Dr. William H. Bergmann, Ph.D. - University of Cincinnati
Dr. Bergmann grew up in New Hampshire before moving to Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree. After completing his Ph.D. at the University of Cincinnati, he spent seven years teaching in northern Michigan before returning to Pennsylvania to work at SRU.
Bergmann's historical interest is in the relationship between the federal government and the development of the early American West, particularly in the Ohio Valley. His dissertation, "Commerce and Arms: The Federal Government, Native Americans, and the Economy of the Old Northwest, 1783-1807," won the Allan Nevins Prize from the Economic History Association in 2005.
His first book, The American National State and the Early West, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2012. In it, he shows that the federal government contributed to western expansionism and economic development in the trans-Appalachian West prior to the War of 1812. Bergmann also has published articles in Ohio Valley History and Early American Studies.
His current book project is a biography of Isaac Shelby, the first and fifth governor of Kentucky. He is also working on an article about masculinity and credit reporting prior to the Civil War. In addition to his teaching, Bergmann is currently serving as interim Co-Editor of Ohio Valley History, a peer-reviewed, quarterly journal.
Research Fields: Early Republic, Ohio Valley, American government
Teaching Fields: Colonial America, the Early Republic, Native American, Masculinity, Pennsylvania History
