Fight for US citizenship recounted in early immigration struggle
Rick Ramseyer’s first book, Girl Without a Country, follows the decades‑long fight of his maternal grandmother, Martha Graber, to secure American citizenship. A native of Alsace‑Lorraine who settled in the United States as a French immigrant, Graber had lived quietly for roughly two decades before filing her naturalization papers in 1925 and beginning the formal hearing process in 1929 in Ohio. Her goal was to obtain citizenship so she could serve as a medical missionary in a hospital founded by Albert Schweitzer in Gabon, a plan she had nurtured since her youth.
The heart of the matter unfolded at her first citizenship hearing, where Graber, a devout Mennonite and registered nurse, declined to affirm that she would be willing to kill in defense of the nation. Although she repeatedly told officials she was prepared to “give her life for it,” the naturalization examiner and the presiding judge rejected her application, a decision that made front‑page news. As Ramseyer recounts, “During her first citizenship hearing, she refused, as a pacifist, to say she would be willing to kill to defend the nation, though she said many times during the hearing and afterward that she would be willing to give her life for it.” The denial was quickly seized upon by newspapers, and over the next nineteen months a diverse coalition of observers watched the case with a mixture of curiosity and alarm.
The episode was far from isolated. Contemporary reports noted that “there were a number of other cases going on at the same time, including a citizenship denial that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.” In addition, a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C., examined conscientious objection and citizenship, with Graber’s situation placed at the center of the discussion. These broader developments underscored a national tension: while women were barred from military service, the government demanded a pledge of combat readiness as a condition of citizenship. Ramseyer observed, “Even as she was being denied citizenship for her refusal to take up arms, women weren’t even eligible to serve in the military at that time, so tying her citizenship to this requirement was at best misguided.”
Ramseyer’s interest in the story began as a teenager when he uncovered a cardboard box in his parents’ basement containing newspaper clippings, letters and court documents bearing headlines such as “Nurse Heart‑Broken Over Citizenship Denial” and “Wouldn’t Kill to be Citizen.” He later reflected, “I finally got serious about researching and writing the book probably 10 years ago,” and added, “Honestly, just get started.” The author, who holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and is a two‑time recipient of a Hewnoaks Artistry Residency, described his research journey as a blend of family history and archival work, noting, “One of my regrets is not beginning sooner, as I lost the opportunity to interview several family members who passed away before or during the book’s creation.”
The narrative also touches on the prejudice Graber faced as a member of a pacifist denomination with a slight German accent, a circumstance that mirrored broader anti‑German sentiment after World War I. Ramseyer pointed out that “One of the things that immigrants faced 100 years ago, and continue to face today, is the sense in some circles that anyone who is different is somehow unworthy or unwelcome.” He framed the case as a window into the evolving attitudes toward immigration, pacifism and the rights of conscientious objectors, inviting readers to consider how past legal battles inform current debates.
In concluding remarks, Ramseyer emphasized that the book is not a political or religious treatise but a human story set against the backdrop of early‑20th‑century immigration law. He wrote, “One of the challenges was to try to weave in that context without losing sight of the court case at the center.” Ultimately, he leaves the judgment to the audience: “Readers will have to decide if I succeeded.”
