A city now in the news that used to have a vigorous Socialist Party, winning city council seats and regularly garnering 25% in local elections during the 1910s and 20s. What an interesting, if flawed, book. Member of the S.P.’s National Executive Committee from 1925 to 1932, three time Socialist candidate for Governor of Ohio, and editor Miami Valley Socialist, Joseph Sharts with a work of economic history of his hometown. All communities should have such attempts.

Biography Of Dayton (Ohio): An Economic Interpretation of Local History by Joseph William Sharts. Published by the Miami Valley Socialist, Dayton. 1922.

Contents: Preface, I) HAND TOOL TIMES (1796-1828), Fighting the Wilderness, Beginnings of Social Production, The Struggle for Outlet, The Political Structure, II) THE WATER-POWER PERIOD (1828-1851), Production, Transportation, Politics, III) STEAM POWER (1851-1909), Quantity Production, Quantity Distribution, Politics, IV) THE OIL AGE (1909- ), Super-Production, Super-Transportation, The Class Struggle Enters Politics, Conclusion. 130 pages.

PDF of book: https://archive.org/…/Sharts-BiographyOfDayton-1922.pdf