Bøker utgitt av Kent State University Press

Examining the life of an early advocate of the legal rights of Black Americans In this brisk, engaging exploration of 19th-century radical reformer and abolitionist Wendell Phillips, Peter Charles Hoffer makes the case that Phillips deserves credit as the nation's first public interest lawyer, someone who led the antebellum crusade against slavery and championed First Amendment rights and equality for all Americans, including Black people and women. As a young lawyer, bored and working at a languishing practice, Phillips nonetheless believed that the law would serve as the basis for meaningful social change, including the abolishment of slavery. While many believed the US Constitution was a virtually faultless, foundational document for governance, Phillips viewed it as deeply racist, proslavery, and, therefore, in contradiction to the Declaration of Independence. Unsurprisingly, many of Phillips's ideas were viewed as controversial and unpopular at the time, even with other abolitionists. He frequently disagreed with more conservative politicians, including Abraham Lincoln. But beyond merely criticizing the Constitution, Phillips subscribed to a "democratic positivist" belief, which contends that law is the central component of a strong democracy and that law can and should be changed by the will of the people. Thus, he believed it was critical to change public opinion on issues like slavery, which in turn would help change laws that legalized the institution. Throughout his life, he used his impressive skills as an orator to raise awareness to the horrors of enslavement, appealed to Americans' consciences, and directed them to act through voting and lawmaking. Democratic positivist approaches like his have continued to be used by lawyers to influence social reforms ranging from the civil rights movement of the 1960s to advocacy for unhoused people to abolishing America's carceral state, and Hoffer persuasively argues that Phillips's influence has been long ranging and is still recognizable in contemporary America's political landscape.

How five beloved Cleveland theaters escaped the wrecking ball and inspired city-wide urban renewal Shortly after World War I ended, five new theaters were constructed in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, all within a two-block radius. The concentration of these venues, which featured movies, vaudeville, and "legitimate" theater, became known collectively as Playhouse Square. For 50 years, the State, Ohio, Hanna, Allen, and Palace theaters enjoyed varying degrees of financial success until television, suburbanization, and urban decline darkened four of their marquees by the end of the 1960s. In the 1970s, with the shuttered theaters facing demolition, groups of like-minded Clevelanders united to fight to save the Square, influencing the city's establishment to create formal plans to renovate the theaters and ensure their financial viability. Playhouse Square and the Cleveland Renaissance tells the story of how the rejuvenation of Playhouse Square became one of the main catalysts for Cleveland's larger comeback from postindustrial decline, inspiring and serving as a model for other urban renewal efforts across the city. John Vacha is the first to write a comprehensive, in-depth account of Playhouse Square's history, beginning with the Square's 1921 opening and describing how the COVID-19 pandemic once again left its theaters temporarily empty before their triumphant reopenings in 2022. Richly illustrated and featuring interviews with the central figures involved in saving the Square, Playhouse Square and the Cleveland Renaissance is a powerful story that will appeal to theater history buffs and preservationists alike--reminding readers of the significant role the performing arts serve in shaping a city's culture.

Examining how a civilian organization used the Civil War to advance their religious mission Tabernacles in the Wilderness discusses the work of the United States Christian Commission (USCC), a civilian relief agency established by northern evangelical Protestants to minister to Union troops during the American Civil War. USCC workers saw in the Civil War not only a wrathful judgment from God for the sins of the nation but an unparalleled opportunity to save the souls of US citizens and perfect the nation. Thus, the workers set about proselytizing and distributing material aid to Union soldiers with undaunted and righteous zeal. Whether handing out religious literature, leading prayer meetings, preaching sermons, mending uniforms, drawing up tailored diets for sick men, or bearing witness to deathbed scenes, USCC workers improvised and enacted a holistic lived theology that emphasized the link between the body and soul. Making extensive use of previously neglected archival material--most notably the reports, diaries, and correspondence of the volunteer delegates who performed this ministry on the battlefront--Rachel Williams explores the proselytizing methods employed by the USCC, the problems encountered in their application, and the ideological and theological underpinnings of their work. Tabernacles in the Wilderness offers fascinating new insights into the role of civilians within army camps, the bureaucratization and professionalization of philanthropy during the Civil War and in the United States more broadly, and the emotional landscape and material culture of faith and worship.

The remarkable life of a noteworthy--yet overlooked--Union general turned Reconstruction-era politician A central figure in Reconstruction-era politics, Adelbert Ames and his contributions during a significant and uncertain time in American history are the focus of Michael J. Megelsh's fascinating study. As Megelsh discusses, Ames's life took many compelling turns. Born on Maine's rocky shore in 1835, he served as a Union general during the American Civil War and was heralded as one of the young stars whose leadership was integral in helping the Union to victory. He briefly remained in the army after the conflict, stationed in Mississippi, where he entered the political arena. During his four-year tenure as a Republican US senator representing Mississippi, Ames exhibited a growing commitment to civil rights and battled for the protection of freedmen in the halls of Congress, even when it drew ire and damnation from his colleagues. In 1874, Ames was elected governor of Mississippi and tried to create a free and prosperous state rooted in protecting civil rights and promoting economic liberty. This meant challenging the growing brutality and unruliness of the white populace and a burgeoning Democratic Party. For the first time, Ames's confidence faded as his struggles intensified and political enemies sought to impeach him, culminating in a trial that captivated local and national media. This contentious battle led to Ames's resignation from office and the end of Reconstruction in Mississippi. Ames's once-promising political career, too, was over. But Ames's later years remained thrilling. He helped the townspeople of Northfield, Minnesota, defeat Jesse James and the James-Younger Gang in a gunfight during an attempted bank robbery in 1876. When the Spanish-American War began in 1898, Ames, though now in his sixties, volunteered to join the fight and served in Cuba. While Adelbert Ames has appeared in many texts as a secondary character, Megelsh's work unearths Ames's important and underappreciated contributions to a transitional time in American history and politics.

Examines the margins of J.R.R. Tolkien's work: the frames, edges, allusions, and borders between story and un-story and the spaces between vast ages and miniscule time periods. The untold tales that are simply implied or referenced in the text are essential to Tolkien's achievement in world-building, Peter Grybauskas argues.

Tells the true story of Cassie Chadwick, a successful swindler and 'one of the top 10 imposters of all time', according to Time magazine. This meticulously researched book is the first full-length account of the notorious career of this fascinating woman, the forerunner to more recent female scammers.

Thomas Riha vanished on March 15, 1969, sparking a mystery that lives on 50 years later. Presenting a compelling cast of characters in an era of intrigue and with astounding attention to detail, Eileen Welsome demonstrates why the mystery continues to fascinate.

While the depth of Americans' historiographical engagement with slavery is not surprising, the range and sheer volume of writing on the subject can be overwhelming. Editors Aaron Astor and Thomas Buchanan, together with a team of expert contributors, highlight here the key debates and conceptual shifts that have defined the field.

President Nixon's announcement on April 30, 1970, that US troops were invading neutral Cambodia as part of the ongoing Vietnam War campaign sparked a complicated series of events with tragic consequences on many fronts. This short book concisely contextualizes these events, filling a gap in the popular memory of the 1970 shootings and the wider conceptions of the war in Southeast Asia.

Demonstrates the truly international reach of Hemingway as a pop culture icon. Hemingway's role in these comics ranges from the divine to the ridiculous, as his image is recorded, distorted, lampooned, and whittled down to its essential parts.

Compiling the stories of noncombat veterans, Rona Simmons follows them as they report for service, complete their training, and ship out to stations thousands of miles from home. She shares their dreams to see combat and their disappointment at receiving noncombat positions, as well as the young men and women's selflessness and yearning for home.

When school children from Kent, Ohio and Florence, Italy, were invited to express their thoughts about "Where I'm From" in poetry, the connections that emerged were remarkable. Their responses to this prompt demonstrate the underlying importance of home, families, the natural world, and the creative identities that children harbour within them.

The firsthand account of Captain Brady, a US Naval aviator who participated in some of the world's most significant events from the twentieth century, including the Great Depression, Pearl Harbour, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Korean War.

Following the 1957 season, two of baseball's most famous teams, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants, left the city they had called home since the 19th century and headed west. Lincoln A. Mitchell argues that the moves to California, second only to Jackie Robinson's debut in 1947, forged Major League Baseball as we know it today.

In 1936, Bruno Hauptmann was executed for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr. In the ensuing decades, many books about the Lindbergh case have been published. Some have declared Hauptmann the victim of a police conspiracy and frame-up. Hauptmann's Ladder is a testament to the truth that counters the revisionist histories all too common in the true crime genre.

Focuses on works that expand the parameters of US foreign relations. This work also focuses on such areas as identity formation and projection, borderlands studies, comparative history, and cultural transfer. It offers a provocative reinterpretation of Civil War - era diplomacy.

In this reassessment of the career of Nelson A. Miles - which he began as a volunteer officer in the Civil War - the author suggests that comments made by his enemies influenced the way Miles's career has been viewed by historians and tries to readdress this.

This work charts the life of 19th-century journalist, diplomat, adventurer, and enthusiast John Louis O'Sullivan. It presents an in-depth examination of O'Sullivan's ideas as they were expressed in the ""Democratic Review"" and other newspapers and literary magazines that he edited.