Citizen Sailors is a useful reminder that Revolutionary America was more inclusive than the republic would become in the 19th century and than some might wish to make it today. By skillfully coaxing narratives out of previously unorganized troves of documents, Perl-Rosenthal lets us see that the Custom House certificates 'offered a glimmer of a far more inclusive model of the American nation than existed in any other official quarter.' He also ably describes the complicated national identities of sailors and the human suffering of Americans wrongfully impressed.
(10/25/2015) With erudition and eloquence, Citizen Sailors tells the remarkable story of the federal government's efforts to protect the welfare of seafaring Americans, doing so without regard to region, class or, surprisingly, race. Showcasing maritime history at its best, the result is a tour de force that will appeal to general readers and specialists alike.
Eliga Gould, author of Among the Powers of the Earth: The American Revolution and the Making of a New World Empire Citizen Sailors is the first book to explore how sailors were crucial to definitions of U.S. citizenship during and after the War for Independence because of their central role in national politics and because of the peculiar problems in ascertaining their nationality. Engagingly written and marshaling terrific new evidence, this important book will alter our understanding of the American Revolution, the Atlantic world, and the dynamics of national identity.
Joyce E. Chaplin, author of Round about the Earth: Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit