The city ofCleveland,Ohio, was founded by GeneralMoses Cleaveland of theConnecticut Land Company on July 22, 1796. Its central location on the southern shore ofLake Erie and the mouth of theCuyahoga River allowed it to become a major center forGreat Lakes trade innorthern Ohio in the early 19th century. An important Northern city during theAmerican Civil War, Cleveland grew into a major industrialmetropolis and a gateway forEuropean andMiddle Easternimmigrants, as well asAfrican Americanmigrants, seeking jobs and opportunity.
For most of the 20th century, Cleveland was one of America's largest cities, but afterWorld War II, it suffered from post-wardeindustrialization andsuburbanization. The city has pursued a gradual recovery since the 1980s, becoming a major national center for healthcare and the arts by the early 21st century.
At the end of theLast Glacial Period, which ended about 15,000 years ago at the southern edge ofLake Erie, there was atundra landscape.[1] It took about two and a half millennia to turn this wet and cold landscape drier and warmer, so thatcaribou,moose,deer,wolves,bears andcougars were prevalent.
The oldest human,paleo-Indian traces reach back as far as 10500 BC. There was an early settlement inMedina County, dated between 9200 and 8850 BC. Some tools consisted offlint fromIndiana.
Rising temperatures at about 7500 BC led to a stable phase between 7000 and 4500 BC which had similar characteristics to today's climate. Population grew, and these members of the so-calledEarly Archaic Culture lived in large families along the rivers and the shores of the lakes. During the warm seasons they met for hunting and gathering. The technology of tools improved but flint was still an important resource in that regard. Important archaeological sites are old Lake Abraham bog as well as sites on Big Creek, Cahoon, Mill and Tinker's Creek. There was a larger settlement where Hilliard Boulevard crosses theRocky River.
Population density further increased during the Middle Archaic period (4500-2000 BC). Ground and polished stone tools and ornaments, and a variety of specialized chipped-stone notched points and knives, scrapers and drills were found on sites atCuyahoga, Rocky River, Chippewa Creek,Tinker's, andGriswold Creek.
The Late Archaic period (2000 to 500 BC) coincided with a much warmer climate than today. For the first time evidence for regionally specific territories occurs, as well as limited gardening of squash, which later became very important. A long-distance trade of raw materials and finished artifacts with coastal areas, objects which were used in ceremonies and burials. The largest graveyard known is at the junction of the East and West branches of the Rocky River. Differences in status are revealed by the objects which accompanied the dead, like zoo- and anthropomorphic objects oratlatls.
The following EarlyWoodland (500 BC – AD 100) and Middle Woodland (AD 100 – 700) is a period of increased ceremonial exchange and sophisticated rituals. Crude but elaborately decorated pottery appears. Squash becomes more important, maize occurs for ritual procedures. The first Mounds were erected, buildings for which Ohio is world-famous. The mound at Eagle St. Cemetery belongs to theAdena culture. Further mounds were found in the east of Tinker's Creek. Horticulture becomes even more important, the same with maize. The huge mounds concentrate much more insouthern Ohio, but they were also found in northernSummit County. SomeHopewellian projectile points, flint-blade knives, and ceramics were found in the area of Cleveland itself. One mound, south of Brecksville, contained a cache of trade goods within a 6-sided stone crypt. A smaller mound betweenWillowick andEastlake contained several ceremonial spear points of chert from Illinois - altogether signs of a wide range of trade. At Cleveland's W. 54th St. Division waterworks there was probably a mound and aHopewellian spear tip was found there.[1]
After AD 400maize dominated. Mounds were built no more, but the number of different groups increased, with winter villages at theCuyahoga,Rocky and LowerChagrin Rivers. Small, circular houses contained one or two fire hearths and storage pits. Tools and ornaments made of antler and bone were found. During the spring, people lived camps along the lakeshore ridges, along ponds and bogs, or headwaters of creeks, where they collected plants and fished.
Between AD 1000 and 1200 oval houses with single-post constructions dominated the summer villages, the emphasis on burial ceremony declined, but became more personal and consisted of ornaments, or personal tools.
From 1200 to 1600 Meso-American influence mediated by theMississippian culture could be traced, in Cleveland in new ceramic and house styles, new crops (common beans), and the presence of materials traded from southern centers. This influence was even stronger within the Fr. Ancient group, probably ancestors of laterShawnees. At this time, there was an obvious difference in archaeological findings from the areas ofBlack River,Sandusky River andLake Erie Islands westwards on the one hand andGreater Cleveland eastwards on the other.
Between 1300 and 1500 agriculture became predominant, especiallybeans and new varieties of maize. Larger villages were inhabited in summer and fall. Small camps diminished and the villages became larger as well as the houses, which became rectangular. Some of the villages became real fortresses. During the laterWhittlesey Tradition burial grounds were placed outside the villages, but still close to them. These villages were in use all year round.
The final Whittlesey Tradition, beginning at about 1500, shows long-houses, fortified villages, and sweat lodges can be traced. But the villages in and around Cleveland reported byCharles Whittlesey, are gone. It was likely a warlike time, as the villages were even more strongly fortified than before. Cases of traumatic injury, nutritional deficiency, and disease were also found. It is obvious that the population declined until about 1640. One reason is probably thelittle ice-age beginning at about 1500. The other reason is probably permanent warfare. It seems that the region of Cleveland was uninhabited between 1640 and 1740.[1]
As one of thirty-six founders of theConnecticut Land Company, GeneralMoses Cleaveland was selected as one of its seven directors and was subsequently sent out as the company's agent to map and survey the company's holdings. On July 22, 1796, Cleaveland and his surveyors arrived at the mouth of theCuyahoga River. Cleaveland quickly saw the land, which had previously belonged toNative Americans, as an ideal location for the "capital city" of theConnecticut Western Reserve. Cleaveland and his surveyors quickly began making plans for the new city. He paced out a nine-and-a-half-acrePublic Square, similar to those inNew England. His surveyors decided upon the name, Cleaveland, after their leader. In October, Cleaveland returned to Connecticut where he pursued his ambition in political, military, and law affairs, never once returning to Ohio.[2] The town's name was often shortened to "Cleveland," even by Cleaveland's original surveyors. A common myth emerged that the spelling was altered byThe Cleveland Advertiser in order to fit the name on the newspaper'smasthead.[3][4]
Schoolteachers Job Phelps Stiles (born c. 1769 inGranville, Massachusetts) and his wife Talitha Cumi Elderkin (born 1779 inHartford, Connecticut) were two of only three original settlers who stayed there over the first winter of 1796–1797 when, attended bySeneca Native American women, Talitha Cumi gave birth to Charles Phelps Stiles, the first white child born in theWestern Reserve. They lived at first on Lot 53, the present corner ofSuperior Avenue and West 3rd Street adjacent to the futureTerminal Tower, but later moved southeast to higher ground inNewburgh, Ohio to escape malarial conditions in the lowerCuyahoga Valley.[5][6][7][8] The first permanent European settler in Cleaveland wasLorenzo Carter, who built a large log cabin on the banks of the Cuyahoga River.[9]
Though not initially apparent — the settlement was adjacent to swampy lowlands and the harsh winters did not encourage settlement — Cleaveland's location ultimately proved providential. It was for that reason that Cleaveland was selected as the seat ofCuyahoga County in 1809, despite protests from nearby rival Newburgh.[10] Cleaveland's location also made it an important supply post for the U.S. during theBattle of Lake Erie in theWar of 1812.[11] Locals adopted CommodoreOliver Hazard Perry as a civic hero and erected amonument in his honor decades later.[12] Largely through the efforts of the settlement's first lawyerAlfred Kelley,[13] the village of Cleaveland was incorporated on December 23, 1814.[14] In the municipal first elections on June 5, 1815, Kelley was unanimously elected the first president of the village.[15] He held that position for only a few months, resigning on March 19, 1816.[16]
Cleveland began to grow rapidly after the completion of theOhio and Erie Canal in 1832, turning the village into a key link between theOhio River and the Great Lakes, particularly once the cityrailroad links were added. In 1822, a young, charismaticNew Hampshire lawyer,John W. Willey, arrived in Cleveland and quickly established himself in the growing village. He became a popular figure in local politics and wrote the Municipal Charter as well as several of the original laws and ordinances. Willey oversaw Cleveland's official incorporation as a city in 1836 and was elected the town's first officialmayor for two terms.[17] WithJames Clark and others, Willey bought a section of theFlats with plans to develop it into Cleveland Centre, a mixed residential and commercial district. Willey then purchased a piece of land from the southeast section ofOhio City across from Columbus Street in Cleveland. Willey named the new territory Willeyville and subsequently built a bridge connecting the two parts, calling it Columbus Street Bridge. The bridge siphoned off commercial traffic to Cleveland before it could reach Ohio City's mercantile district.[17]
These actions aggravated citizens of Ohio City, and brought to the surface a fierce rivalry between the small town and Cleveland.[18] Ohio City citizens rallied for "Two Bridges or None!".[19] In October 1836, they violently sought to stop the use of Cleveland's new bridge by bombing the western end of it. However, the explosion caused little damage. A group of 1,000 Ohio City volunteers began digging deep ditches at both ends of the bridge, making it impossible for horses and wagons to reach the structure. Some citizens were still unsatisfied with this and took to using guns, crowbars, axes, and other weapons to finish off the bridge. They were then met by Willey and a group of armed Cleveland militiamen. A battle ensued on the bridge, with two men seriously wounded before the county sheriff arrived to stop the conflict and make arrests. The confrontation could have escalated into all out war between Cleveland and Ohio City, but was avoided by a court injunction.[19] The two cities eventually made amends, and Ohio City wasannexed by Cleveland in 1854.[19]
The Columbus bridge became an important asset for Cleveland, permitting produce to enter the city from the surrounding hinterlands and allowing it to build its mercantile base. This was greatly increased with the coming of the Ohio and Erie Canal which realized the city's potential as a major Great Lakes port. Later, the growing town flourished as a halfway point foriron ore coming fromMinnesota across the Great Lakes and forcoal and other raw materials coming by rail from the south. It was in this period that Cleveland saw its first significant influx of immigrants, particularly fromIreland and theGerman states.[20]
Strongly influenced by its New England roots, Cleveland was home to a vocal group ofabolitionists who viewedslavery as a moral evil.[21][22] Code-named "Station Hope", the city was a major stop on theUnderground Railroad for escapedAfrican American slaves en route toCanada.[23] However, not all Clevelanders opposed slavery outright and views on the slaveholdingSouth varied based on political affiliation.[24] Nevertheless, asBertram Wyatt-Brown noted, the city's "record of sympathy and help for the black man's plight in America matched, if not exceeded, that of any other metropolitan center in North America, with the exception, perhaps, ofBoston andToronto."[21]
In the1860 presidential election,Abraham Lincoln won 58% of the vote in 9 of Cleveland's 11 wards.[24] In February 1861, the president-elect visited Cleveland on his way fromIllinois to hisinauguration inWashington and was greeted by a massive reception.[25] However, as thewar loomed closer, the partisan rhetoric of Cleveland newspapers became more and more heated. The pro-RepublicanCleveland Herald and Gazette celebrated Lincoln's victory "as one of right over wrong, of Unionists over secession-minded southern Democrats," while another Republican paper,The Cleveland Leader dismissed threats of Southern secession. By contrast, the pro-DemocraticPlain Dealer argued that Lincoln's election would mean the imminent secession of the South. When theAmerican Civil War finally erupted in April 1861, Cleveland Republicans andWar Democrats decided to temporarily put aside their differences and unite as the Union party in support of the war effort against theConfederacy. However, this uneasy coalition in support of theUnion did not go untested.[24]
The Civil War years brought an economic boom to Cleveland. The city was making the transition from a small town into an industrial giant. Local industries manufactured railroad iron, gun carriages, gun carriage axles, and gun powder. In 1863, "22% of all ships built for use on the Great Lakes were built in Cleveland," a figure that jumped to 44% by 1865.[24] By 1865, Cleveland's banks "held $2.25 million in capital and $3.7 million in deposits."[24] When the war ended, the city welcomed home its returning troops by treating them to a meal and welcoming ceremony at Public Square.[24] Decades later, in July 1894, those Clevelanders serving theUnion Army would be honored with the opening of theSoldiers' and Sailors' Monument.[26] AfterLincoln's assassination in 1865, his casket passed through Cleveland as thousands of onlookers observed the procession.[25]
The Civil War vaulted Cleveland into the first rank of Americanmanufacturing cities and fueled unprecedented growth. It became home to numerous majorsteel production firms and, in 1883,Samuel Mather co-foundedPickands Mather and Company in the city, specializing in shipping and iron mining.[27] Cleveland also became one of the five mainoil refining centers in the U.S. In 1870,Standard Oil began as a partnership based in Cleveland, betweenJohn D. Rockefeller,William Rockefeller,Henry M. Flagler, andSamuel Andrews.[28] Many mansions were built along the city's more prominent streets, such as theSouthworth House along Prospect Avenue, and those on Millionaire's Row, onEuclid Avenue.[29][30][31]
Along with theeconomic boom, Cleveland's immigrant population continued to grow. By 1870, the city's population had shot up to 92,829, more than doubling its 1860 population of 43,417, with a foreign-born population of 42%.[32] In addition to theIrish and theGermans, mass numbers of new immigrants, particularly fromSouthern andEastern Europe, came to the city, attracted by the prospect of jobs and the promise of a better future in America.[20] By 1890, the year when theCleveland Arcade was opened to the public, Cleveland had become the nation's 10th largest city, with a population of 261,353.[33]
Gilded Age urban growth fostered the need for efficient police and fire protection, decent housing, public education, sanitation and health services, transportation, and better roads and streets. Industrial growth was also accompanied by significantstrikes and labor unrest, as workers demanded better working conditions. In 1881–86, 70-80% of strikes were successful in improving labor conditions in Cleveland.[34] TheCleveland Streetcar Strike of 1899 was one of the more violent instances of labor unrest in the city during this period.[35]
Politically, the Republicans became the dominant political party in postbellum Cleveland. The main architect of this development was industrialistMark Hanna, who entered politics when he was elected to theCleveland Board of Education around 1869 and became apolitical boss.[36] Hanna was eventually challenged by RepublicanRobert E. McKisson, who became mayor in 1895 and launched the construction of a new city water and sewer system. Vehemently anti-Hanna, McKisson created a powerfulpolitical machine to vie for control of the local Republican party.[37] He padded the payroll with his political cronies, expanded the activities of government, and called for city ownership of all utilities. After serving two terms, he was soundly defeated by an alliance of Democrats and Hanna Republicans.[38]
Early in the 20th century, Cleveland was a city on the rise and was known as the "Sixth City" due to its position as the sixth largest U.S. city at the time.[39] Its businesses included automotive companies such asPeerless, People's,Jordan,Chandler, andWinton, maker of the first car driven across the U.S. Other manufacturers in Cleveland producedsteam-powered cars, which included those byWhite andGaeth, andelectric cars produced byBaker.[40] The city's population also continued to grow. Alongside new immigrants, African American migrants from the rural South arrived in Cleveland (among other Northeastern and Midwestern cities) as part of theGreat Migration for jobs, constitutional rights, and relief fromracial discrimination.[41]
However, it was clear that the city's government needed major reform. After a succession of Hanna Republicans and McKisson's corrupt political machine, Cleveland voted for change, putting progressive DemocratTom L. Johnson into the mayor's office in 1901.[42] Johnson led reforms for "home rule, three-cent fare, andjust taxation". He initiated theGroup Plan of 1903 as well as theMall, the earliest and most complete civic-center plan for a major city outside ofWashington, D.C.[43] Together with cabinet membersNewton D. Baker and Harris R. Cooley, Johnson also worked to professionalize city hall.[44]
Johnson's progressive associate Newton Baker was elected mayor in 1911. An advocate of municipal home rule, Baker helped write the Ohio constitutional amendment of 1912 granting municipalities the right of self-governance.[45] He played a prominent role in Cleveland's first home rule charter, which passed in 1913. In 1913 he went to Washington asWoodrow Wilson'sSecretary of War. He subsequently returned to practicing law in Cleveland and became the founder of thelaw firm Baker, Hostetler & Sidlo (todayBakerHostetler).[45]
The spirit of theProgressive Era had a lasting impact on Cleveland. The era of theCity Beautiful movement in Cleveland architecture, the period saw wealthy patrons support the establishment of the city's major cultural institutions. The most prominent among them were theCleveland Museum of Art (CMA), which opened in 1916, and theCleveland Orchestra, established in 1918.[46][47] From its formation, the CMA offered admission free to the public "for the benefit of all the people forever."[46]
Baker was succeeded as mayor byHarry L. Davis. Davis established the Mayor's Advisory War Committee, formed in 1917 to assist with aiding the American effort inWorld War I.[48] After the war ended in 1918, the nation became gripped by theFirst Red Scare in the aftermath of theBolshevik Revolution inRussia. The local branch of the ClevelandSocialists, led byCharles Ruthenberg, together with theIndustrial Workers of the World (IWW), demanded better working conditions for the largely immigrant and migrant workers. Tensions eventually exploded in the violentCleveland May Day Riots of 1919, in which socialist and IWW demonstrators clashed with anti-socialists.[49][50] The home of Mayor Davis was alsobombed by theItalian anarchistfollowers ofLuigi Galleani. In response, Davis campaigned for the expulsion of all "Bolsheviks" from America.[51] Faced with the issue of the riots and his own ambitions to become governor of Ohio, Davis resigned in May 1920. He would later serve as a mayor again in 1933.[48]
TheRoaring Twenties was a prosperous decade for Cleveland. By 1920, the year in which theCleveland Indians won theirfirst World Series championship, Cleveland had grown into a densely-populated metropolis of 796,841 with a foreign-born population of 30%, making it the fifth largest city in the nation.[33][32] Despite the national immigration restrictions of the 1920s, the city's population continued to grow. In 1923 thespeed nut was invented by Cleveland industrialist and inventor Albert Tinnerman. In order to solve the problem of the porcelain on the family company's stoves cracking when panels were screwed tightly together, Albert invented thespeed nut. This revolutionized assembly lines in the automobile and airline industries.
The decade also saw the establishment of Cleveland'sPlayhouse Square and the rise of the risqué Short Vincent entertainment district.[52][53][54] The Bal-Masque balls of theavant-gardeKokoon Arts Club scandalized the city.[55][56] The northward migration of musicians fromNew Orleans broughtjazz to Cleveland; new jazz talent also rose fromCleveland Central High School.[57][58][59] The era of theflapper marked the beginning of the golden age inDowntown Cleveland retail, centered on major department storesHigbee's, Bailey's, theMay Company,Taylor's,Halle's, andSterling Lindner Davis, which collectively represented one of the largest and mostfashionable shopping districts in the country, often compared to New York'sFifth Avenue.[60] In 1929, the city hosted the first of manyNational Air Races, andAmelia Earhart flew to the city fromSanta Monica, California in theWomen's Air Derby (nicknamed the "Powder Puff Derby" byWill Rogers).[61]
In politics, the city began a brief experiment with acouncil–manager government system in 1924.[62]William R. Hopkins, who became the firstcity manager, oversaw the development of parks, the Cleveland Municipal Airport (later renamedHopkins International Airport), and improved welfare services.[63] In 1923, the building of theFederal Reserve Bank of Cleveland on East 6th Street and Superior Avenue was opened, and in 1925, the main building of theCleveland Public Library on Superior was opened under the supervision of head librarianLinda Eastman, the first woman ever to lead a major library system in the world.[64] Both buildings were designed by the Cleveland architectural firmWalker and Weeks.[65][66] In 1926, theVan Sweringen brothers, who had previously worked to improve Cleveland's trolley and rapid program, began construction of theTerminal Towerskyscraper in 1926 and, by the time it was dedicated in 1930, Cleveland had a population of over 900,000.[67][33] Until 1967, the tower was the tallest building in the world outside of New York.[68]
BeforeProhibition, Cleveland had been a major center of thetemperance movement, with theWoman's Christian Temperance Union having been founded there.[69] TheEighteenth Amendment prohibiting the sale and manufacturing of alcohol first took effect in Cleveland on May 27, 1919. However, it was not well-enforced in the city. Cleveland alcohol stocks declined when theProhibition Bureau sent an administrator and federal agents as the amendment and theVolstead Act became law in January 1920.[70] Withprohibition, Cleveland, like other major American cities saw the rise oforganized crime.[71]Little Italy'sMayfield Road Mob was notorious for smugglingbootleg alcohol out ofCanada to Cleveland.[70][72] The mob's members includedJoe Lonardo, Nathan Weisenburg, the seven Porello brothers (four of whom were killed), Moses Donley, Paul Hackett, and J.J. Schleimer. These names and Milano, Furgus, and O'Boyle held the same connotation asAl Capone inChicago.Speakeasies began appearing all over the city. An anti-Prohibition group found 2,545 such locations throughout Cleveland.[70]
On October 24, 1929, thestock market crashed, plunging the entire nation into theGreat Depression. The crash hit Cleveland hard, with industrialistCyrus Eaton once stating that the city was "hurt more by the Depression than any other city in the United States."[73] By 1933, approximately fifty percent of Cleveland's industrial workers were left unemployed by the Depression.[74]
Anti-Prohibition sentiment continued to grow. Tired ofgang wars in Cleveland and Chicago, Fred G. Clark founded an anti-gang, anti-Prohibition group known as the Crusaders. Cleveland became their national headquarters, and by 1932 the Crusaders claimed one million members. Formed in Chicago, theWomen's Organization for National Prohibition Reform was another group that rose to prominence during this period. WhenFranklin D. Roosevelt became president, Prohibition appeared to be near an end. Together, the Crusaders, theAssociation Against the Prohibition Amendment, and the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform formed the Ohio Repeal Council, and Prohibition was finally repealed in Cleveland on December 23, 1933.[70]
Politically, the city abolished the city manager system underDaniel E. Morgan and returned to themayor–council (strong mayor) system. After a brief stint in office by Democratic MayorRay T. Miller, who would later serve as the powerful chairman of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, Harry L. Davis, who had previously served as mayor, returned.[75] However, Davis exhibited increasing incompetence in office and the city became a haven for criminal activity. The police department was corrupt, prostitution and illegal gambling were rampant, and organized crime was still abundant.[76]
In thenext election,Harold H. Burton became the city's new mayor. Burton, a lawyer from New England and futureSupreme CourtAssociate Justice, sought to get Cleveland back on its feet. He accomplished this with the help of his newly appointed Safety Director,Eliot Ness, who previously served as Chief Investigator of the Prohibition Bureau for Chicago and Ohio, and played an important role in putting Al Capone behind bars. Ness made a name for himself in Cleveland by first and foremost cleaning up the city's police department.[76] As the head of the city's Safety Directorate, Ness introduced a new police district system in Cleveland, fired corrupt and incompetent officers from the force, and replaced them with talented rookies and unrecognized veterans.[77] During Ness's tenure as Safety Director, crime dropped significantly in the city. He also improved traffic safety and orchestrated raids on such notorious gambling spots as the Harvard Club.[78]
A center ofunion activity, the city saw significant labor struggles in this period, including strikes by workers againstFisher Body in 1936 and againstRepublic Steel in 1937.[34] The city was also aided by major federal works projects sponsored by President Roosevelt'sNew Deal.[79] In commemoration of the centennial of Cleveland's incorporation as a city, theGreat Lakes Exposition debuted in June 1936 at the city'sNorth Coast Harbor, along the Lake Erie shore north of downtown.[80] Conceived by Cleveland's business leaders as a way to revitalize the city during the Depression, it drew four million visitors in its first season, and seven million by the end of its second and final season in September 1937.[81]
On December 7, 1941,Imperial Japanattacked Pearl Harbor anddeclared war on the United States. One of the victims of the attack was a Cleveland native, Rear AdmiralIsaac C. Kidd.[82] The attack signaled America's entry intoWorld War II. A major hub of the "Arsenal of Democracy", Cleveland under Democratic MayorFrank Lausche contributed massively to theU.S. war effort as the fifth largest manufacturing center in the nation.[82] Cleveland's first mayor ofEastern European descent, Lausche also oversaw the establishment of the Cleveland Transit System, the predecessor to theGreater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority.[83]
After the war, Cleveland initially experienced an economic boom, and businesses declared the city to be the "best location in the nation."[84][85] In 1949, the city was named anAll-America City for the first time and, in 1950, its population reached 914,808.[86][33] Insports, the Indians won the1948 World Series, the hockey team, theBarons, became champions of theAmerican Hockey League, and theBrowns dominatedprofessional football in the 1950s. As a result, along with track and boxing champions produced, Cleveland was declared the "City of Champions" in sports at this time.[87] The 1950s also saw the rising popularity of a new music genre that localWJW (AM) disc jockeyAlan Freed dubbed "rock and roll."[88]
After Lausche left office to become theGovernor of Ohio, DemocratThomas A. Burke won a first term as mayor in1945.[89] He was re-elected by voters in the1947 mayoral election against Republican challenger Eliot Ness, who left Cleveland during the war to become director of the Division of Social Protection of theFederal Security Agency.[78] Burke's greatest achievement as mayor was his large capital-improvement program that included the establishment of theCleveland Burke Lakefront Airport,[90] but he also successfully managed race relations in the city.[91] In 1954, Burke was succeeded by DemocratAnthony J. Celebrezze, Cleveland's firstItalian American mayor. Celebrezze oversaw the completion of Cleveland's Rapid Transit and expansion of the freeway system.[92] He also launched theErieview Urban Renewal Plan.[93] Celebrezze was so popular with Cleveland voters that he served an unprecedented five terms before becoming theUnited States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under PresidentsJohn F. Kennedy andLyndon B. Johnson.[92]
.jpg)
Ralph S. Locher became Celebrezze's successor in 1962. Although Locher made some strides, such as expanding Hopkins Airport, his tenure was strained by new challenges facing the city.[94] By the 1960s, Cleveland's economy began to slow down, and residents increasingly sought new housing in the suburbs, reflecting the national trends ofsuburbanization following federally subsidized highways.[95]Industrial restructuring, particularly in therailroad andsteel industries, resulted in the loss of numerous jobs in Cleveland and the region, and the city suffered economically.Housing discrimination andredlining against African Americans led to racial tension in Cleveland and numerous other Northern U.S. cities.[96][91] In Cleveland, this tension exploded in theHough Riots of July 1966. Locher was becoming less and less popular and lost the 1967 mayoral primary to charismatic DemocratCarl B. Stokes. Stokes went on to face RepublicanSeth Taft and won the1967 general mayoral election, becoming the firstAfrican American mayor of a major U.S. city, attracting national attention.[97]
As mayor, Stokes began initiating reforms to boost the city's economy and aid its poverty-stricken areas. He first succeeded in convincing theDepartment of Housing and Urban Development to release urban renewal funds for Cleveland that had been frozen under Locher's tenure. He also persuadedCity Council to pass the Equal Employment Opportunity Ordinance and to increase the city'sincome tax from .5% to 1%.[98] It was also Stokes who led the effort to restore Cleveland's Cuyahoga River in the aftermath of the river fire of June 1969 that brought national attention to the issue ofindustrial pollution in Cleveland.[99] The river fire was to be the last in the city's history, and it became a catalyst in the rise of theAmerican environmental movement. Since that time, through efforts begun by the Stokes administration and theOhio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA), the river has been extensively cleaned-up.[100]
In 1968, Stokes launchedCleveland: Now!, a program aimed at rehabilitating the city's poorer neighborhoods. This program was initially highly successful. However, after the1968 Glenville Shootout, it was discovered that Fred "Ahmed" Evans and his black militant group, who had initiated the chaos, indirectly received money fromCleveland: Now!, putting the mayor in a difficult position.[101] Although Stokes securedre-election in 1969, the fallout from the incident as well as continued conflicts with City Council led him to decline from seeking a third term in 1971.[98]
Stokes was succeeded byRalph J. Perk, an ethnicCzech American and the first Republican to serve as mayor of Cleveland since the 1940s.[102] Perk benefited from good connections with PresidentRichard Nixon, allowing Cleveland to obtain federal funds to aid neighborhoods and to help crack down on city crime in the era of Irish American mobsterDanny Greene.[102][103] It was Perk who proposed merging Cleveland's public transit system with those of neighboring suburbs, thus forming the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority.[104] He also greatly expanded Cleveland's international ties by initiating severalsister city partnerships.[105] However, Perk was also known for hispolitical gaffes, such as an incident in which his hair caught on fire, and another when his wife, Lucille, famously refused a dinner invitation fromPat Nixon for her "bowling night."[104] Additionally, the city continued to experience population loss fromdeindustrialization andforced-busing ofCleveland Public Schools ordered byUnited States District JudgeFrank J. Battisti.[106] Between 1970 and 1973, the city lost 9.6 percent of its population, and by 1980 it had lost its position as one of the top 10 largest cities in the U.S.[107]
.jpg)
In 1977, Perk lost the nonpartisan mayoral primary.Populist DemocratDennis J. Kucinich went on to win both the primary and thegeneral election. Kucinich was 31 when he assumed office, becoming the youngest mayor of a major U.S. city.[108] Kucinich'stenure as mayor began with one of theworst blizzards in Cleveland history on January 26, 1978, with winds up to 100 miles an hour. In March, he suspended his newly appointed police chief,Richard D. Hongisto in afeud that later erupted into a heated conflict between the two, ending with Hongisto being fired on livelocal television.[109] This move, combined with conflicts with City Council PresidentGeorge L. Forbes, prompted a successful recall drive against Kucinich with petitions of some 50,000 signatures, leading to the firstrecall election in the city's history. Kucinich was nearly ousted from his position, but narrowly won with 236 votes.[110]
Part of Kucinich's promise to voters was to cancel the sale of the publicly owned electric company,Cleveland Municipal Light (Muny Light), to theCleveland Electric Illuminating Company (CEI), a private electric company. The sale was initiated by Perk, but Kucinich cancelled it when he entered office. In response, CEI went to a U.S. federal court to demand $14 million in damages from Muny for purchasing electricity and to secure an order to attach city equipment. Kucinich attempted to pay the bill by cutting city spending. However, the Cleveland Trust Company and five other Cleveland banks told the mayor that they would agree to renew the city's credit on $14 million of loans taken out by the prior administration only if he would sell Muny.[111] As it happened, Kucinich did not sell and at midnight on December 15, 1978, Cleveland became the first major American city since the Great Depression todefault on its financial obligations. By this time, voters had grown tired of the turbulent Kucinich years.[112] In Cleveland's1979 mayoral election, the mayor was defeated by RepublicanGeorge V. Voinovich.[113]
By the beginning of the 1980s, several factors, including changes in internationalfree trade policies, inflation, and theSavings and Loans Crisis, contributed tothe recession that severely affected cities like Cleveland.[114] While unemployment during the period peaked in 1983, Cleveland's rate of 13.8% was higher than the national average due to the closure of several steel production centers.[115][116][117] It was in these conditions, in addition to Cleveland's default, that the city began a gradual economic recovery under Mayor Voinovich. While maintaining the city's stance on Muny Light, Voinovich also oversaw the construction of theKey Tower and200 Public Square skyscrapers, as well as the development of theGateway Sports and Entertainment Complex—consisting ofProgressive Field andRocket Arena—and the North Coast Harbor, including theRock and Roll Hall of Fame,Huntington Bank Field, and theGreat Lakes Science Center.[113] By 1987, Cleveland was not only out of default but was named an All-America City for a second, third, and fourth time.[14] After his mayoralty, Voinovich then made a successful run for the governorship of Ohio.[113]
Voinovich's successor was DemocratMichael R. White, who continued his predecessor's development plans in the downtown area near theGateway complex—consisting ofJacobs Field andGund Arena—and near theRock and Roll Hall of Fame andCleveland Browns Stadium.[118] After serving three times, he declined from running for a fourth term in 2001 and retired to analpaca farm nearNewcomerstown, Ohio. Four years later, a federal investigation revealed that, despite the strides that White made in office, he may have accepted bribes from one of his associates, Nate Gray, in exchange for construction and parking contracts. However, no charges were made against the former mayor.[119]
.jpg)
In 2002, White was succeeded byJane L. Campbell, the city's first female mayor. Under the Campbell administration, the economic and civic recovery begun under former Mayor Voinovich appeared to stagnate. The national decline of the steel and auto industries continued to hurt the region's economy, the city's public school system languished in the state's "academic emergency" rating, and tight budgets forced layoffs of city employees and cuts in public services.[120] Still, severalcity neighborhoods attracted investment for revitalization, including Downtown,Tremont,Ohio City,Detroit-Shoreway, and parts ofHough. In the2005 mayoral election, Campbell lost to City Council president,Frank G. Jackson. Jackson received 55% of the vote while Campbell secured 45% and assumed office as the city's 57th mayor on January 1, 2006.[121]
At the beginning of Jackson's mayoralty, the city faced continued challenges, including efforts to retain the city'sresidency laws, the impact of theGreat Recession on city neighborhoods, and a federal corruption investigation into Cuyahoga County officials.[121][122] However, by the turn of the 21st century, Cleveland succeeded in developing a more diversified economy and gained a national reputation as a center for healthcare and the arts. Additionally, it has become a national leader inenvironmental protection, with its successful cleanup of the Cuyahoga River.[123] The city's downtown and several neighborhoods have experienced significant population growth since 2010.[124] In 2018, the population of Cleveland began to flatten after decades of decline.[125] This trend has been accompanied by major victories in sports, most prominently the victory of theCleveland Cavaliers in the2016 NBA Finals, the first major professional sports championship won by a Cleveland team since1964.[126]
Nevertheless, challenges still remain for the city, with economic development of neighborhoods, improvement of city schools, and continued efforts to tackle poverty and urban blight being top municipal priorities.[127] In June 2020, Cleveland City Council became the secondlocal government in the US to issue a declaration stating thatracism constitutes apublic health emergency.[128][129] A new mayor,Justin Bibb, waselected in 2021.[130]
It was agreeable to the wishes of many of our oldest and most intelligent citizens, who are of the opinion that the 'a' is superfluous.
1870 Rockefeller founds Standard Oil of Ohio with $1 million in capital, the largest corporation in the country. The new company controls 10% of U.S. petroleum refining. 1885 Standard Oil Standard Oil moves into new headquarters at 26 Broadway in New York.
{{cite book}}:|journal= ignored (help)Once upon a time, Cleveland was known as the 'City of Champions.'
