Former Gov. Taft a panelist at Antioch - April 3

Morgan Fellows of Antioch College to Host Fourth in Series of Symposia on Contemporary Issues in Society

April 3rd Event to Examine History of Republican Party in Ohio: From Yellow Springs to Taft

On Saturday, April 3, 2010, Antioch College’s Morgan Fellows will host the fourth in a series of symposia focusing on issues in higher education and society. The topic of this event will be the history of the Republican Party in Ohio from Yellow Springs to Taft. It will take place in the Herndon Gallery in South Hall at Antioch College, One Morgan Place, Yellow Springs, Ohio, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Most Ohioans would be surprised to discover that Yellow Springs played an important role in the birth of the Republican Party in Ohio. Numerous historical accounts relate that the Party was largely created at a meeting in 1854 at Whitehall Farm in Yellow Springs, hosted by Aaron Harlan, who later served briefly on the Antioch College Board of Trustees with Horace Mann.

The symposium promises to generate a lively conversation about the birth and original ideology of the Party in Ohio, as well as its subsequent history and further transformations that formed the Party as we know it today. The major focus will be the story of the Party from its early years in the mid-19th century, and during the highly contentious post-Civil War era, as a party of business, the middle class, and newly enfranchised African Americans.

Panelists:

Bob Taft: Former Governor of Ohio and Distinguished Research Associate at The University of Dayton. Taft’s family has a long and distinguished history with the Party, extending back to William Howard Taft and to the cabinet of Ulysses Grant.

Nikki Taylor: Associate Professor of History at The University of Cincinnati. She is the author of Frontiers of Freedom: Cincinnati’s Black Community, 1802-1868.

John M. Elliott: Professor of Political Science at Kenyon College. He is completing the book, Political Journalism in a Pluralist Democracy, and served as an alternate convention delegate from Ohio for John McCain.

Scott Warren: Arthur E. Morgan Fellow at Antioch College and former Associate Professor of Philosophy and Politics at Antioch College. He is the author of The Emergence of Dialectical Theory: Philosophy and Political Inquiry.


About the Arthur E. Morgan Fellows …

Named in honor of Arthur E. Morgan, Antioch College President from 1920-1936, the Fellows are facilitating and coordinating a yearlong outreach program to alumni and friends of the College nationwide as the College develops both its program and curriculum. They will also present symposia on a wide variety of topics on the historic campus in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The current Morgan Fellows include Anne Bohlen M.A.; Jean Gregorek, Ph.D.; Beverly Rodgers, Ph.D.; Scott Warren, Ph.D.; and Director of Work Susan Eklund-Leen, Ph.D.