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The remaining four chapters examine the ways in which British immigrants contributed to their adopted homeland and interacted with native Ohioans in several arenas: agriculture (Chapter Four), crafts and industry (Chapter Five), religion and reform movements (Chapter Six), and the professions (Chapter Seven). A common theme of Chapters Four and Five is the technological superiority of the British. Due to the higher value of the land in Britain , they practiced a more labor intensive form of agriculture and were more likely to improve their land with draining and liming. Although, they often had to switch to the more "wasteful" techniques American farmers had developed due to the high cost of labor, their use of drainage did have a wide and important impact. Because of the advanced stage of the industrial revolution in the United Kingdom, immigrants coming from crafts and industries had extremely valuable knowledge and skills that propelled the economy of Ohio forward at a tremendous speed. Two examples cited by Van Vugt are the pottery industry at East Liverpool and the steel industry in Cleveland. The sixth chapter outlines the similarities between religious denominations and reform movements in both countries. Many British immigrants prized the greater political freedom available in the United States and used this new power to further their own causes, particularly the temperance movement. The final chapter relates the British contributions to the various professions, particularly government work and the publishing of newspapers. A key example of a British immigrant who had a significant impact on the governance of Ohio was "Golden Rule" Jones of Toledo who came from Wales as a child.
While I am sympathetic to Van Vugt's claim that the influence that the impact of British immigrants in the development of Ohio far exceeded their numbers, a lack of comparison to other immigrant groups weakens his case. In the work, the only immigrant experiences and actions detailed are those of the British. Many British immigrants, particularly the English and Lowland Scots, were not handicapped by a language barrier and this meant they could participate as much as they wanted in Ohio culture and politics from the minute they arrived. Perceived cultural similarities made them seem less "different" than non-English speaking groups. But other immigrant groups did participate in Ohio . Van Vugt states that "…the territorial governor, first state governor, many of the early lawyers, politicians, merchants, newspaper publishers, reformers, ministers, and college presidents were either English, Scots, or Welsh – not to mention many of the most important industrialists" (pp. 220). However, it seems to me that even a cursory examination of the secondary literature available on German settlement, as they were the largest immigrant group in Ohio, would show that they also contributed merchants, publishers, reformers, ministers and college founders if not presidents. Additionally, speaking English was not required to farm. The participation of German-Americans was likely greater for the second generation as they acquired English. Though German immigrants have been coming to this country since 1683 and have contributed greatly to our language and folkways, they and other immigrant groups in Ohio receive scant mention.
Despite the amount of research that went into producing this volume, it is not as good as it could have been. More explicit methodology and comparison with other immigrant groups, particularly the Germans, would have added greatly to the value of British Buckeyes. Even with these flaws, however, British Buckeyes is a significant step in the study of British immigration to the United States after the American Revolution and the settlement of Ohio. Van Vugt's compilation of the biographies and communities together in one place will facilitate future research. Additionally, there is an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources. This work, either in its entirety or in sections, should prove useful for courses which focus on Ohio, immigration, agriculture, and industrialization.
The University of Akron
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