Conflict invariably characterizes the period following any revolution, and post-revolutionary America was no exception. After the unity inspired by opposition to a common enemy dissipates, revolutionary movements generally splinter into different groups that compete with each other for the right to shape the values and structures of the new society.

The Frontier Republic examines the form these conflicts took in the settlement of the Ohio Country, as thousands of Americans streamed onto the lands west of the Appalachians. These settlers had experienced revolution and...

Many of the political institutions that would dominate 19th-century America (and the Midwest in particular) originated and first evolved in Ohio. The Pursuit of Public Power explores the origins and nature of political culture here from the American Revolution until the Civil War. Twelve essays examine topics such as voting practices, the role of the state in national economic development, the relationship between religion and politics, the rivalries between individual political leaders and between communities competing for social and economic dominance, the impact of slavery on politics, and...