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Personal Identification Modern

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“The first edition of this book made an important contribution to the
history of our field. Fast, accurate, and counterfeit-proof identification
documents have never been more important than today. They undergird
our daily activities. Why this type of verification evolved, and how it
operates, is the focus of Personal Identification: Modern Development
and Security Implications. This second edition by David J. Haas, with
contributions from Brian Zimmer, reflects the enormous strides taken
in recent years—technologically and functionally. Frankly, no other
printed source comes close to this book in describing—in clear prose
with ample illustrations—the workings and significance of our new
digital world of identification.”
—Robert McCrie, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, USA
Personal Identification

Personal Identification: Modern Development and Security Implications, Second E­ dition


explains how personal identification – and REAL ID – became part of the ­American
fabric along with their past century’s historical ID development. The development
of the “trusted and secure” personal identification documents began with pass-
ports and has continued as social changes made IDs more essential. This book
describes the convergence of technologies and hundreds of patents that produced
our “trusted and secure” documents and IDs from our past right up through
to today.
Key factors, that created today’s need for public-­issued mass ID, are addressed:

• Chronicles the effects of large and mobile populations beginning a century ago.
• Chronicles the effects of “impersonal” electronic & computer communications at a
distance, and not face-­to-­face.
• The distribution of services and money by government agencies based on a person’s
identity – including “age” and “group” criteria.
• Describes recent national security and terrorism concerns that necessitates the need
to know: “You are who you say you are.”

Personal identification documents (IDs) and the societal need for “trusted” identi-
fication by the public is a relatively new social phenomenon. In 1900, most people
did not need or have any IDs until passports, with a photograph of the individual,
became mandatory when Great Britain entered World War I in 1914. In the United
States, the State-­issued driver’s license is probably the only trusted ID in one’s
wallet today, but they became “trusted and secure” documents only recently with
the requirement for REAL ID. With the first photo driver’s license issued by the
State of Colorado in 1959, it took until 1984 for the last State (New York, 25 years
later) to comply.
As a direct result of 9/11, where terrorists used fake driver’s licenses to board
planes, Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005 to make all State-­issued driver’s
licenses more trusted, uniform, and tamper-­resistant – what is now called the
Enhanced Driver’s License with non-­drivers being issued Enhanced Identifica-
tion Cards. And with this, every US citizen can now possess a trusted and secure
personal identification document.
Personal Identification, Second Edition chronicles the path of personal identifica-
tion measures – including the latest developments of Real ID. Scholars and profes-
sional security managers understand that stability, security, and safety necessitate
these identity measures to ensure a safer America. The book explains the various
stages and advances, providing readers with a unique study of this fascinating
history of the relationship between identity and the means by which one validates
and proves their own identity. The enactment of the REAL ID Act of 2005, with
more secure and tamper-­resistant documents for each citizen of the United States,
is being instituted so that one can trust: “you are who you say you are.” The State-­
issued driver’s license is not a National ID Card – it is a Nationally Recognized ID
for each citizen.

David J. Haas received his BA in Physics and PhD in Biophysics at the State Uni-
versity of NY at Buffalo. For the next five years, he performed basic research in
protein crystallography at several institutions in Europe and the United States.
This basic research led to liquid nitrogen cryo-cooling, whereby macromolecular
crystals reduced radiation damage during X-ray analysis. Whereas this technique
was years ahead of its time, today cryo-crystallography is used at every Synchro-
tron worldwide for Structural Biology. In 1970, he joined Philips Electronic Instru-
ments in Mt. Vernon NY as principal X-ray scientist, designing some of the first
airport X-ray scanners used worldwide during the 1970s. Conceiving the idea of
self-expiring visitor badges (changes color in one day to prevent reuse), David and
his wife, Sandra, formed Temtec Inc. in 1981 in Suffern NY, and manufactured visi-
tor and temporary IDs for more than 20 years under the brand name TEMPbadge.
The company was sold in 2002. Besides many scientific papers and articles, David
and Sandra have dozens of patents to their credit. The first edition of his book Per-
sonal Identification – Its Modern Development and Security Implications was published
in 2009 by ASIS Intl. and has been updated substantially with this second edition.

Brian Zimmer has been President of the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License
(CSDL) since July 2007, and Keeping Identities Safe since 2012. He has published
numerous articles, been cited in newspapers, and has spoken to social and politi-
cal organizations across the United States as an expert on driver’s license security.
He has testified before legislative bodies in more than a dozen States regarding the
REAL ID Act and before the US Senate on border security. In 1995, Mr. Zimmer
was recruited from the Department of Interior Office of the Secretary to the US
House of Representatives’ Offices of Procurement. As the Director of Information
Technology Procurement, he led the installation of modern IT infrastructure at
the House buildings, including the implementation of a new financial system and
integrated procurement system. From 2001 through 2006, Brian Zimmer served
as Senior Policy Advisor and Investigator for the Committee on the Judiciary, US
House of Representatives.
Personal Identification
Modern Development and
Security Implications
Second Edition

David J. Haas, PhD


with special contributions from
Brian Zimmer
Second edition published 2024
by CRC Press
2385 NW Executive Center Drive, Suite 320, Boca Raton FL 33431
and by CRC Press
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
© 2024 David J. Haas
First edition published by ASIS International 2009
Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the
author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the
consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright
holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if
permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not
been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint.
Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted,
reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission
from the publishers.
For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, access www.
copyright.com or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive,
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mpkbookspermissions@tandf.co.uk
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
ISBN: 978-1-032-52374-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-52371-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-40634-1 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003406341
Typeset in Palatino
by SPi Technologies India Pvt Ltd (Straive)
CONTENTS
Preface: The Motivation for this Historical Research xi
Acknowledgments xvi

1 Personal Identification and Its Components 1


1.1 The Meaning of Personal Identification 1
1.2 Basic Components of Personal Identification 3
1.3 The Identified Person 4
1.4 The Physical Person 5
1.5 The Documented Person 6
1.6 Society Person 7
References 14

2 The Evolution of Personal Identification: From


Prehistory to the 20th Century 16
2.1 Historic Means of Personal Identification 16
2.2 A Technology Map of Modern IDs of the 20th Century 29
References 44

3 The “Trusted” ID: Its Invention and Reality 47


3.1 The Concept of a Trusted ID 47
3.2 A New Personal Identification Phenomena 63
References 72

4 Trusted ID Example 1: The Passport and “Function


Creep” 75
4.1 Definition and Features of the Modern Passport 75
4.2 Earliest Passports 77
4.3 The US Passport 78
4.4 The Modern Passport 79
4.5 Passport Cards 86

vii
Contents

4.6 Special Passports 87


4.7 The Internal Passport 87
References 89

5 Trusted ID Example 2: National Identity/Health


Insurance/Driver’s License Cards 90
5.1 The Nature of Personal Numbers and National
Identification Cards 90
5.2 US Global Entry Card System 99
References 101

6 Trusted ID Example 3: The State-issued Driver’s


License (before REAL ID) 103
6.1 A Brief History of the Photo Driver’s License 103
References 119

7 Trusted ID Example 4: The REAL ID Driver’s License


and Enhanced Driver’s License 121
7.1 An Overview of REAL ID 121
7.2 A Brief History of REAL ID and Enhanced Driver’s
License Implementation 122
7.3 It Required Individualized Federal Agency
Enforcement to Get All States into Compliance 128
7.4 REAL ID Will Remain Federal Policy 133
7.5 Key Differences Between Enhanced Driver’s
Licenses and REAL ID Driver’s Licenses 139
References 143

8 Historical Development of IDs: “Authorization” Lapel


Buttons, Pins, and Badges 145
8.1 Why Visual Indicators on People Became Necessary 145
8.2 The Difference Between “Authorization” and
“Identification” 147
8.3 The Development of Lapel Pins, Badges, and Buttons 148
8.4 Celluloid Lapel Buttons (Badges) 159
References 172

viii
Contents

9 Laminated IDs (with Photographs) Resulted from


World War II 174
9.1 The Need for Better National Protection 174
9.2 The Large-Scale Use of Photo IDs During
World War II Creates a New Industry 188
9.3 The FBI and World War II National Security 194
References 199

10 Modern Plastic Cards for the Public, Government, and


Business 201
10.1 Personal Identification Document Developments
Following World War II 201
10.2 Polaroid’s Instant Photography Transforms Photo
Identification 214
10.3 Falsification of Identification Documents Becomes a
National Problem 219
References 246

11 How “ASIS International” Provided a Forum for Shaping


Personal Identification Documents 249
11.1 The Need for a Professional Security Manager
Society 249
11.2 Formal Standing Committees and a Home for
Industry Suppliers, Scientists, and Entrepreneurs 254
11.3 Professional Security and the Former Private
Security Industry 257
References 259

12 The New Digital World of Personal Identification and


Documents 261
12.1 How the Digital Revolution Revolutionized IDs 261
12.2 The Development of Digital Imaging in the 1980s 267
12.3 Plastic Cards Evolve from Portable Imprinting
Devices 268
12.4 Security Features on Cards 282
References 298

ix
Contents

13 Convergence into IDs: Numbers, Access Control,


and Biometrics 299
13.1 Access Control and Photo Identification as Separate
Businesses 299
13.2 The Convergence of Access Control, Biometrics,
Photo ID,Video Surveillance, Facility System and Much
More 306
13.3 Visitor and Temporary Badges for Facility Security 314
References 322

14 The End of Self-Identification in America 324


14.1 This Is Why We Need Personal
Identification Documents Today 324
14.2 The Impact of 9/11 on Personal Identification
and Documents 325
14.3 Our Next Challenge 326
References 328

Appendix 1 The Actual 1941 Text of the FBI Manual 330


Appendix 2 Recommendations from the US Dept
of Justice: The Criminal Use of False
Identification Nov 1976 #052-003-00226-4 334
Appendix 3 Recommendations: The 9/11 Commission
Report; Final Report of the National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon
the United States; Norton & Company 2004 337
Appendix 4 Regulatory Compliance Requirements
for PL 109-13 in Condensed Form
(revised 3/31/2023) 340
Appendix 5 Glossary of Important ID Document
and Security Terms 359
Index 367

x
PREFACE: THE MOTIVATION FOR
THIS HISTORICAL RESEARCH
I began this study to learn who invented the first photo ID badge and how
photo identification evolved into the plastic cards we have today. Once we
determined that it was only one individual who developed the first practi-
cal laminated photo IDs in 1940 (Ned Whitehead), the question arose as to
why these first tamper-­resistant (secure) IDs evolved into various identi-
fication documents. Why do we have or even need ID documents today?
After several years of investigation, the answers have become clear. No
mass ID existed in early societies. The need for mass ID was created by
modern society primarily between the years 1914 and 1980.
We have identified the primary factors that created this societal need
for public-­issued mass ID:

1) The effects of large and mobile populations beginning a century ago.


2) The effects of “impersonal” (electronic) communications at a distance
(not face to face).
3) The passage of government laws and regulations with “age” and
“group” criteria.
4) The distribution of services (tangibles) and money by government
agencies based on a person’s identity (including “age” and “group”
criteria).
5) After 9/11, terrorism and national security necessitated the need to
know “you are who you say you are.”

This is why we progressed from no IDs a century ago to “Trusted – Secure”


personal identification documents today.
With the publication of the 1976 report by the US Department of
Justice: The Criminal Use of False Identification, it was clear that the Con-
gress needed to act on the recommendations for the United States to have
“Trusted & Secure” identification documents of every citizen. This was
finally initiated with the passage of the REAL ID Act of 2005. Chapter
7 of this book on the history and purpose of REAL ID driver’s licenses
was expertly written by Brian Zimmer who has been involved with the

xi
Preface: The Motivation for This Historical Research

legislation from its beginning. The United States will certainly benefit
from the implementation of this law.
This book is not a detailed history of mankind or an outline of all the
technical advances nor does it have any political agenda. It simply pur-
ports to answer the question as to how and why we progressed from no
IDs a century ago to “Trusted-­Secure” personal identification documents
today. When ASIS International decided to publish the first edition of this
study in 2009, I was pleased because ASIS had played an important role
in guiding the development of personal identification documents over the
years. I would also like to acknowledge two other organizations that have
facilitated personal identification in our lives, the American Association
of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) founded in 1933, and all the
State Motor Vehicle Administrations, now more commonly abbreviated
DMV (Division of Motor Vehicle).
ID devices, credit cards, and other cards have been generically known
as portable identification data devices. They are portable because people
can conveniently carry or wear them. They identified the individual by
displaying some biometric, whether it is a photograph of the person, a
fingerprint, a signature, or some other characteristic. They visually trans-
mit (physically or electronically) the individuals’ personal identification
data to receptors or sensors where the verification was performed. The
positive identification of the individual is confirmed when the document
is created.
Whereas the development of each type of device is intended for a spe-
cific purpose, the portable identification data device migrated to perform
vastly different functions. IDs and credit cards have become the primary
devices for communicating with today’s omnipresent world of comput-
ers. It is the numbers on the card that the computer uses. These ID devices
were available long before the computer revolution, but computers now
use them to communicate and collect data on everyone. Many of these
uses are new, including forms of mass surveillance, as so clearly described
by author James B. Rule in his many writings (1). Whereas IDs were never
intended to be used to trace our activities, each ID serves as the primary
channel to communicate with all these computers around the world to
produce an entirely new form of information database: a mass surveillance
entity that evolved simply from the IDs being recorded by the various
computer databases. Now that this phenomenon exists, we must under-
stand and control it. This new phenomenon of computers reading and
storing our data every time a portable identification data device (card) is
used is called mass surveillance. The increased private and governmental

xii
Preface: The Motivation for This Historical Research

use of this mass surveillance phenomenon, created by the existence of per-


sonal ID documents, is another consequence of the 9/11 event (2).
As we trace the evolution of personal identity, we will also describe
the major social, political, and technological changes that progressively
created the demands for more refined and secure methods of identifica-
tion. We give special attention to the changing conditions from the end of
the 19th century to the present. During this period, the two world wars,
massive migrations, and extensive social upheavals created a need for
more secure and reliable types of personal identification. This same period
was confluent with major advances in recognition technology. The largest
part of this text describes these recent advances and their applications in
creating more secure identification documents. We provide many refer-
ences and describe in detail the passport, the national identity card, the
new REAL ID driver’s license, and a host of other documents as prime
examples of this evolution (3). If each individual in the industrialized
world had not been provided with a personal identification document or
a personal number (PN) from which a national identity card is generated
(like the social security number and health services Number), it is inevi-
table that they would have been assigned a unique personal number by
now because the computerization of modern human civilization demands
numbers. The computers of each country require assigned numbers (for
uniqueness) to process their citizens’ data simply because names are much
too ambiguous. This book describes the documents created for people to
carry and display these numbers. Once again, “This is why we progressed
from no IDs a century ago to Trusted – Secure personal identification doc-
uments today.”
The original attempts at mass ID before 1960 used early-­20th-­century
personal identification techniques – fingerprints and signatures that
required reasonable interpretation skills on the part of the clerk or agent,
while comparisons of the individual’s face to a photograph required less
skill (4). Now, PINs and biometric techniques have become the norm for
mass IDs.
Every improvement in personal identification techniques carries
potential benefits for greater individual and national security, but it also
raises concurrent threats to personal privacy and civil liberties (5). We will
discuss this problem more in the sections on the passport and the national
identity card. In particular, IDs – Not That Easy and Who Goes There?
Authentication Through the Lens of Privacy, both of which were edited by
S. Kent and L. Millett and prepared by the National Academies of ­Science
of the United States of America. These government-­initiated booklets truly

xiii
Preface: The Motivation for This Historical Research

address the issues of privacy and abuse in the most professional, unbiased
manner we have seen (6, 7).
We would like to mention a 1983 review paper relating to personal
identification documents: “Documentary Identification and Mass Surveil-
lance in the United States,” as edited by J.B. Rule, D. McAdam, L. Stearns,
and D. Uglow (2, 8, 9). Under a grant from the National Science Founda-
tion, they prepared this review with their opening lines: “A distinctive
feature of advanced industrial societies is the importance of personal doc-
umentation in relations between individuals and organizations…Many
aspects of these relations involve what we call mass surveillance and
social control.… By surveillance we mean any systematic attention to a
person’s life aimed at exerting influence over it. By social control we mean
efforts to define and bring about ‘correct’ actions or statuses. Surveillance
and social control are (now) ubiquitous social processes. The growth in
coverage and importance of these personal documents mirrors the grow-
ing role of direct relations between centralized organizations and private
individuals.”
These authors point out that in their survey of hundreds of households
in Brookhaven Town, New York (in 1983), they found an average of 28.8
different kinds of personal identification documents per household. The
six most common personal documents were social security cards, driv-
er’s licenses, credit cards, birth certificates, passports, and bank books.
Each document, whether the original or a certified copy, was obtained
by self-­identification – meaning that the individual voluntarily filled out
the application form and presented his/her own “breeder” documents to
the issuing authority (institution). Continuing, they state that “it is easy
to obtain these six personal documents under false pretenses.… The dra-
matic proliferation of personal documentation since the beginning of the
20th century means much more than growing possession of certificates,
cards, and computer records. It reflects the growth of an important new
category of relationships between ordinary people and large, centralized
organizations (including governments).”
This book describes the origins of personal identification documents
over a wide span of time and a wide range of technology. However, we
have not addressed the subject of data collection and the analysis of inter-
net transactions which is still a developing issue. To facilitate understand-
ing and to make the text more useful, we have added extensive glossaries,
definitions, timelines, comparison charts, sidebar stories, patent lists, and
references (10). We also recommend that the reader use a new 21st-­century
public service: Google Patent. One can simply enter any of the patents’

xiv
Preface: The Motivation for This Historical Research

numbers into this Internet service to read the original patents – to read the
“mind” of the inventor as they knew everyday life in their time! Thank
you, Google!

REFERENCES
1. Mass Surveillance; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_surveillance
2. Rule, James B; Privacy in Peril; How we are Sacrificing a Fundamental Right in
Exchange for Security and Convenience; Oxford University Press 2007 p 6.
3. National ID Cards and their worldwide status, http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/National_ID_card
4. Zavala A and James P, Personal Appearance identification Thomas Pub 1972.
5. Privacy Intl: Identity Cards-­ Frequently Asked Questions Aug 24, 1996;
Privacy.org
6. Kent S and Millett L Eds, IDs-­ Not That Easy National Academy Press,
Washington, DC 2002.
7. Kent S and Millett L, Who Goes There? Authentication Through the Lens of Privacy
National Research Council, The National Academies Press, 2003.
8. Rule J B and others. Documentary Identification and Mass Surveillance in the
United States. Social Problems 31(2): 1983, pp. 222–234.
9. Rule J B, Private Lives and Public Surveillance; Schocken Books New York 1972.
10. Identity Document; Wikipedia 2007.

xv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book is an outgrowth of years of curiosity as to who invented the
laminated photo identification badge and in modern times, who issued
the first secure personal identification documents. The study began by
researching the chronology and who developed various photo identifica-
tion technologies. With this publication, we have answered the question
of why we have personal identification and the importance for the United
States of the new REAL ID Driver’s License.
A book requiring several years of research would not have been possi-
ble without the assistance of my wife, Sandra, who assisted me during the
years of investigation and writing this book and was my business partner
at Temtec Inc. (TEMPbadge) for more than 20 years.
Because this book necessarily covers many topics, I am indebted to
the many people who assisted me. In particular, I want to acknowledge
the late Dr. Isidor Kreel MD, who contributed to Chapters 2, 3, and 4. Not
only did he study the new material that I obtained on these subjects but
he brought his vast lifelong knowledge to the forefront and was able to
document these subjects and provide early historical details.
I want to acknowledge Dr. Robert McCrie, Timothy Walsh, Peter Scott,
and William Kieckhafer who provided ongoing encouragement and sup-
port during the writing of the book. Their assistance was invaluable! I had
many interviews and communications with knowledgeable people on the
development of personal identification products and identification docu-
ments. Also, many others in the Professional Security Industry and ASIS
Intl. provided information: Dan Bowers, E. J. Criscuoli, Jr., Chuck Hard-
ester, John Hotchner, Lawrence Howe, Peter Liebhold, Ron O’Connor,
Richard Raia, Dino Redmand, and Derek Trimble. I would like to thank
John Fox, Historian of the FBI, for discussions and his copy of the 1941
FBI Security Manual. Also, Shelly Jackson of AAMVA provided invaluable
materials, and Brian Zimmer, President of Keeping IDentities Safe, DBA
Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License, for writing Chapter 7 on the REAL
ID driver’s license. Finally, I would like to acknowledge Susan Gagnon
from Polaroid who provided historical assistance and substantial early lit-
erature on Polaroid products.

xvi
Acknowledgments

This book would not have been possible without the assistance of
many individuals at libraries, museums, and private institutions around
the United States. The librarians provided reference services as well as
directed me to other possible sites for the information that I was seeking.
Furthermore, I was able to study hundreds of books and documents at the
library of ASIS International (formerly the American Society for Industrial
Security) in Alexandria, VA, the Smithsonian Institution, and the New
York City Public Libraries (NYPL). Also, I had continuing assistance from
our own Suffern Free Library and the Ramapo Catskill Library System
which located and delivered dozens of books and documents via their
interlibrary loan system. I would like to acknowledge Craig Wynne, who
worked with me during the writing and editing of the rough copy that I
assembled. Lastly, I would never have completed this manuscript if it has
not been accepted in 2009 for publication by the educational publishers
of ASIS International with Evangeline Papas as the publishing manager.
In my professional work and background experience, I have been associ-
ated with ASIS International for more than 40 years – ASIS International
is truly a success story and is a shining example of what a professional
society should be!

xvii
1
Personal Identification
and Its Components
1.1 THE MEANING OF PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION
Personal identification refers to a wide variety of topics, answering such
questions as: who am I? Where did I come from? Who were my parents?
What is my place in my family, my society, and in the universe? This book
does not deal with any of those philosophical questions. We will only
deal with the physical and social identifications of the person – the his-
torical development of the documents carried by a person for identifying
themselves, as well as how and to what degree a particular individual
may be differentiated from others. False documents of the type shown
in Figures 1.1 and 1.2 are an ongoing problem throughout the world, as
well as in the United States (1–3, Box 1.3). In this book, we describe the
documents required by our government to confirm identity (breeder
documents), how these documents are generated, how they may be
interpreted, and their degrees of reliability and security.
Most plastic cards are issued for a specific purpose other than personal
identification because they were not issued as trusted documents and
generally do not relate to your identification. Whereas there are several
sizes of plastic cards, almost the entire world has selected one standard
“credit card size” (CR-80 wallet size) – a size established during the 1950s.
Large retail stores first issued various-size charge cards, but the CR-80 was
selected by the Bank of America, American Express, and D ­ iners Club in
1958. With lamination and sophisticated printing, these plastic cards can

DOI: 10.4324/9781003406341-1 1
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

Figure 1.1 Common plastic cards we carry today.

Figure 1.2 Fraudulent identification and breeder documents.


(Courtesy of US Dept of Justice).

2
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION AND ITS COMPONENTS

be very tamper/counterfeit resistant. Only specific government-issued


documents are “Trusted IDs,” which include passports, passport cards,
national identity cards, Real ID Photo Driver’s License, and government/
military employee ID cards. Today, the State-issued “Real ID Driver’s
License” is becoming the de facto identification document/ID card for US
citizens in place of the social security number which was never a “Trusted
ID.” The State-issued Real ID Driver’s License number most likely will
replace the social security number after 2025 when it is required for Fed-
eral Facilities (Box 1.2).
Fraudulent document use was fully described by the Justice Depart-
ment Report in 1976 “The Criminal Use of False Identification” (1), but
this problem was never addressed by the US Congress until the 9/11
­Commission’s Recommendations in 2004. In the United States and world-
wide, false documents are widespread and are both a serious threat and
expense to each nation. Since the development of digital printing and the
plastic card printer with electronic encoding, there finally is a means of
issuing easy-to-carry secure documents as plastic cards.

1.2 BASIC COMPONENTS OF PERSONAL


IDENTIFICATION
We define four components that constitute an individual’s personal iden-
tification. These components represent actual known data and documents
about each individual, and they provide positive criteria for decision-­
making (4). A “Trusted” government agency that issues ID documents nor-
mally sees the individual in person and the original documents (breeder
documents in order to verify the individual’s identity). First, the Identi-
fied Person is the name of the individual being processed (their label), the
Physical Person consists of the individual’s somatic and physical character-
istics including their facial/body image, the Documented Person comprises
the documents issued to and possessed by the individual (see Box 1.3),
and the Society Person is society’s use and recording of the individual’s
personal identification documents. These components are illustrated in
Figure 1.3 “Personal Identification Components in Modern Society” and
represent all the facets of a person’s existence as they live and die on earth.
One may note that since the invention of the computer, it is almost impos-
sible to remain anonymous while functioning in today’s society because
of the use of these documents (5, 6).

3
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

Figure 1.3 The four basic components of personal identity.

The documents issued to an individual during their lifetime leave


a data footprint throughout society as the individual passes through
life, providing a means for tracking on the citizens of a society (mass
­surveillance). A – Historical breeder documents, some of which are secure;
B – The somatic biometrics of each individual almost never change, mak-
ing them useful for physical identification; C – Trusted documents for
the individual as issued by Federal and State government agencies; and
D – Modern society uses and records these trusted documents (usually
only the document number) for civil stability.

1.3 THE IDENTIFIED PERSON


The personal identification process begins when the identified person is
assigned a name at birth. The name provides a label during a person’s
lifetime and after their death. Typically, one’s birth certificate becomes

4
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION AND ITS COMPONENTS

the primary “breeder” document for the individual. The individual’s


name may be changed by marriage, by court approval, or by informal
adoption of a different given name, but the individual’s label transfers
to this new name. Birth certificates are supposed to list the baby’s par-
ents, name, gender, and date and location of the infant’s birth (7). Each
country has its own birth certificate process, but paper birth certificates
have existed in some countries for over 500 years. In countries where
birth certificates are not available, other documents have been accepted
as proof of birth and possession of a given name. These include hospital
records, baptismal and other religious documents, childhood immuni-
zation records, school and camp attendance records, and family pic-
ture albums. Such types of secondary evidence of birth and name are
important for immigrants who may not have any primary documents.
Stories are told of immigrants arriving at Ellis Island at the beginning
of the 20th century who were simply assigned easily pronounced sur-
names by hurried Immigration Service officers. These names stuck and
became the permanent surnames (labels) of succeeding generations in
the same family.

1.4 THE PHYSICAL PERSON


The physical person is the sum total of all of the physical, biological, and
behavioral characteristics of an individual that identify him as a distinct
human being. This field of study is often referred to as biometrics. The later
sections of this book describe these techniques in detail. At this point,
we emphasize that the characteristics measured may be physical (finger-
prints, footprints), psychological (voice and signature recognition), or bio-
logical (DNA, protein sequence). Note that in 1918, two nurses (Jennie
Christie and Mabel Carmon) at the Chicago Lying-in Hospital solved the
ever-present concern of swapping newborns by establishing the footprint-
ing system still in use today. We also emphasize that biometrics provide a
means of verification as well as identification. This feature has made the
photograph the most useful historic device in identification technology
(see Figure 1.4). An inspector can examine a photograph embedded in a
document and compare it to the bearer in real-time and with a high degree
of accuracy. If they are a reasonable match, it provides excellent verification.
And of course, now computer matching of faces and fingerprints elimi-
nates the problem with human comparison.

5
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

Figure 1.4 Personal Identification Cards are compared by the Human Eye.

1.5 THE DOCUMENTED PERSON


This category includes all documents issued to and accumulated by a per-
son throughout their lifetime that serve as a means of identification. The
accumulation can start before birth if there have been prenatal sonograms
and amniocentesis. Other documents include birth certificates, school
transcripts, employment and military service records, driver’s licenses,
social security cards, marriage licenses, criminal and health records, death
certificates, and burial documents. In considering these varied documents,
several terms need definition. Breeder documents are those documents
that serve as the source for generating subsequent authentic (genuine
­government-issued) documents (see Figure 1.2). A classic example is the
birth certificate, which breeds age-related documents from government
agencies. Such documents include voter registrations, driver’s licenses,
and military enlistment eligibility. Another term used frequently in this
study is the trusted document, that is, a document free from concern or

6
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION AND ITS COMPONENTS

doubt about its authenticity or reliability. This security is achieved because


the document was issued by a trusted agency and its construction is
­tamper-resistant, which means it has security features designed to prevent
tampering or alteration. A trusted agency is an individual or agency that
society is confident has the means, willingness, and intent to act honestly
and perform the required due diligence for the identification process. For
practical purposes, this means only governmental or quasi-governmental
agencies can collect data, check its veracity, and enforce full and honest
disclosure because they are authorized by statute and backed by police
power. State motor vehicle bureaus, departments of health, police forces,
and federal agencies such as the US Department of Homeland Security,
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) all qualify.
A private company, Verified Identity Pass, Inc. has been approved by the
TSA as a trusted agent by the US Government.

1.6 SOCIETY PERSON


This component of identification is how society uses and applies all of
the personal identification documents accumulated over a lifetime. Edu-
cational progression depends on proof of earlier attendance at an edu-
cational institution, as well as adequate academic performance while
enrolled at that particular institution. Obtaining health insurance depends
on medical records from a recognized source. Eligibility for veteran’s ben-
efits is dependent on military records. Employment depends on proof of
skills. Financial creditworthiness requires bank and credit card records.
One cannot travel abroad without a passport or visa, nor can a person
board an airplane without a government-issued photo ID (trusted) docu-
ment. Social standing and personal pleasures may be limited by proof of
membership in certain clubs. Limitations that are much more oppressive
exist in some societies by documentation of a religious or political affilia-
tion. Evidence of a criminal past, particularly that of a sex offender, may
limit occupation and place of residence for the rest of that person’s life.
This crime may place one’s name on public computer lists that are easily
accessed. It is readily apparent that virtually every facet of modern living
relies on personal identification.
Later chapters will discuss the historic evolution of personal identifi-
cation methods and how the characteristics of the aforementioned docu-
ments are converted into personal identification documents.

7
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

BOX 1.1 PERSONAL IDENTITY MEANS


MANY DIFFERENT THINGS
Personal identity and personal verification mean many different
things to different people. Physical personal identity is very specific
and Figure 1.3 shows many of the items used to categorize these
physical characteristics.
The first comprehensive review of how to identify people in mod-
ern times is attributed to the book Personal Identification, as written
by Bert Wentworth and Harris Hawthorne Wilder (8, see Figure 3.1).
Wentworth and Wilder review primitive means of identifying indi-
viduals, which include such methods as tribal and individual tat-
toos, scar patterns, and other related visual clues. These authors were
the first to fully explain the problem and the meaning of absolute
personal identity of living or dead people. Besides being a classic
text, the book describes the systemic process of personal identifica-
tion for law enforcement in the United States. The authors clearly
present various scientific methods of identification, such as finger-
printing, which had already been recognized as a unique form of
physical identification by 1918 (9). We still use many of their findings
and techniques in our computerized biometric methods for personal
identification today. We have also advanced far beyond their studies
with the modern biometric technology of today (10, 11). Through this
technology, we can identify individuals and relate these biometric
findings of individuals back to the identity that was assigned to the
individuals on the day they were born. Each person born and living
in our modern society has a label, along with physical characteristics
in the form of measurable biometric parameters and somatic traits, in
addition to the computerized numbers that are assigned to his/her
name and physical existence by governments and private organiza-
tions. These computerized numbers are used daily in our society for
a variety of functional purposes.
Society has found it unacceptable to mark individuals with any
permanent identifying means such as tattoos or scars (8), and thus,
society has resorted to temporary devices (Portable Identification
Data Devices) that we can easily carry (voluntary), such as cards and
electronic chip devices. This book explains the historical develop-
ment of these ID cards and ID devices, as well as how and why the

8
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION AND ITS COMPONENTS

development of personal identification documents (papers, cards,


electronic chip devices) became possible. Furthermore, we explain
why personal identification documents have become essential in
today’s world and in our everyday lives. As stated in the title, we
hope to explain how we progressed from having no ID documents
a century ago to having the various types of trusted and secure per-
sonal identification documents today.
As shown in Figure 1.3, the modern personal identification pro-
cess consists of four components: the person’s name (their label), the
physical (biometric) person, the person documented by the govern-
ment (others), and the person’s society records, which are recorded
daily by computers all over the world as the individual uses their
personal documents. Each nation has decided on their ID documents
with the passport being the universal international document. Peo-
ple’s identities are not attached to their bodies by tribal or individ-
ual tattoos, scars, numbers, barcodes, or even implanted electronic
chips. They are now generally carried, voluntarily, as plastic cards
with marvelous technical properties and even as electronic forms on
mobile telephones.

BOX 1.2 PERSONAL IDS IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES


During the 19th and early 20th centuries, most people did not require
physical documentation to establish their identities. This may not
have been the case in Europe, where established bureaus had been in
place for centuries. The United States was mostly a rural and frontier
country, so paperwork was not a common feature. During these for-
mative years, people established their identity in the same manner
as ancient peoples did. The rapid growth of technology during the
Industrial Revolution and the congregation of people into factory
and urban settings are what led to the rapid change in the need to
confirm one’s identity.
During the early 20th century, organizations did not issue the
general public any “trusted” personal identification documents,
even though there were many “questionable” documents available,

9
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

such as employee identification cards, authorization lapel badges


and buttons, society and school identification cards, social security
cards, and early versions of driver’s licenses.
Toward the middle of the 20th century, identification documents
had developed into two basic types: “Trusted” IDs and “Question-
able” IDs. A trusted ID is issued by a trusted organization, such as a
government agency, where the individual being identified presents
suitable Breeder Documents, such as a birth certificate, which are
evaluated by “Trusted” employees of the trusted organization. The
trusted organization issues a secure, tamper-resistant identification
document, which we now call a “Trusted” biometric. Whereas there
are many biometrics that can be used on an identification document,
only a person’s photograph has been found to be suitable for the
human eye of the observer to assess quickly and accurately. Histori-
cally, it was the only biometric before modern electronic technology
provided other practical biometrics. Fingerprints and body dimen-
sions have never been found to be suitable for the human eye to eval-
uate quickly and accurately. Thus, the observer looks at the person
and the photograph on the identification document and then makes
a comparative decision as to whether or not the photographic image
is the person in question before their eyes (see Figure 1.4). Since the
identification card belongs to that person, the numbers and other data
on the card must also belong to that same person. Thus, the person’s
name and number are verified and confirmed. The human eye is an
excellent comparative device, but a poor absolute measuring device.
The eye can quickly and accurately compare a person’s picture with
the person’s face, while it would fail at comparing a person’s finger-
print on a card with the person’s actual finger ridges. Because of the
lack of technical means to effectively apply facial images to cards
before 1940, fingerprints were frequently used on employee cards
and ID badges at that time. Whether an imposter or criminal was ever
stopped or captured by this technique is unknown (and unlikely). But
as soon as photographic technology developed sufficiently to provide
photo identification badges, it was used and fingerprinted, and fin-
gerprinting was eliminated from identification badges (12–14).
Note that in this identification process, we have not identified
the person but only verified that the person is who the identifica-
tion document says they are. The actual identification process was

10
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION AND ITS COMPONENTS

performed by the “trusted” agency, which originally created the


identification document. Thereafter, what people frequently call the
“identification process” is only a “verification” process of the person
to the identification document.
There are five general applications of identification documents
in our everyday lives. These applications are for providing the per-
son’s name, his personal data, such as age, biological characteristics
or medical status, proof of ownership of tangible assets like property
and credit cards, and evidence that the person possesses claimed
skills and qualifications.
As shown in Figure 1.4, it is important to view the individual and
then the trusted personal identification documents, as presented to
the agent or electronic reader (15, 16). From the agent’s perspective,
the person’s identity is only true if the document is valid. We use
our proof of identity daily to show ownership of documents such as
credit cards, checkbooks, deeds, tickets, passes, vehicles, real estate,
and other forms of property. We do not necessarily need proof to
show that we own them, but the other parties need this proof to exe-
cute their jobs (a protocol established by the merchants, police, and
credit card companies). For example, the establishment that receives
a credit card charge is required by the credit card company to prove
that the credit card is owned by the individual (17, 18). The conse-
quence of failure to provide proof of ownership is that the establish-
ment must pay for any losses that occur through infractions of the
credit card companies’ rules. The credit card companies have been
remarkably successful in establishing a “mutual trust organization”
between the retail establishments and the credit card companies. Of
course, retail establishments suffer consequences if either they or a
customer breaks the rules, but overall, the collaboration between the
two organizations has benefited the retail industry for more than 50
years. Providing supporting personal identification documents to
merchants is a major reason for this benefit.
Today, with encrypted electronic clips imbedded in our credit
cards, the computer software can now determine if the credit card is
valid. Your ownership of the card is less important as the credit card
companies monitor invalid, expired, and stolen cards via the inter-
net, so this has reduced the need for verifying that you are the actual
owner of the credit card.

11
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

The historical changes that have led to these new realities of


civic and social life came from changes in our social society over the
past hundred years. Such changes include the following:

• We now have mass movements of people around the earth


• We now have verbal, visual, and data communication
around the world without face-to-face contact
• Local, State, and Federal governments now issue scores of
identification documents of all kinds for citizens of all
categories
• The production of documents is no longer by hand or let-
terpress, but by sophisticated computer printing that is
available to almost anyone in the public. Hence, it is almost
impossible for untrained examiners to distinguish authentic
documents from a counterfeit visual printed document.
• Almost every person can now read and write in the United
States, so the use of these personal identification documents
is functional, fast, and easy to do. This was not the case a
hundred years ago.

BOX 1.3 THE FOUR COMPONENTS OF


PHYSICAL IDENTIFICATION
The chart in Figure 1.3 represents the four components making up
an individual’s personal identification profile, but there are many
others we could have chosen. When you study the diagram, you
see that each of the four components represents a clearly identified
group of items, some actual physical objects while others are simply
numbers or descriptions. Most of us have encountered these items
during our own lifetimes, but these are now assembled in four iden-
tifiable categories.
The first component represents all the paper documents which are
created when a baby is born and the subsequent “life cycle events”
that occur as the child grows older. Many governments require their

12
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION AND ITS COMPONENTS

citizens to have these documents, but several countries where the


birth occurred do not automatically assign citizenship to a child,
and they require that the child remain a citizen of the patent’s coun-
try. In these circumstances, the birth documents would normally be
created at the embassy of the parent’s country. Of course, most of
these historical documents of the individual are not “trusted” docu-
ments, but only plain paper with no security features. Today in the
United States, the official “birth breeder” document is the local or
State government-issued birth certificate, which is on safety paper
with embossed authenticity indicia. We may note, however, that
there have been more than 10,000 birth certificate designs in use in
the United States, issued by more than 6,000 authorized offices in
the 50 States (19). This will change now that the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for Birth Certificates is being
adapted (20).
The second component of an individual’s personal identification
portfolio is the physical and biological body they possess, along
with their measurements. These biological parameters include fin-
gerprints, retina scans, DNA, and analog/digital facial images. We
take a living cell sample of the person’s body, or we measure the
person’s physical body themselves to obtain the unique parameters.
Since 1990, it has been possible to analyze a person’s cell compo-
nents and body structure, digitize the results, and encode the physi-
cal person in a computer chip. This means that the physical person
can be transmitted, along with the person’s name and ID numbers
so that the mathematical representation of the personal identity can
easily be compared at a remote location to any other physical person.
Hence, the unique identification of an individual at any site where
he is examined in the world should be 100% certain within the next
few years because the biological structure can be represented math-
ematically and sent electronically around the world.
The third component of an individual’s personal identification is
the various documents that will be generated for the individual by
the various governmental agencies. Whereas these trusted docu-
ments are no better than the breeder documents and other data
presented to the governmental agency for proof, they are the creden-
tials that an individual will use to represent himself or herself when
required. This array of trusted documents will follow the person

13
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

throughout his life as a representation of himself. The individual is


typically identified by one or more of the unique numbers on these
documents, which are transmitted to a computer database for veri-
fication. This verification process may include an onsite biometric
reading of the individual at this time, or it may simply be a verifica-
tion of the documents itself (confirming the document as authentic
and valid). Identification documents have evolved into plastic cards
with electronic chips in them, which provide excellent security and a
substantial degree of tamper resistance. Thus, the identification pro-
cess has moved away from the visual document itself and is now in
the encoded data within the electronic chip of the card. Alternately,
the identification can be verified in the database file references by the
unique identification number provided by the identification card. In
any case, the identification process is no longer by the eyes of the
official performing the ID task.
The fourth component of the modern identification process lies in
the recoding of the data about the individual as he passes through
life. Each time the person uses one of his personal identification
documents, the time, date, and location of use may be recorded in
a computer file somewhere which now tracks the individual’s life
activities as they use the individual’s ID documents as vectors (keys)
to their database files. Even one’s cell phone, which required their
ID documents when purchased, records data about the individual as
they perform everyday activities.

REFERENCES
1. US Dept of Justice: The Criminal Use of False Identification Nov 1976 #052-
003-00226-4
2. 9/11 Commission Report, The Final Report of the National Commission on
Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, Norton & Company 2004.
3. US House of Rep, Identification Documents Fraud and the Implication for
Homeland, Hearing SecurityOct 1, 2003 GPO 552-070-32193-4 2004
4. DeForest, S E, Personal Identification and Decision Criteria March 18, 2005,
www.lockergnome.com
5. Rule J B et al., Documentary Identification and Mass Surveillance in the
United States, Social Problems 31(2): 1983, pp. 222–234.
6. Rule J B, Privacy in Peril; How we are Sacrificing a Fundamental Right in Exchange
for Security and Convenience, Oxford University Press 2007.

14
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION AND ITS COMPONENTS

7. Primary reference on BIRTH CERTIFICATES used today by the NAPSIS,


www.napsis.gov
8. Wentworth B and Wilder H, Personal Identification, The Finger Print Publishing
Assoc 1918.
9. Dilworth D C, Identification Wanted, IACP 1977.
10. Allison H C, Personal Identification, Holbrook Press Boston, 1973.
11. Vacca J R, Biometric Technologies & Verification Systems, Elsevier 2007.
12. Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin No. 1, January
1940. Plant Protection by J. Edgar Hoover. pp1.
13. Life Magazine, Badges, Feb 17, 1941 pp 26–27.
14. New White House ID Pass Photos are in Full Color, NY Times Dec 16, 1958.
15. Fay J J, Encyclopedia of Security Management Butterworth-Heinemann 1993.
16. Fay J J, Butterworths Security Dictionary-Terms & Concepts; Butterworths 1987.
17. Warfel G H, Identification Technologies,. Charles Thomas 1979.
18. Warfel G H, ID - Where are we now? May 1, 1977, ID Code Industries Inc. 4116
Matthew Drive, palm Springs CA 92262.
19. US Office of inspector General DHHS, Report on Birth Certificate Fraud, Sept
2000 OEI-07-99-00570
20. https://naspo.info/news/ New American National Standards Institute
(ANSI)/NASPO

15
2
The Evolution of
Personal Identification
From Prehistory to the 20th Century

… and God laid a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him shall
kill him.

2.1 HISTORIC MEANS OF PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION


The presence of a physical mark or distinctive trait, which acts as a form
of personal identification, is a recurrent theme that helps to drive the
plot in much of the literature of the Western canon. The Old Testament
is filled with such stories. Not only does Cain bear a mark but also the
patriarch Jacob can deceive his blind father Isaac into believing he is Esau
by wearing a sheepskin to mimic his hirsute brother. Such episodes are
not restricted to the Book of Genesis. In Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, the
housekeeper identifies Odysseus because she sees and remembers a scar
on his leg, despite his absence of 20 years.
Much of our current discussion of the growth of personal identifica-
tion begins with the growth of commerce in medieval Europe, but many
complex civilizations existed millennia earlier. Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek,
Roman, and Mayan civilizations built elaborate buildings and monu-
ments, carried out far-ranging international trade, and created elaborate
social structures. However, much identification was embedded in the

16 DOI: 10.4324/9781003406341-2
THE EVOLUTION OF PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

culture of these societies. Royalty, aristocrats, and soldiers wore distinc-


tive clothing and lived at special sites, allowing their ready distinction for
most of the populace. The cartouche, a special insignia, was engraved on
the tombs and palaces of the Egyptian royalty. Heroes, priests, priestesses,
and champion athletes in ancient Greece wore special ribbons around
their brows to mark divinity (see Table 2.1).
Written documents were widely used as a form of communication
in the ancient world. Some messages were written on papyrus or parch-
ment, while others were cut into the surface of wax tablets. Such messages
were portable, but few people could read, and even fewer were able to
write. A specialized scribe and an equally learned reader often undertook
the work. To authenticate such a reading and reduce the risk of forgery,
documents carried imprints onto the papyrus or into the wax using a sig-
net. Such documents or tablets were often referred to as manu propria, or
“sent with one’s own hand.”
In medieval Europe, there was little need for elaborate personal iden-
tification. In the early Middle Ages in Europe, 90% of the population
was rural and drew its livelihood from agriculture. George C. Coulton
has estimated that in the 10th century, a French peasant probably never
saw more than 300 different people in his entire life (1). Life was static.
Peasants rarely traveled and met most of their needs by their own efforts,
by those of their families, or by simple face-to-face barter among those
they already knew. Manufacturing consisted largely of things produced
in the home for use by the family, including clothing, tools, and furniture.
The prevailing religious notion of the era specifically condemned lending
and selling, both of which required a degree of trust and reliable personal
identification.
The rigid feudal society began to dissolve toward the end of the 11th
century, but life remained restrictive for many years. In the 1600s, only 100
million people lived in Europe. Three quarters of them worked the land,
most of whom were tenants or serfs. Human and animal muscle was the
main source of power, except for the water wheels that were used to turn
mills and windmills in rural areas. Steel was rarely used, and few metal
tools of any sort were available. With a few exceptions under royal con-
trol, factories did not exist. Many infectious diseases were endemic, and
life expectancy was short.
Turning points in history tend to be irregular and indistinct. It is dif-
ficult to pinpoint precisely when and how Western society emerged from
the medieval period, but several changes are apparent (2). An increase in
the population of Europe, the consolidation of political power in the hands

17
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION
Table 2.1 Personal Identification Means throughout the Ages
Authorization
“Trusted Questionable (For Access Unique and
ID” “ID” only, Not ID) Recognized
Document/ Document/ Document/ Document/
Personal Identifier Object Object Object Object
Ancient times to the 20th Century
Face-to-Face, Visual, and Verbal Communications Yes
Tallies, Torn Contracts Pieces, and Codes Yes
Clay Tablets, Written documents, and Signatures, Yes
Rings, Seals, and Scarabs, Yes
1700s to Present
18

US Birth Certificate (other hospital and religious Yes Yes


certificates)
1700s to 1914
Passports without photograph (with written Yes Yes
physical descriptions)
1914 to 1996
Passports with photograph and security features Yes
1996 to Present
Passports with digital photographs and security Yes
features
1914 to 1918
World War I Military Identity Bracelets (with Yes
fingerprint)
Authorization
“Trusted Questionable (For Access Unique and
ID” “ID” only, Not ID) Recognized
Document/ Document/ Document/ Document/
Personal Identifier Object Object Object Object
1900 to 1940
Industrial Access Buttons (Badges) with pin Yes
attachment like Ford Motor Company, GM,
Goodyear
Industrial Employee Cards with stapled/glued Yes Yes
photographs
1914 to 1918
Government Employee Identity Cards without Yes Yes
security features
1940 to 1950
Industrial Photo Identification Badges (World Yes

THE EVOLUTION OF PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION


War II), laminated (cut and paste paper insert)
Industrial Employee Cards (World War II) with Yes
embossed photographs
19

Industrial Photo Identification Buttons with pin Yes Yes


attachment
1940 to Present
Photo Identification Badges, laminated (cut and Yes
paste paper inserts)
1955 to Present
Photo Identification Badges, laminated with Yes
All-Photo Inserts
1955 to 2001
US Government Employee Identification Cards Yes
with photographs issued by federal, State, and
local governments, and military
(Continued)
Table 2.1 (Continued) Personal Identification Means throughout the Ages

PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION
Authorization
“Trusted Questionable (For Access Unique and
ID” “ID” only, Not ID) Recognized
Document/ Document/ Document/ Document/
Personal Identifier Object Object Object Object
2001 to Present
US Government Employee Identification Cards Yes
with digital photo and electronic encoding
issued by federal, State, and local governments,
and military
1936 to Present
US Social Security Cards Yes
20

1936 to 2001
US Government issued Cards to the Public for Yes
medical, welfare, and other functions
1950 to Present
School/College/University/ Institution Yes
Identification Card (any) with photograph
Voter’s Registration Card Yes
Credit Card (American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Yes
Diners Card, etc.)
2001 to Present
Certification Certificate of Birth Abroad by Dept of Yes
State
Native American Tribal Document Yes
US Military Document or Draft Record Yes
Authorization
“Trusted Questionable (For Access Unique and
ID” “ID” only, Not ID) Recognized
Document/ Document/ Document/ Document/
Personal Identifier Object Object Object Object
US Certificate of US Citizenship Yes
US Certificate of Naturalization Yes
US Citizen ID Card with photograph (special issue Yes
only)
US Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card with Yes
photograph
Foreign Passport with photograph (unexpired) Yes
US Alien Registration Receipt Card with Yes
photograph (unexpired)
US Temporary Residence Card with photograph Yes
(unexpired)

THE EVOLUTION OF PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION


US Employment Authorization Card with Yes
photograph (unexpired)
US Reentry Permit with photograph/Travel Yes
21

Document (unexpired)
US Refugee Travel Document with photograph Yes
(unexpired)
US Nonimmigrant Visa and Border Crossing Card Yes
with photograph (unexpired)
US Dept of State Driver’s License (unexpired) Yes
** Many more – For Complete List, see DHS website **
This list shows the many personal identification devices used throughout the ages. The device categories are Trusted
IDs, Questionable IDs, Authorization badges/devices, and other items used throughout history.
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION
Table 2.2 US Driver’s License over the Years
Authorization Unique
“Trusted Questionable (For Access and
ID” “ID” only, Not ID) Recognized
Document/ Document/ Document/ Document/
Personal Identifier Object Object Object Object
The only “Trusted” Personal Identification Document available to the US public is the State-Issued Driver’s License.
1908 to 1958
Public Driver’s Licenses (without photographs) Yes Yes
22

1959 to 1984
Public Driver’s Licenses with Photograph, Yes?
All-Photo Insert, Laminated
1990 to 2008
Public Driver’s Licenses with Digital Yes?
Photograph, Laminated
2008 onward (Real ID Act of 2005)
Public Driver’s Licenses, Digitally Printed with Yes
Security Features
Note: This list shows the history of the driver’s license as personal identification in the United States.
THE EVOLUTION OF PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

of stronger monarchs, and an emerging business and merchant com-


munity led to more complex social and commercial interchanges (3–5,
Table 2.2). Greater ease of travel accelerated these changes, as did the Cru-
sades, which exposed Europeans to the products and ideas of the Muslim
and Oriental world. Much discussion exists among historians as to which
factors had the most impact on the world during the last millennium. It is
beyond the scope of this work to attempt to resolve this problem. How-
ever, several trends emerge which had a clear and marked effect on the role
and techniques of personal identity. Most apparent was the great increase
in population. As more people survived into adulthood and as rural space
became less available, larger centers of population developed. This move
to the cities was accelerated by the factory system, which provided jobs
for those driven off the land to become the required workforce concen-
trated near the new mills and factories. Urbanization meant people had
to interact with others they did not know. Simple barter could not meet
the economic needs of cities. Specialized groups of individuals appeared
who neither produced the products nor used them beyond their personal
needs. These “middlemen” brought together buyers and sellers, produc-
ers of raw materials, processors, transporters of raw and finished prod-
ucts, and ultimate users. This business class became the essential linchpin
within this complex economic society.
To function efficiently and on a large scale, merchants needed a reli-
able system of credit and banking (6, 7). Primitive peasants who borrowed
the money for seeds took out the equivalent of chattel loans. Loans were
guaranteed by the value of crops at harvest time, the value of the peas-
ants’ land, or by the value of the borrowers’ indentures. As commerce
expanded, transactions became more complex, and they involved larger
sums of money and multiple parties. Trade crossed oceans and interna-
tional borders. More than one national currency was used and means of
currency exchange had to be established. Valuable metals such as gold or
silver could act as a standard, but they were not sound media of exchange
because of the risk of theft, and it became highly problematic to transfer
large bulky metals over land by coach or in the holds of ships. Similar
problems with paper money were compounded by the risk of counterfeit,
as well as by the absence of a single currency or central bank in many
countries. The banking systems of Central and Western Europe started as
consortia of families who knew and trusted each other because of personal
relationships. They established branches of the family in the major com-
mercial centers of many countries, and their promissory notes became a
form of international scrip. The members of a family branch knew the

23
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

members of a branch in another city, and they were able to recognize


their handwriting. Hence, they could trust each other’s creditworthiness
and reliability. Another change in the business economy was a system of
“factoring.” People used remittances at the point of purchase as opposed
than cash. Merchants or banks could redeem remittances. The negotiation
between buying and selling price, as well as the risk of default, was car-
ried by the factor for a stated commission. This credit system was based
substantially on honor. To lose one’s honor by defaulting on a debt was to
forfeit one’s place in society, as well as one’s creditworthiness in the busi-
ness community. In such a system, merchants, factors, plantation owners,
and ship captains often knew each other personally – little personal iden-
tification was necessary (8, 9).
The next turning point, often referred to as the Industrial Revolution
(1700–1900), started in Britain in approximately 1750. An unusual combi-
nation of factors came together to create this revolution. Prolonged politi-
cal stability gave businessmen the confidence that property was secure
from mob attack and contracts were enforceable for extended time peri-
ods by courts and police. Sophisticated banking and insurance institu-
tions were in place (6, 10). A system of colonies provided sources of raw
material and markets for finished products. Displaced farm labor became
increasingly available for factory labor that could be concentrated in urban
factories because of the invention of a power source – the steam engine.
Coal and other minerals were abundant. Waterpower and steam-drove
mills and factories with great efficiency. Steam power and improvement in
metallurgy and metal production combined to provide an important com-
ponent in this revolution – rapid, cheap, efficient, and all-weather rail and
water transportation. Improved transportation made the transfer of goods
and people cost-effective, giving a boost to colonization and imperialism.
Colonial powers could extract raw material from their colonies, have it
processed in the factories and mills of the mother country, and returned
for sale to the closed market of the colony. Just such a mechanism, which
limited the colonies from creating their own manufacturing base and their
own overseas markets, was one of the major economic causes of the Amer-
ican Revolution. The factory system created needs in the field of personal
identification. Workers needed authorization to gain admittance to the
mines or factories, and travelers needed evidence that they had paid for
their methods of passage (see Figure 2.1). Tickets have been used as proof
of payments for future services for hundreds of years.
In the mid-19th century, warfare became industrialized. Trains and
ships moved huge armies rapidly. Armament capable of rapid and

24
THE EVOLUTION OF PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

Figure 2.1 Early attempts to add biometrics to documents.


Patent drawing of a railway ticket from 1865 (Patent USD 47,798) with a hand-
drawn sketch of the ticket purchaser so that the ticket could not be transferred
to another person. (Courtesy of the USPTO).

25
PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION

widespread destruction supplemented hand weapons. The entire econ-


omy, transportation system, and industrial infrastructure of the combat-
ants were mobilized. This enlargement and totality of warfare created
new challenges for identification technology. Not only did spies have to
be apprehended and saboteurs thwarted but also wounded and dead sol-
diers often badly mutilated and frequently far from their homes, littered
the battlefields. During the Civil War, soldiers needed to provide for their
own identification in case of injury or death. Union soldiers pinned their
names and home addresses into their uniforms, or they scratched them
into the soft lead at the back of their belt buckles. A New Yorker named
John Kennedy offered identity discs for all officers and men in the Union
Army, but the War Department refused. The story of the evolution of the
military dog tag expands on the need for military ID (see Figure 3.5 and
Box 3.2).
The greatest advances in personal identification started during the last
part of the 19th century, continued throughout the 20th, and have acceler-
ated in the 21st century. Several factors interacted to drive these advances.
As discussed earlier, the first is the huge increase in population – from
1.2 billion in 1870 to more than 6 billion today. Urbanization continued,
so that by 1910, half of all US residents lived in urban rather than rural
societies (11, 12). The percentage is much higher today. Communication
has become impersonal. Until the internet, preprinted forms, telegraph,
telephone, and wireless technology were the most commonly used forms
of communication in conducting business and social affairs without any
face-to-face contact. Mail order and credit cards converted lending and
borrowing into consumer credit, conducted by people who will never
meet, and who must develop new methods of establishing creditworthi-
ness and underwriting debt. Government entitlement programs are based
on identifying those eligible for benefits. Marriage licenses, military enlist-
ment, driver’s licenses, and many other activities require proof of name
and age today. Rapid travel, immigration, political disruptions, and mass
migrations of population have increased the need to identify travelers
rapidly and securely, particularly when they cross international borders.
Terrorism and wanton deeds of mass destruction have recently accentu-
ated these needs.
The need for effective and reliable identification has become more
important due to the social and economic needs (13, 14). Companies need
to identify employees and others entitled to access their property. Clubs
and organizations must identify their members. The banker cashing a
check or the merchant who accepts a credit card is entitled to inquire as

26
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