Tom Betti

Explore the vintage hotels of yesteryear. Though only a handful remain today, the Capital City once boasted a wealth of illustrious hotels and raucous two-bit establishments. Grande Dame hotels like The Neil House, The Great Southern, the Hartman, the Chittenden and the Deshler achieved the height of elegance and refinement. More modest establishments were frequented by fugitive Confederate generals, notorious bootleggers, and Fidel Castro’s family. Join the Gilded Age bachelors who decked out… Show more

Explore the vintage hotels of yesteryear. Though only a handful remain today, the Capital City once boasted a wealth of illustrious hotels and raucous two-bit establishments. Grande Dame hotels like The Neil House, The Great Southern, the Hartman, the Chittenden and the Deshler achieved the height of elegance and refinement. More modest establishments were frequented by fugitive Confederate generals, notorious bootleggers, and Fidel Castro’s family. Join the Gilded Age bachelors who decked out banquet halls to look like camping sites and the Hungarian revolutionaries who failed to keep a low profile. From devastating hotel fires to ornate outhouse fittings, authors Tom Betti and Doreen Uhas Sauer introduce you to a whole new side of Columbus history. Show less

This work asks why the 1920 election resulted in resounding defeats for progressive candidates. The 1920 election was a pivotal point in American political history that some historians argue marked the end of the Progressive Era. Others argue it pointed to the beginning of the end and that progressivism died slowly after 1920. In November 1920, voters elected U.S. Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio the twenty-ninth president of the United States over Ohio Governor James M. Cox in a historic… Show more

This work asks why the 1920 election resulted in resounding defeats for progressive candidates. The 1920 election was a pivotal point in American political history that some historians argue marked the end of the Progressive Era. Others argue it pointed to the beginning of the end and that progressivism died slowly after 1920. In November 1920, voters elected U.S. Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio the twenty-ninth president of the United States over Ohio Governor James M. Cox in a historic landslide of 404 electoral votes to 127. Harding carried thirty-seven states, including Wisconsin, Colorado, Oregon, and Tennessee. Tennessee represented the first Republican incursion into the Solid South since the end of Reconstruction. Cox carried only the remaining eleven states of the former Confederacy, plus Kentucky. Over sixteen million Americans voted for Harding and just over nine million voted for Cox, a 60.3 percent to 34.1 percent breakdown.

I argue that the 1920 Republican landslide signifies the culmination of eight years of declining support for Progressive candidates. The 1920 elections did not cause the conservative ascendency; instead it was the result of it. The election outcome represented more the failure of progressives to analyze and adapt to post-World War I political realities than it did a complete or permanent collapse of their movement. The move away from progressivism was not a radical break but a gradual shift that began after 1912 and continued more dramatically in the 1916 and 1918 elections. Show less

The history of America’s twenty-ninth president, Warren G. Harding, is, to say the least, complex. President Harding was sworn into office March 4, 1921 and served only 882 days until his unexpected death on August 2, 1923. The early 1920s, nevertheless, saw the United States at an important junction of agriculture to industrialization, rural to urban. The country was also recovering emotionally from the personal losses from World War I and the Great Influenza epidemic.
As president… Show more

The history of America’s twenty-ninth president, Warren G. Harding, is, to say the least, complex. President Harding was sworn into office March 4, 1921 and served only 882 days until his unexpected death on August 2, 1923. The early 1920s, nevertheless, saw the United States at an important junction of agriculture to industrialization, rural to urban. The country was also recovering emotionally from the personal losses from World War I and the Great Influenza epidemic.
As president, Harding had his contemporary critics like any other president, but following his untimely death at age 57, there have been few presidents who are as misunderstood and dismissed in history as Harding. A historiography of Harding shows a wide range of works, but a small number that have critically re-examined the Harding presidency. It also shows that while many works are based on myths, hearsay and innuendos, fewer contained research, facts or deep analysis.
For the sake of structure, this study is organized in such a way as to (1) review the evolution of Harding historiography; (2) explain the importance of the Harding Papers; (3) examine the most important works and the major historians, explore works rooted in myths and scandals; and finally, (4) analyze relevant academic journal articles. Show less

Harry S. Truman, thirty-third President of the United States, left office on January 20, 1953 with an approval rating of only thirty-two percent. Two years earlier a Gallup poll had handed him a 23 percent approval rating. In fact, Truman holds the record of having the lowest presidential approval rating received in office of any president to date – even lower than President Richard M. Nixon while on the verge of impeachment proceedings. When Truman left office, political scientists… Show more

Harry S. Truman, thirty-third President of the United States, left office on January 20, 1953 with an approval rating of only thirty-two percent. Two years earlier a Gallup poll had handed him a 23 percent approval rating. In fact, Truman holds the record of having the lowest presidential approval rating received in office of any president to date – even lower than President Richard M. Nixon while on the verge of impeachment proceedings. When Truman left office, political scientists, historians and the general public predicted he would rank in the lower depths of historical rankings, in the company of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Warren G. Harding.
Since then, some historians have praised his personal style and have given his presidency high marks. Others (especially during the 1960s and 1970s) have dismissed him as a man of moderate intelligence and have criticized him for being the perpatrator of the Cold War.
This work will explore the dramatic shifts and changes in the interpretation of Truman’s legacy from extremely low points to current high rankings.
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In the election of 1920, America faced two candidates for the United States presidency to replace President Woodrow Wilson, and they were both from Ohio – Democrat Governor James M. Cox and Republican U.S. Senator Warren G. Harding. Interestingly, Cox and Harding were not only from the same state, but both owned newspapers, and they did not emerge as nominees of their respective parties until late in the election process. In the lead up to the election, the ailing Wilson was intending to run… Show more

In the election of 1920, America faced two candidates for the United States presidency to replace President Woodrow Wilson, and they were both from Ohio – Democrat Governor James M. Cox and Republican U.S. Senator Warren G. Harding. Interestingly, Cox and Harding were not only from the same state, but both owned newspapers, and they did not emerge as nominees of their respective parties until late in the election process. In the lead up to the election, the ailing Wilson was intending to run for a third term to assure the United States’s participation in the League of Nations. Former President Theodore Roosevelt, his party’s favorite, died at age 60 in 1919. This led to an open field, and a wide range of Republican contenders.
The election of 1920, historian David Pietrusza calls “the year of six presidents,” witnessed the birth of modern America and a shift in political leadership. The final election results answered two important questions about the course on which the electorate was embarking, one in domestic policy and the other in America’s foreign policy. The first question: Would America resume the Progressive Movement after its interruption by World War I? And the second question: Would the United States foreign policy continue the course Wilson set to reflect the idealistic internationalism that had contributed to the American entry into World War I and to the proposed creation of the League of Nations?
Since Harding was elected in a landslide over Cox, it is fair to surmise that the American electorate answered NO to both of these questions effectively putting the Progressive Movement in a deep freeze until thirteen years later when Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal thawed out many of the ideals of progressivism in the wake of the economic circumstances of the country.
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Discover the stories behind Columbus neighborhoods and their landmarks. The community centers that locals call home aren’t just points of interest but places that have shaped history beyond their communities and even Ohio. This encyclopedia of Columbus neighborhoods gives voice to the rich heritage residing in the bell towers, parks and streetscapes of Franklinton, German Village, King-Lincoln, Olde Town East, Short North and the University District. Along with WOSU’s award-winning Columbus… Show more

Discover the stories behind Columbus neighborhoods and their landmarks. The community centers that locals call home aren’t just points of interest but places that have shaped history beyond their communities and even Ohio. This encyclopedia of Columbus neighborhoods gives voice to the rich heritage residing in the bell towers, parks and streetscapes of Franklinton, German Village, King-Lincoln, Olde Town East, Short North and the University District. Along with WOSU’s award-winning Columbus Neighborhoods series, Tom Betti, Doreen Uhas Sauer and Ed Lentz curate the stories tracing the lines from your neighborhood to the Manhattan Project, the Underground Railroad, Abraham Lincoln and the Tuskegee Airmen. Show less

William McKinley, twenty-fifth President of the United States from 1897-1901, was a very popular and revered president during his life and shortly after his death. He served in Congress, as governor of Ohio and was the last Civil War veteran to serve as president being twice elected to the presidency by wide margins. However, his successor Theodore Roosevelt would overshadow McKinley’s revered reputation, reducing him to a mere footnote to Roosevelt’s accomplishments and popularity. Perhaps… Show more

William McKinley, twenty-fifth President of the United States from 1897-1901, was a very popular and revered president during his life and shortly after his death. He served in Congress, as governor of Ohio and was the last Civil War veteran to serve as president being twice elected to the presidency by wide margins. However, his successor Theodore Roosevelt would overshadow McKinley’s revered reputation, reducing him to a mere footnote to Roosevelt’s accomplishments and popularity. Perhaps this was a result of Americans wanting to move past the painful memories of losing their beloved leader. Many, including Roosevelt, lived through the assassinations of three presidents: Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley. This paper will explore how McKinley was the first modern president both in foreign policy and political campaigning, forming a template for most of his successors to follow. His administration solidified the American Imperial Presidency mold that would forever change America's leadership in the world. This paper will also explore the role of McKinley's confidant, Senator Mark Hanna of Ohio, the father of modern day political campaigning and mastermind behind McKinley's rise to power. The historiography of both McKinley and Hanna have seen many changes and it has not been until recently that historians have given a second look to both men's accomplishments, influences and contributions. Show less

“All men are created equal...” -- five simple words included in the Declaration of Independence sparks debate in American history to this day as the phrase relates to the institution of slavery and the Founding Fathers’ views on slavery. There is a contradiction with the Founding Fathers’ written and spoken words and their actions as slave owners. Of the fifty-five delegates of the Constitutional Convention, forty-nine percent were slave owners, and the most notable were none other than George… Show more

“All men are created equal...” -- five simple words included in the Declaration of Independence sparks debate in American history to this day as the phrase relates to the institution of slavery and the Founding Fathers’ views on slavery. There is a contradiction with the Founding Fathers’ written and spoken words and their actions as slave owners. Of the fifty-five delegates of the Constitutional Convention, forty-nine percent were slave owners, and the most notable were none other than George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Both of these men are revered in American history, both served two terms as president and both are considered to be fathers of American ideals. Within their lifetime, both stated publicly and privately they were against slavery, but both were slave owners up until their deaths. Clear contradictions on the topic can be found throughout the history of their lives.
What is quite evident is that the historiography on Washington and Jefferson has reflected the changes and evolution of how they have been perceived throughout the last two hundred years. Perhaps, because of their prominent status in American history, Washington and Jefferson are often regarded as sacrosanct, and the criticism of their flaws continues to challenge historians, politicians, the media and the greater public at large to rethink their assumptions. This paper will focus on the changing historiography of Washington and Jefferson and their thoughts on slavery, as well as, comparing and contrasting recent studies on the topic by modern historians, and examining the paradox of being a slave owner while advocating for American freedom and democracy.
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Columbus grew from a one-horse town to a metropolis one day at a time. Tom Betti and Doreen Uhas Sauer of the Columbus Landmarks Foundation have selected the 365 most fascinating city history vignettes for each day of the year. Match your seasons up to the full range of Columbus history, from the marching band hired to test the strength of incomplete statehouse stairs in January 1857 to the prohibition of public dancing in city parks in December 1913, and enjoy delightful tidbits every day in… Show more

Columbus grew from a one-horse town to a metropolis one day at a time. Tom Betti and Doreen Uhas Sauer of the Columbus Landmarks Foundation have selected the 365 most fascinating city history vignettes for each day of the year. Match your seasons up to the full range of Columbus history, from the marching band hired to test the strength of incomplete statehouse stairs in January 1857 to the prohibition of public dancing in city parks in December 1913, and enjoy delightful tidbits every day in between. Show less

Taverns came early to Columbus, refreshing settlers and travelers as far back as the 1790s. Tom Betti and Doreen Uhas Sauer, from Columbus Landmarks Foundation, go barhopping through some of the historic public houses from the frontier era through Prohibition. Along the way, the stories of historic taverns in Columbus include Native American captivity stories, live bears, German “vinegar” brewers, Catholic Masses set against the backdrop of a tavern, cholera, typhoid, land speculation and… Show more

Taverns came early to Columbus, refreshing settlers and travelers as far back as the 1790s. Tom Betti and Doreen Uhas Sauer, from Columbus Landmarks Foundation, go barhopping through some of the historic public houses from the frontier era through Prohibition. Along the way, the stories of historic taverns in Columbus include Native American captivity stories, live bears, German “vinegar” brewers, Catholic Masses set against the backdrop of a tavern, cholera, typhoid, land speculation and political dealings, underground tunnels, a scandalous divorce and even a bordello (imagine that). Columbus has a lot of tavern history. Drink it in. Show less