Dimensions
150 x 235 x 15mm
Winner of the Myrna F. Bernath Book Award
?A stunning accomplishment?As the Trump administration works to expatriate naturalized U.S. citizens, understanding the history of individual rights and state power at the heart of Under the Starry Flag could not be more important.?
?Passport
?A brilliant piece of historical writing as well as a real page-turner. Salyer seamlessly integrates analysis of big, complicated historical questions?allegiance, naturalization, citizenship, politics, diplomacy, race, and gender?into a gripping narrative.?
?Kevin Kenny, author of The American Irish: A History
In 1867 forty Irish American freedom fighters, outfitted with guns and ammunition, sailed to Ireland to join the effort to end British rule. They were arrested for treason as soon as they landed. The Fenians, as the freedom fighters were called, claimed American citizenship. British authorities disagreed, insisting that naturalized Irish Americans remained British subjects. Following in the wake of the Civil War, the Fenian crisis dramatized anew the question of whether citizenship should be considered an inalienable right.
Under the Starry Flag recounts the captivating trial of these men, which convinced some Americans of the high cost of extending the rights of citizens to recent arrivals from far-flung lands. This gripping legal saga, a prelude to today's immigration battles, raises important questions about citizenship and immigration.
