Ronald E. Shaw (1924 – April 4, 2001) was an American historian specializing in western civilization, American social and economic history, and the history of the early American republic.^[1]

He served in the Army from 1943 to 1946. He earned a Bachelor's degree from Carleton College in 1947 and taught at Wayne State University while pursuing graduate studies. He graduated from the University of Rochester in 1954 with a PhD.

He taught at Wayne State University, and Miami University from 1950 until 1993, the first W. E. Smith Professor of History.^[1][2]

• 1965 Frederick Jackson Turner Award

• Canals for a Nation: The Canal Era in the United States, 1790-1860. University Press of Kentucky. 1993. ISBN 978-0-8131-0815-5. Reprint of 1990 volume.
• Erie Water West: A History of the Erie Canal, 1792-1854. University Press of Kentucky. 1990. ISBN 978-0-8131-0801-8. Reprint of the original 1966 volume.