The Passport in America: The History of a Document

by Craig Robertson

In today's world of constant identification checks, it's difficult to recall that there was ever a time when "proof of identity" was not a part of everyday life. And as anyone knows who has ever lost a passport, or let one expire on the eve of international travel, the passport has become an indispensable document. But how and why did this form of identification take on such a crucial role?

In the first history of the passport in the United States, Craig Robertson offers an illuminating account of how this document, above all others, came to be considered a reliable answer to the who are you? Historically, the passport originated as an official letter of introduction addressed to foreign governments on behalf of American travelers, but as Robertson shows, it became entangled in contemporary negotiations over citizenship and other forms of identity documentation. Prior to World War I, passports were not required to cross American borders, and while some people struggled to understand how a passport could accurately identify a person, others took advantage of this new document to advance claims for citizenship. From the strategic use of passport applications by freed slaves and a campaign to allow married women to get passports in their maiden names, to the "passport nuisance" of the 1920s and the contested addition of photographs and other identification
technologies on the passport, Robertson sheds new light on issues of individual and national identity in modern U.S. history.

In this age of heightened security, especially at international borders, Robertson's The Passport in America provides anyone interested in questions of identification and surveillance with a richly detailed, and often surprising, history of this uniquely important document.

Genres: History, American History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published June 4, 2010

Reviews

[Darryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Craig Robertson, a professor of Communication Studies at Northeastern, provides a comprehensive history of the passport in the United States, starting from its initial use in the late 18th century. The book is divided into two parts, on the assembly of the passport (including the document itself, the applicant's name, signature, physical description and, later, his photograph), and the use of the passport as its primary role changed, from a letter of introduction to foreign governments for travelers, to an essential form of identification in the early 20th century, particularly for immigrants wishing to travel to or establish residency in the US. I was interested to learn that married women did not routinely receive their own passports until the women's suffrage movement took place, as respectable women always traveled in the presence of their husbands, whose passport photograph included their wives and children; and that the upper and middle classes resented having to use passports as a form of identification, as many felt that this document was most appropriate to keep anarchists, non-white immigrants and other undesirables from entering the US and western European countries.

The book includes several interesting personal stories, including the one that opens the book about a Danish man who was encouraged to shave off his Kaiser Wilhelm mustache upon entering Germany, and then was denied entry to the US after his clean shaven face did not match his passport photo. However, I found most of the book to be a bit dry and academic, and there was almost no discussion or analysis about the history and use of the passport after the 1920s, which would have made this a more interesting book for me.

[Tbfrank · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very scholarly examination of the genesis of the passport in America with a decided relevance to the issues faced by the country today with respect to international travel and immigration. The book deserves a broad readership touching as it does on the issues of identify, security, privacy, race, gender, and economics and how each of these elements affected the content and purpose of the passport overtime. Tracing the manner in which 'rules' were applied or ignored and how they advanced over time helps illuminate the current debate over immigration.

According to the author, the passport and visa applications are examples of the way a modern government develops and maintains a more thorough knowledge of the nation's population. The First World War "created a need for information, and not necessarily for any known purpose." Much of what the author discusses we take for granted today without appreciating either the intrusiveness or sinister nature apparent to persons living in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The voluminous amounts of data is easily appreciated by those doing genealogical research today. Inventing how to store and retrieve records from this mass of information was daunting.

In spite of a wealth of fascinating anecdotes, the work is possibly too dense for the general reader where an abridged version would be both entertaining and instructive.

[Bryanna Plog · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had some interesting information that I had never read anywhere else about the changing document that is the US passport, but the writing was too academic for my tastes. Too often Robertson seems trying to prove things rather than just telling a story.

[The Book : An Online Review at The New Republic]

A popular topic for a newspaper feuilleton in the 1910s and 1920s was something called “passport nuisance.” For the first time in their lives, members of the better classes faced the bizarre requirement to prove their identity at the border. Their indignant reactions made for excellent newsprint fodder, as did the new system’s vagaries. One man, for instance, was said to have traveled to Germany, where he shaved his mustache after the latest fashion, and was unable to return because he no longer matched his passport photograph. Read more...