Cleveland History Self Study: A 5 Week Syllabus of Recommended Essays

Cleveland Stories: An Informal Look at the City’s Past

A 5 Week essay-based syllabus suggested by Dr. Marian Morton, professor emerita at John Carroll University with expertise in Cleveland area history.

Overview: A discussion of some of Cleveland’s most interesting and important people, places, and events
Objective: To link the city’s past with its present policies, politics, and practices

Week 1. Introduction. Read Teaching Cleveland Stories (TCS)John J. Grabowski, “Cleveland: Economics, Images, and Expectations”

Week 2. TCS: Mike Roberts and Margaret Gulley, “The Man Who Saved Cleveland.” Elizabeth Sullivan, “Immigration”  John Vacha, “The Heart of Amasa Stone”; Joe Frolik, “Mark Hanna: The Clevelander Who Made a President”

Supplemental: TeachingCleveland.org:
Connecticut Western Reserve Aggregation
Lorenzo Carter Aggregation
Moses Cleaveland Aggregation
Battle of Lake Erie/War of 1812 Aggregation

The Erie and Ohio Canals Aggregation
Amasa Stone Aggregation
Building the Railroads
Charles F. Brush Aggregation
Flora Stone Mather Aggregation
Henry Flagler Aggregation
Immigration Aggregation
James A. Garfield Aggregation
John D. Rockefeller Aggregation

Manufacturing in Cleveland Aggregation
Mark Hanna Aggregation

Philanthropy in Cleveland Aggregation
Samuel Mather Aggregation
Social Settlement Movement Aggregation

Steel Industry in Cleveland Aggregation
Transportation in Cleveland Aggregation
Timeline of Cleveland/NE Ohio;

Week 3. TCS: John J. Grabowski, “Cleveland 1912 – Civitas Triumphant”; Joe Frolik, “Regional Government versus Home Rule”  John Vacha, “When Cleveland Saw Red”  Margaret Bernstein, ‘’Inventor Garrett Morgan, Cleveland’s Fierce Bootstrapper”  Marian Morton, “How Cleveland Women Got the Vote and What They Did With It”

Supplemental: TeachingCleveland.org:

Tom L. Johnson Aggregation
Newton D. Baker Aggregation
Frederick Howe Aggregation
Maurice Maschke Aggregation
Ohio Constitution Aggregation
Regional Government vs. Home Rule in Northeast Ohio
Collinwood School Fire Aggregation
The Group Plan Aggregation
Eliot Ness Aggregation
The Van Sweringen Aggregation
Highway System Creation in Northeast Ohio
Black Political Power in Cleveland: Pre World War II
Public Housing/Ernest Bohn Aggregation
WPA in Cleveland Aggregation
Great Lakes Exposition Aggregation
John O. Holly Aggregation
Cleveland Orchestra Aggregation
Garrett A. Morgan Aggregation
The Metroparks Aggregation
Cleveland Clinic Origins Aggregation
Fred Kohler Aggregation

Week 4. TCS: Thomas Suddes, “The Adult Education Tradition in Greater Cleveland”  Bill Lubinger, “Bill Veeck: The Man Who Conquered Cleveland and Changed Baseball Forever”  Jay Miller, “Cyrus Eaton: Khruschev’s Favorite Capitalist” Roldo Bartimole, “One Man Can Make a Difference”  Mike Roberts, “Cleveland in the 1960s” and “Cleveland in the 1970s”

Supplemental: TeachingCleveland.org:
Carl Stokes Era as Mayor Aggregation
Cleveland Aggregation
Cuyahoga River Fire Aggregation
Cyrus Eaton Aggregation
Frank Lausche Aggregation
Dennis Kucinich as Mayor Aggregation
Glenville Riots Aggregation
Hough Riots Aggregation
Kent State Shootings Aggregation

Lake Erie Aggregation
Martin Luther King in Cleveland Aggregation
Water Aggregation

Week 5TCS: Mike Roberts, “Cleveland in the 1980s” and “Cleveland in the 1990s” Supplemental: TeachingCleveland.org:
“10 Greatest Clevelanders”;
“12 Most Significant Events”;
Cleveland Politician Interview Series (George Forbes, Jim Rokakis, Louis Stokes, George Voinovich, Michael R. White); Mike Roberts,
“Cleveland in the 2000s

George Forbes Aggregation
George Voinovich Era as Mayor Aggregation
Louis Stokes Aggregation
Mike White Era as Mayor Aggregation
Playhouse Square Aggregation

General questions: what is the main point of each article? Did you agree or disagree? What did you find most interesting? What would you add? Or subtract? 

 

In 1964, Marshall Fredericks’ Fountain of Eternal Life in Cleveland Was Dedicated – by Vince Guerrieri June, 2026

Courtesy Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections

In 1964, Marshall Fredericks’ Fountain of Eternal Life in Cleveland Was Dedicated

First imagined as World War II raged, Cleveland’s Mall memorial fountain took nearly two decades — and another war — to become reality.
by Vince Guerrieri, Cleveland Magazine, June 2026
The link is here

Tribute to PD Editorial cartoonist predecessors, Plain Dealer, October 5, 2025

First Plain Dealer Editorial cartoonist James Donahey at his drawing table
cleveland.com
Edward Kuekes at his drawing table after taking over for James Donahey after his passing
cleveland.com

Tribute to PD Editorial cartoonist predecessors
by Jeff Darcy, Plain Dealer, October 5, 2025

The link is here

Jeff Darcy’s farewell, in his own words
The link is here

Cleveland native Agnes Gund, 84, still pushes boundaries in art and philanthropy, nationally and in her hometown by Steven Litt, May 26, 2023

Agnes Gund passed away on September 18, 2025.
This article in Cleveland.com was written by Steven Litt in Cleveland.com on  May 26, 2023

John Kuntz, cleveland.com
Cleveland native and nationally respected philanthropic leader Agnes Gund at the Pivot Center, April 27, 2023

Cleveland native Agnes Gund, 84, still pushes boundaries in art and philanthropy, nationally and in her hometown
by Steven Litt, Cleveland.com, May 26, 2023
The link is here

Remembering Michael D. Roberts: Pioneering Cleveland Magazine Editor and Journalist Dead at 85

 

Michael D. Roberts

Remembering Michael D. Roberts: Pioneering Cleveland Magazine Editor and Journalist Dead at 85
Michael D. Roberts, former The Plain Dealer reporter and founding editor of Cleveland Magazine, left a legacy as a trailblazing editor and mentor to a generation of journalists.
By Dillon Stewart
The link is here

Jacobs Field at 30: Looking back at a ‘magical time’ and the Gateway deal that ushered in a downtown revival, Plain Dealer 9.24.2024

 

Cleveland faced Seattle on Opening Day 1994.The Plain Dealer

Jacobs Field at 30: Looking back at a ‘magical time’ and the Gateway deal that ushered in a downtown revival
September 24, 2024
By

The link is here

 

 

 

Where’s the ‘circle’ at University Circle and why the popular name? By Megan Sims December 21, 2023

 

A photo of the University Circle electric streetcar turnaround in 1904. Cleveland Public Library

Where’s the ‘circle’ at University Circle and why the popular name?
By Megan Sims, Cleveland.com Thursday December 21, 2023

The link is here
https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/12/wheres-the-circle-at-university-circle-and-why-the-popular-name.html

The inside story of how Larry Doby broke the American League’s color line 76 years ago – Terry Pluto July 5, 2023

Larry Doby in his first MLB game with Cleveland on July 5, 1947.

The inside story of how Larry Doby broke the American League’s color line 76 years ago
by Terry Pluto, Cleveland.com Wednesday July 5, 2023
The link is here

Hollenden Hotel: Downtown Cleveland’s glamorous, colorful hotspot for nearly 100 years

Superior Avenue, 1905. Landmarks include the Arcade Building at right, Hollenden Hotel and newspaper offices of the Cleveland Plain Dealer

Hollenden Hotel: Downtown Cleveland’s glamorous, colorful hotspot for nearly 100 years
by Tom Matowitz
Thursday, April 06, 2023 from FreshWater Cleveland

The link is here

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