Susan J. Pearson, "The Birth Certificate: An American History" (UNC Press, 2021)
For many Americans, the birth certificate is a mundane piece of paper, unearthed from deep storage when applying for a driver\u2019s license, verifying information for new employers, or claiming state and federal benefits. Yet as Donald Trump and his fellow \u201cbirthers\u201d reminded us when they claimed that Barack Obama wasn\u2019t an American citizen, it plays a central role in determining identity and citizenship.\nIn\xa0The Birth Certificate: An American History\xa0(University of North Carolina Press, 2021), award-winning historian Susan J. Pearson traces the document\u2019s two-hundred-year history to explain when, how, and why birth certificates came to matter so much in the United States. Deftly weaving together social, political, and legal history,\xa0The Birth Certificate\xa0is a fascinating biography of a piece of paper that grounds our understanding of how those who live in the United States are considered Americans.\nSusan J. Pearson\xa0is associate professor of history at Northwestern University and the author of\xa0The Rights of the Defenseless: Protecting Animals and Children in Gilded Age America.\nCatriona Gold\xa0is a PhD candidate in Geography at University College London, researching security, subjectivity and mobility in the 20-21st century United States. Her current work concerns the US Passport Office's role in the Cold War. She can be reached by\xa0email\xa0or on\xa0Twitter.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law