Presidential candidates whose eligibility was questioned While every President and Vice President to date (as of 2009) is widely believed either to have been a citizen at the adoption of the Constitution in 1789 or to have been born in the United States, there have been some presidential candidates who were either born or suspected of having been born outside the U. S. states.[21] This does not necessarily mean that they were ineligible, only that there was some controversy (usually minor) about their eligibility, which may have been resolved in favor of eligibility.[22]
* Chester A. Arthur (1829-1886), 21st president of the United States, was rumored to have been born in Canada.[23] This was never demonstrated by his political opponents, although they raised the objection during his vice-presidential campaign. He was born to a U. S. citizen mother and a father from Ireland, who was eventually naturalized as a U. S. citizen. Arthur was sworn in as president when President Garfield died after being shot. Since his Irish father William naturalized 14 years after Chester Arthur's birth,[24] his citizenship status at birth is unclear, because only since the 1868 ratification of the 14th Amendment any person born on United States territory was considered a born U. S. citizen, unequivocally after United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898). Chester A. Arthur held at least Irish citizenship through jus sanguinis of his father.
* George Romney (1907-1995), who ran for the Republican party nomination in 1968, was born in Mexico to U. S. parents. Romney’s grandfather had emigrated to Mexico in 1886 with his three wives and children after Utah outlawed polygamy. Romney's monogamous parents retained their U. S. citizenship and returned to the United States with him in 1912. Romney never received Mexican citizenship, because the country's nationality laws had been restricted to jus-sanguinis statutes due to prevailing politics aimed against American settlers.[25]
* Barry Goldwater (1909-1998) was born in Phoenix, in what was then the Arizona Territory of the United States. During his presidential campaign in 1964, there was a minor controversy over Goldwater's having been born in Arizona when it was not yet a state.[23]
* Lowell Weicker (1931-), the former Connecticut Senator, Representative, and Governor, entered the race for the Republican party nomination of 1980 but dropped out before voting in the primaries began. He was born in Paris, France to parents who were U. S. citizens. His father was an executive for E. R. Squibb & Sons and his mother was the Indian-born daughter of a British general.[26]
* Róger Calero (1969-) was born in Nicaragua and ran as the Socialist Worker's Party presidential candidate in 2004 and 2008. In 2008, Calero appeared on the ballot in Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Vermont.[27]
* John McCain (1936-), who ran for the Republican party nomination in 2000 and was the Republican nominee in 2008, was born in Colón, Panama,[28] in the Panama Canal Zone[29] of two U. S. parents, who were at the time serving at the Coco Solo Naval Air Station.[30] In March 2008 McCain was held eligible for Presidency in an opinion paper by former Solicitor General Ted Olson and Harvard Law Professor Laurence H. Tribe.[31] In April 2008 the U. S. Senate approved a non-binding resolution recognizing McCain's status as a natural born citizen.[32] In September 2008 U. S. District Judge William Alsup stated obiter in his ruling that it is "highly probable" that McCain is a natural born citizen, although he acknowledged the possibility that the applicable laws had been enacted after the fact and applied only retroactively.[33] These views have been criticized by Gabriel J. Chin, Professor of Law at the University of Arizona, who argues that McCain was at birth a citizen of Panama and was only retroactively declared a born citizen under 8 U. S. C. § 1403, because at the time of his birth and with regard to the Canal Zone the Supreme Court's Insular Cases overruled the Naturalization Act of 1795, which would otherwise have declared McCain a U. S. citizen immediately at birth.[34] In any case, the US Foreign Affairs Manual states that "it has never been determined definitively by a court whether a person who acquired U. S. citizenship by birth abroad to U. S. citizens is a natural born citizen […]".[35] In Rogers v. Bellei the Supreme Court only ruled that "children born abroad of Americans are not citizens within the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment", and didn't elaborate on the natural born status.[36]
* Barack Obama (1961-), 44th president of the United States, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a U. S. citizen mother and a British subject father from the Kenya Colony of the United Kingdom. Before and after the 2008 presidential election, the argument was made that he was not a natural born citizen. On June 12, 2008, the Obama presidential campaign launched a website to counter what it described as smears by his opponents,[37] including these challenges to his eligibility. The most prominent issue raised against Obama was the assertion that he was not actually born in Hawaii. In two other lawsuits, the plaintiffs argued that it was irrelevant whether he was born in Hawaii,[38] but argued instead that he was nevertheless not a natural born citizen because his citizenship at birth was governed by the British Nationality Act.[39] As of January 22, 2009, the relevant courts have either denied all applications or declined to render a judgment due to lack of jurisdiction. Some of the cases have been dismissed because of the plaintiff's lack of standing.[citation needed] [edit] Proposed constitutional amendments More than two dozen proposed constitutional amendments have been introduced in Congress to relax the restriction.[40] Two of the more well known were introduced by Representative Jonathan Bingham in 1974, to allow for Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to become eligible,[41] and the Equal Opportunity to Govern Amendment by Senator Orrin Hatch in 2003, to allow eligibility for Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.[40] The Bingman amendment would have also made clear the eligibility of those born abroad to U. S. parents,[41] while the Hatch one would have allowed those who have been naturalized citizens for twenty years to be eligible.[40]
26 January 2009
Constitutional provisions
The special term "Natural Born Citizen" is used in particular as a requirement for eligibility to serve as President or Vice President of the United States. Section 1 of Article Two of the United States Constitution contains the clause:
“ No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. ”
Additionally, the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that: "[N]o person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States." The grandfather provision of the Natural Born Citizen Clause thus covered the only exceptions to the natural born requirement for the first several presidents and vice-presidents, who were citizens at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, but had been born as British subjects before the American Revolution.
It is generally agreed[citation needed] that these constitutional provisions mean anyone born on American soil to parents who are U.S. citizens is a “natural born citizen” eligible to someday become president or vice-president, whereas anyone whose citizenship is acquired after birth as a result of naturalization "process or procedure" is not a "natural born citizen" and is therefore ineligible for those two positions.[1] In between these extremes lie gray areas, some controversy, and various settled precedents.[2]
The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides an additional source of constitutional doctrine stating that birth "in the United States" and subjection to U.S. jurisdiction at the time of birth, entitles one to citizenship:
“ All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. ”
This clause mentions two types of citizenship: citizenship by birth and citizenship by law (naturalized citizens). However, the full text of the fourteenth amendment does not mention the phrase "natural born citizen," nor does it address Presidential qualifications. The phrase "natural born Citizen" is not defined anywhere in the Constitution, as is also true with most other constitutional terms.
It is thought the origin of the natural born citizen clause can be traced to a letter of July 25, 1787, from John Jay (who was born in New York) to George Washington (who was born in Virginia), presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention. John Jay wrote: "Permit me to hint, whether it would be wise and seasonable to provide a strong check to the admission of Foreigners into the administration of our national Government; and to declare expressly that the Commander in Chief of the American army shall not be given to nor devolve on, any but a natural born Citizen." (Underlining in the original)[3] There was no debate, and this qualification for the office of the Presidency was introduced by the drafting Committee of Eleven, and then adopted without discussion by the Constitutional Convention.
[edit] Legislation and executive branch policy
The requirements for citizenship and its very definition have changed since the Constitution was ratified in 1788. Congress first recognized the citizenship of children born to U.S. parents overseas on March 26, 1790, under the first naturalization law: "And the children of citizens of the United States, that may be born beyond sea, or out of the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural born citizens: Provided, That the right of citizenship shall not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in the United States."[4] Many members of the 1790 Congress had been members of the Constitutional Convention. In addition, George Washington was president of the Constitutional Convention and President of the United States when this bill became law, yet it was not vetoed.
In 1795, the Congress passed the Naturalization Act of 1795 which removed the words "natural born" from the Naturalization Act of 1790, to state that such children born to citizens beyond the seas "shall be considered as citizens of the United States."[5] George Washington was also President in 1795, and thus he was aware of this change, and yet did not veto it. With regard to the original (but now obsolete) Naturalization Act of 1790, the U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual states that "the fact that someone is a natural born citizen pursuant to a statute does not necessarily imply that he or she is such a citizen for Constitutional purposes."[6] To this day the short-lived Naturalization Act of 1790 has been the only U.S. law conferring natural born citizenship.
All persons born in the United States, except those not subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. government (such as children of foreign diplomats) are citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment. Additionally, certain other people have been classified by federal statute as citizens at birth, according to 8 U.S.C. § 1401. The law governing the citizenship of children born outside the U.S. to one or more U.S.-citizen parents has varied considerably over time.[7] Current U.S. statutes define certain individuals born overseas as "citizens at birth," including all persons "born outside of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents both of whom are citizens of the United States and one of whom has had a residence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions, prior to the birth of such person[s]."[8][9]
Currently under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA) effective from December 24, 1952, to present, the definition of the "United States" for nationality purposes, was expanded to add Guam; and, effective November 3, 1986, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (in addition to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands of the United States). Persons born in these territories on or after December 24, 1952, acquire U.S. citizenship at birth on the same terms as persons born in other parts of the United States; and "Outlying possessions of the United States" was restricted to American Samoa and Swains Island. [10]
Regarding people born at U.S. military bases in foreign countries, current State Department policy reads: "Despite widespread popular belief, U.S. military installations abroad and U.S. diplomatic or consular facilities are not part of the United States within the meaning of the 14th Amendment. A child born on the premises of such a facility is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and does not acquire U.S. citizenship by reason of birth."[11] However, the State Department is of the opinion that this does not affect those who are born abroad to U.S. citizens and who otherwise meet the qualifications for statutory citizenship.[12]
The special term "Natural Born Citizen" is used in particular as a requirement for eligibility to serve as President or Vice President of the United States. Section 1 of Article Two of the United States Constitution contains the clause:
“ No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. ”
Additionally, the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that: "[N]o person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States." The grandfather provision of the Natural Born Citizen Clause thus covered the only exceptions to the natural born requirement for the first several presidents and vice-presidents, who were citizens at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, but had been born as British subjects before the American Revolution.
It is generally agreed[citation needed] that these constitutional provisions mean anyone born on American soil to parents who are U.S. citizens is a “natural born citizen” eligible to someday become president or vice-president, whereas anyone whose citizenship is acquired after birth as a result of naturalization "process or procedure" is not a "natural born citizen" and is therefore ineligible for those two positions.[1] In between these extremes lie gray areas, some controversy, and various settled precedents.[2]
The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides an additional source of constitutional doctrine stating that birth "in the United States" and subjection to U.S. jurisdiction at the time of birth, entitles one to citizenship:
“ All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. ”
This clause mentions two types of citizenship: citizenship by birth and citizenship by law (naturalized citizens). However, the full text of the fourteenth amendment does not mention the phrase "natural born citizen," nor does it address Presidential qualifications. The phrase "natural born Citizen" is not defined anywhere in the Constitution, as is also true with most other constitutional terms.
It is thought the origin of the natural born citizen clause can be traced to a letter of July 25, 1787, from John Jay (who was born in New York) to George Washington (who was born in Virginia), presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention. John Jay wrote: "Permit me to hint, whether it would be wise and seasonable to provide a strong check to the admission of Foreigners into the administration of our national Government; and to declare expressly that the Commander in Chief of the American army shall not be given to nor devolve on, any but a natural born Citizen." (Underlining in the original)[3] There was no debate, and this qualification for the office of the Presidency was introduced by the drafting Committee of Eleven, and then adopted without discussion by the Constitutional Convention.
[edit] Legislation and executive branch policy
The requirements for citizenship and its very definition have changed since the Constitution was ratified in 1788. Congress first recognized the citizenship of children born to U.S. parents overseas on March 26, 1790, under the first naturalization law: "And the children of citizens of the United States, that may be born beyond sea, or out of the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural born citizens: Provided, That the right of citizenship shall not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in the United States."[4] Many members of the 1790 Congress had been members of the Constitutional Convention. In addition, George Washington was president of the Constitutional Convention and President of the United States when this bill became law, yet it was not vetoed.
In 1795, the Congress passed the Naturalization Act of 1795 which removed the words "natural born" from the Naturalization Act of 1790, to state that such children born to citizens beyond the seas "shall be considered as citizens of the United States."[5] George Washington was also President in 1795, and thus he was aware of this change, and yet did not veto it. With regard to the original (but now obsolete) Naturalization Act of 1790, the U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual states that "the fact that someone is a natural born citizen pursuant to a statute does not necessarily imply that he or she is such a citizen for Constitutional purposes."[6] To this day the short-lived Naturalization Act of 1790 has been the only U.S. law conferring natural born citizenship.
All persons born in the United States, except those not subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. government (such as children of foreign diplomats) are citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment. Additionally, certain other people have been classified by federal statute as citizens at birth, according to 8 U.S.C. § 1401. The law governing the citizenship of children born outside the U.S. to one or more U.S.-citizen parents has varied considerably over time.[7] Current U.S. statutes define certain individuals born overseas as "citizens at birth," including all persons "born outside of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents both of whom are citizens of the United States and one of whom has had a residence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions, prior to the birth of such person[s]."[8][9]
Currently under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA) effective from December 24, 1952, to present, the definition of the "United States" for nationality purposes, was expanded to add Guam; and, effective November 3, 1986, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (in addition to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands of the United States). Persons born in these territories on or after December 24, 1952, acquire U.S. citizenship at birth on the same terms as persons born in other parts of the United States; and "Outlying possessions of the United States" was restricted to American Samoa and Swains Island. [10]
Regarding people born at U.S. military bases in foreign countries, current State Department policy reads: "Despite widespread popular belief, U.S. military installations abroad and U.S. diplomatic or consular facilities are not part of the United States within the meaning of the 14th Amendment. A child born on the premises of such a facility is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and does not acquire U.S. citizenship by reason of birth."[11] However, the State Department is of the opinion that this does not affect those who are born abroad to U.S. citizens and who otherwise meet the qualifications for statutory citizenship.[12]
25 January 2009
CIVICS 101 3rd GRADE
From a teacher in the Nashville area We are worried about "the cow" when it is all about the "Ice Cream" The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year.
The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote. To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members.
We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have.
We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot. The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids.
I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia's mother. The day arrived when they were to make their speeches Jamie went first.
He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best.
Every one applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium. Her speech was concise. She said, "If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream."
She sat down. The class went wild. "Yes! Yes! We want ice cream." She surely would say more. She did not have to.
A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream? She wasn't sure. Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it. She didn't know.
The class really didn't care. All they were thinking about was ice cream. Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a land slide. Every time Barack Obama opens his mouth he offers ice cream, fifty two percent of the people react like nine year olds. They want ice cream. The other forty eight percent know they're going to have to feed the cow and clean up the mess.
and there u have it.. how noBama got elected.. the truth of the matter!
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