Other than Ohio, what was the most important state, North or South, during the Civil War era?
By William F.B. Vodrey – debate moderator
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2026, All Rights Reserved
Editor’s note: The subject of the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate at the January 2026 Roundtable meeting was: “Other than Ohio, what was the most important state, North or South, during the Civil War era?” Four members made presentations on the topic; the article below was the opening remarks made by the moderator of the debate.
We’re here tonight for the annual Dick Crews Memorial Debate, named after my longtime predecessor as moderator, Dick Crews. Dick once told me that the debate got its start as a Roundtable tradition because of the difficulty of finding speakers who were willing to travel to Cleveland in January. In moderating again tonight for, God help us all, my 22nd year, I stand on the shoulders of giants, including Dick.
Dick was one of the first people to welcome me to the Roundtable, and I always enjoyed his company. We sometimes disagreed on points of history, but hardly ever on politics. Not long after I joined the Roundtable, he recruited me for a debate on the most important battle of the Civil War, for which I’m still grateful. I chose the 1862 Battle of New Orleans, which I think surprised him. I certainly miss him, as I know many of you do, too.
Our topic this year was selected by Roundtable President Charles Patton, as is the customary privilege of his office. This year’s topic is, “Other than Ohio, what was the most important state, North or South, during the Civil War era?” Each of our debaters has chosen a non-Buckeye state.
We were going to have five debaters tonight, but one of them let me know just a few days ago, much to my dismay, that, due to work obligations, he would be unable to take part after all. So we won’t be hearing about Louisiana.
Four debaters remain. Our order of debate was determined by random draw just a few minutes ago. In order, you will hear tonight from:
1. Ryan Bailey
2. Jack Prause
3. Don Iannone
4. David F. Parchem
Each debater will have five minutes to speak, and then take questions from the audience for up to another five minutes. They will then participate in a general discussion/rebuttal session (“the scrum”), after which the people in the audience will be asked to vote on which presentation they find most persuasive. That is the criterion I ask everyone to keep in mind: which presentation you find most persuasive. The winner will, of course, receive… fabulous prizes!
I strongly encouraged each debater to time himself while practicing at home. In years past, some debaters have been surprised and even irritated by how quickly their time passes. I hate to cut anyone off, but I will when I must, to be fair to the other debaters. Debaters, I will hold up a finger when you have one minute remaining, and then call time when that moment comes.
Of course, I’m grateful to each of our debaters for agreeing to take part tonight. You will by now have noticed, however, that once again, every debater is male. I was turned down or ignored by the five women I asked, which reminded me a bit of my high school days.
Women were admitted to the Roundtable as full members more than a quarter-century ago. So why do so many refuse to take part in our debates?
I ask you, are our women Roundtable members more ignorant of the Civil War than the men? No.
Are they more shy? No.
Are they more flighty? No.
Are they less capable as debaters? No!
Is there any good reason why not a single woman agreed to debate this year? NO!
So I will say again, as I’ve said in years past, that all are welcome – and encouraged – to participate as debaters, regardless of sex, age, historical expertise, or length of Roundtable membership. We don’t expect anyone to be an absolute expert on the Civil War, and diversity among our debaters is certainly something I always strive for.
And now, let us begin!
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