Lucy Salyer

Lucy Salyer is a Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire, specializing in American legal history, immigration history, and citizenship. Her research focuses particularly on the intersection of law, immigration policy, and civil rights in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Salyer's most notable work is "Laws Harsh as Tigers: Chinese Immigrants and the Shaping of Modern Immigration Law" (1995), which won the Theodore Saloutos Book Award from the Immigration and Ethnic History Society. The book examines how Chinese exclusion cases in the late 1800s influenced the development of American immigration law and administrative legal procedures. Her recent book "Under the Starry Flag: How a Band of Irish Americans Joined the Fenian Revolt and Sparked a Crisis over Citizenship" (2018) explores questions of citizenship rights and expatriation through the lens of Irish-American civil rights activism in the 1860s. This work received the Cromwell Book Prize from the American Society for Legal History. Salyer has received numerous fellowships and grants, including awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Council of Learned Societies. She regularly contributes to academic discussions on immigration law, citizenship rights, and the historical development of American legal institutions.

Readers appreciate Lucy Salyer's thorough research and detailed documentation in "Laws Hard as Steel" and "Under the Starry Flag." Many reviews note her ability to make complex legal history accessible and engaging. Specific praise focuses on her coverage of Irish-American citizenship rights and immigration law development. One Amazon reviewer called her writing "clear and compelling without getting bogged down in legal jargon." Critical reviews mention some sections becoming repetitive, particularly when covering court proceedings. A few Goodreads users noted the academic tone can make portions dry for general readers. Ratings across platforms: Goodreads: 4.0/5 (48 ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (31 ratings) Google Books: 4.3/5 (12 ratings) Most reviews come from academic readers or those with specific interest in immigration history. The books receive fewer reviews from general audiences, with "Under the Starry Flag" generating more public engagement than her earlier academic work.

Laws Harsh as Tigers: Chinese Immigrants and the Shaping of Modern Immigration Law (1995) A scholarly examination of how Chinese exclusion cases in the late 19th century influenced the development of U.S. immigration law and legal procedures.

Under the Starry Flag: How a Band of Irish Americans Joined the Fenian Revolt and Sparked a Crisis over Citizenship (2018) An analysis of the 1867 Fenian crisis and its impact on international citizenship rights, focusing on Irish-American prisoners who challenged British authority and American citizenship definitions.