organizational procedures meaning there is a convincing argument in the text that the passage of the Northwest Ordinance was equally (if not even moreso) significant to the initial drafting of the Constitution as it provided an overarching and delineated process by which to begin admitting states to the union and outlined how territorial governments would look. above all though, the whole text does a good job emphasizing westward expansion and the process of appropriating and selling land as probably the single most urgent interest of the early united states and, therefore, the issue by which much of its founding principles are enmeshed in. so a surprisingly good selection for orienting someone into this period and presenting a multitude of entryways into the scholarly discourse
October 22, 2025
If you want to understand the historic cultural-political landscape of Ohio, this is a must read. This book comprehensively covers topics from the region's ancient origins to the modern era (20th Century). The book heavily focuses primarily on the years 1700-1900, however. The authors provide unique perspectives on the different cultures and peoples that moved into the former Northwest Territory and explain how this formed an uneasy melting pot of the cultures and origins of colonial America. They discuss Natives, Blacks, and newer immigrants contributions to the state as well as how older populations have adjusted to these changes over time. This is truly a historical ethnography if there is one. Perhaps one of the most comprehensive and intriguing books written on Ohio in the last 100 years. It is structured as a collection of academic essays and studies in history, geography, ethnography, demographics, and politics.
After reading this book, you'll not only understand Ohio's history but why the state is so diverse in terms of micro-regions within the border of a single political entity. It explains why Ohio has often been a swing state and bellwether as well as propagating that states and regions are not as homogenous as they are often assumed to be and that history can explain modern complexities.
After reading this book, you'll not only understand Ohio's history but why the state is so diverse in terms of micro-regions within the border of a single political entity. It explains why Ohio has often been a swing state and bellwether as well as propagating that states and regions are not as homogenous as they are often assumed to be and that history can explain modern complexities.
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June 21, 2024Th his is a recent title regarding Ohio history which is not about the well know founders and politicians of Ohio. I am choosing to call the people and subjects I this title”the second tier people”, it is the forgotten ones, the ones who did a lot of the hard work and labor to found Ohio, not the ones sitting around discussing ideas. Each topic is written by different history authors and includes a list of well searched
bibliographic sources. There is even a section on Johnny Appleseed and a section on the establishment of public education in the Northwest Territory.
I heard the two editors speak in Marietta, Ohio and was not overly impressed. There comments on early migrations into Ohio made me wonder if they knew anything about the migration of Marylanders into western Pennsylvania were there was a large group of people on the frontier ready to surge into Ohio while it was still the Northwest Territory.
This title is definitely a different look at Ohio History.
bibliographic sources. There is even a section on Johnny Appleseed and a section on the establishment of public education in the Northwest Territory.
I heard the two editors speak in Marietta, Ohio and was not overly impressed. There comments on early migrations into Ohio made me wonder if they knew anything about the migration of Marylanders into western Pennsylvania were there was a large group of people on the frontier ready to surge into Ohio while it was still the Northwest Territory.
This title is definitely a different look at Ohio History.
May 2, 2026
"Settling Ohio: First Peoples and Beyond" edited by Timothy Anderson & Brian Schoen is a collection of 11 essays the first 8 of which are based on historical fact and the last 3 are based on what if events in history. Each essay delves into the various aspects of how Ohio as a state was settled and the important people who would be a part of it. The 3 so called "What If" essays get into scenarios of things that could've been had federal history been slightly different. These essays are an easy read and also provide a bit more insight into the state's overall history.
November 28, 2023
A really good, deep dive into current scholarship on the settling of what is now Ohio by people from the original inhabitants to Europeans of all backgrounds. When you spend some time digging beyond the more familiar stories of wealthy speculators and pay attention to the experiences of the vast majority of people who lived in this area, everything that is here now becomes so much more meaningful. While I wish that the essays had been less academic-technical, it was still fascinating reading.
November 11, 2023
Fascinating background on Ohio and the Ohio Territory. Chapters on Native Americans, the Northwest Ordinance, African-American settlers, and Johnny Appleseed all well worth a read.
January 8, 2024
B-. nonfiction, history
September 8, 2026
very interesting and enlightening. It details controversy and difficulties in creating institutions we now take for granted.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews