Becoming American under Fire

G. Samito Christian

Description

In Becoming American under Fire, Christian G. Samito provides a rich account of how African American and Irish American soldiers influenced the modern vision of national citizenship that developed during the Civil War era. By bearing arms for the Union, African Americans and Irish Americans exhibited their loyalty to the United States and their capacity to act as citizens; they strengthened their American identity in the process. Members of both groups also helped to redefine the legal meaning and political practices of American citizenship. For African American soldiers, proving manhood in combat was only one aspect to their quest for acceptance as citizens. As Samito reveals, by participating in courts-martial and protesting against unequal treatment, African Americans gained access to legal and political processes from which they had previously been excluded. The experience of African Americans in the military helped shape a postwar political movement that successfully called for rights and protections regardless of race. For Irish Americans, soldiering in the Civil War was part of a larger affirmation of republican government and it forged a bond between their American citizenship and their Irish nationalism. The wartime experiences of Irish Americans helped bring about recognition of their full citizenship through naturalization and also caused the United States to pressure Britain to abandon its centuries-old policy of refusing to recognize the naturalization of British subjects abroad. As Samito makes clear, the experiences of African Americans and Irish Americans differed substantially-and at times both groups even found themselves violently opposed-but they had in common that they aspired to full citizenship and inclusion in the American polity. Both communities were key participants in the fight to expand the definition of citizenship that became enshrined in constitutional amendments and legislation that changed the nation.

Sujets

• Histoire
• USA
• United States of America
• History of the Americas
• American Civil War
• États-Unis
• Guerre de Sécession

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 octobre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780801463761
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

More advance praise forBecoming American under Fire:

“InBecoming American under Fire, Christian G. Samito brings his legal and historical training effectively to bear on the complex struggles of Irish American and African American soldiers as they sought to craft and claim meaningful citizenship in the Civil War–era United States. Rich with detail, deeply researched, and carefully argued, this is an im portant contribution to the literature of the period.”  —Elizabeth D. Leonard,author ofMen of Color to Arms: Black Sol diers, Indian Wars, and the Quest for Equality

“Historians are increasingly recognizing the importance of citizenship as a concept, and Christian G. Samito wisely takes a bottomup approach, recognizing the agency of those displaced groups agitating for inclusion. Becoming American under Firea very good book on an important is and timely topic.”  —Christopher Waldrep,Jamie and Phyllis Pasker Professor of His tory, San Francisco State University, author ofRoots of Disorder and The Many Faces of Judge Lynch

“unnrdemeAcarieBocimgneriFmakes an important contribution to the history of American citizenship. Christian G. Samito demonstrates that the Civil War military service of Irish and African Americans led them to make demands for full inclusion and it created a moral indebtedness on the part of the nativeborn white population that made opposing those demands difficult. No other book illuminates this subject as well as this one does. No one else has related the progress of this develop ment so well to the experience of the Civil War.”  —.Kohl,FecnerwaLUniversity of Alabama, author ofThe Politics of Individualism

Becoming American under Fire

Becoming American under Fire

irish americans, african americans,

and the politics of citizenship

during the civil war era

Christian G. Samito

Cornell University Press Ithaca and London

Copyright © 2009 by Christian G. Samito

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For informa tion, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 2009 by Cornell University Press Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Samito, Christian G.  Becoming American under re : Irish Americans, African Americans and the politics of citizenship during the Civil War era / Christian G. Samito.  p. cm.  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 9780801448461 (cloth : alk. paper)  1. United StatesHistoryCivil War, 18611865 Participation, Irish American. 2. United StatesHistoryCivil War, 18611865Participation, African American. 3. Irish American soldiersHistory19th century. 4. African American soldiersHistory19th century. 5. Irish AmericansLegal status, laws, etc.History19th century. 6. African AmericansLegal status, laws, etc.History19th century. 7. CitizenshipUnited StatesHistory19th century. 8. United StatesPolitics and government18611865. I. Title.

E540.I6S25 2009 973.7'415dc22

2009023335

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To my parents, for their constant love and support

Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Crisis of Citizenship in the 1850s 2. The Question of Armed Service 3. African Americans in Arms 4. Equal Rights and the Experience of Military Justice for African American Soldiers 5. Irish Americans in Arms 6. African Americans and the Call for Rights 7. The Afrmation of Naturalized Citizenship in America 8. The Afrmation of Naturalized Citizenship Abroad Epilogue: The Legacy of National Citizenship in the  Era of the Civil War and Reconstruction Notes Works Cited Index

ix 1 13 26 45

77 103 134 172 194

217 237 275 293