Malcolm Rivera
The word citizen appears in the Constitution of the United States, specifically in the Citizenship Clause, which is the first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment was passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified on July 9, 1868, in the aftermath of the Civil War. The Citizenship Clause states that 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 was a significant development in the history of US citizenship, addressing the controversies surrounding state and national citizenship that existed prior to the Civil War.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Does the word "citizen" appear in the Constitution? | Yes, the word "citizen" appears in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Citizenship Clause. |
| When was the Citizenship Clause adopted? | The Citizenship Clause was adopted on July 9, 1868, as the first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment. |
| What does the Citizenship Clause state? | "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." |
| What was the purpose of the Citizenship Clause? | To grant citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including formerly enslaved people and those of African descent who had previously been excluded from citizenship. |
| What is the impact of the Citizenship Clause? | It gives Congress the power to define and protect citizenship, ensures birth equality by condemning racial caste systems, and extends rights and liberties to all citizens regardless of race. |
| Are there any exceptions to the Citizenship Clause? | Yes, there are exceptions for children born to parents with diplomatic immunity or when the child's parent is not a U.S. citizen and the other parent is unlawfully present or temporarily in the U.S. |
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What You'll Learn
The Fourteenth Amendment
The Citizenship Clause, which is the first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment, states: "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 resolved a question that was hotly contested before the Civil War by providing the basic rule regarding the acquisition of citizenship of the United States. It also confers state citizenship on national citizens who reside in a state.
In conclusion, the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution addresses citizenship rights and equal protection under the law, with a particular focus on granting citizenship to formerly enslaved people and protecting the rights of citizens at all levels of government.
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Birthright citizenship
The word "citizen" appears in the United States Constitution, specifically in the Citizenship Clause, which is the first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment. This clause was adopted on July 9, 1868, and states: "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."
The Citizenship Clause reversed a portion of the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, which had declared that African Americans were not and could not become citizens of the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship to every child born "within the jurisdiction of the United States," regardless of their parents' immigration or citizenship status. This was established in the 1898 Supreme Court case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which set a precedent in interpreting the Citizenship Clause.
However, there have been attempts to restrict birthright citizenship, particularly for children born to undocumented immigrant parents or those with temporary residency status. In 2019, then-President Donald Trump expressed his intention to end birthright citizenship, and in 2025, he issued an executive order to deny citizenship to children of undocumented parents. This order was blocked by the courts, as it was deemed unlawful by legal experts, who asserted that the President has no authority to change citizenship rules.
While the United States primarily grants citizenship based on birthplace, it also recognizes a form of ancestry-based citizenship (jus sanguinis, or "right of blood" in Latin). Residency requirements, generational limits, and stringent rules when only one parent is a citizen can restrict this form of citizenship.
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Citizenship and voting rights
The original US Constitution, adopted in 1789, mentions state and national citizenship but does not define the terms "citizen" or "natural-born citizen". It also does not lay down a clear and comprehensive rule about either kind of citizenship. The Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868, states that:
> 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 is known as the Citizenship Clause, and it gives Congress broad power to define and protect various badges of citizenship. The Citizenship Clause also reversed a portion of the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, which had declared that African Americans were not and could not become citizens of the United States.
In the context of voting rights, US federal law prohibits foreign nationals from participating in federal, state, or local elections by making any contributions or expenditures. However, some states and municipalities have allowed non-citizens to vote in certain local elections. For example, in 1992, the City of Takoma Park, Maryland, became the first municipality in the country to restore noncitizen voting in local elections. In 2016, voters in San Francisco passed Proposition N, giving non-citizens the right to vote in the city's school board elections. However, it is important to note that the majority of states' constitutions discuss citizenship in the context of voting rights, explicitly granting citizens the right to vote without stating that non-citizens cannot vote.
To vote in US federal, state, and local elections, one must be a US citizen, although there are some exceptions. For example, some areas allow non-citizens to vote in local elections only. U.S. citizens living outside of the country may also be eligible to vote, and their eligibility is based on the state where their parents last lived or were registered to vote. In almost every state, individuals can register to vote before they turn 18 if they will be 18 by Election Day. Some states even allow 17-year-olds who will be 18 by Election Day to vote in primaries.
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The Dred Scott case
The word "citizen" appears in the US Constitution, specifically in the Citizenship Clause, which forms the first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment. This amendment was adopted on July 9, 1868, and states:
> 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 was, in part, a response to the Dred Scott case, also known as Dred Scott v. Sandford. Dred Scott was a Black man who had been born into slavery around 1799 in Southampton County, Virginia. Over the course of his life, he had lived in multiple states, including Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory, both of which were free domains where slavery was banned.
In 1846, Scott asked to purchase his freedom from his master, Irene Sanford (or Irene Emerson), but she refused. This refusal set off a chain of events that would lead to the famous Dred Scott case. Scott and his wife, Harriet, sued for their freedom, arguing that they had spent significant time in free territory and were thus being illegally held as slaves. Their cases were combined, with Dred listed as the sole plaintiff. The case persisted through several courts, with the Missouri Supreme Court ultimately ruling against the Scotts in 1852, enslaving them once again.
In November 1853, Dred Scott filed a federal lawsuit with the United States Circuit Court for the District of Missouri, which ruled against him in May 1854. He appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which heard the case in 1856. On March 6, 1857, the Supreme Court ruled against Scott, stating that all people of African descent, whether enslaved or not, were not citizens of the United States and therefore had no right to sue in federal courts. This decision outraged abolitionists and intensified the divide between the North and South over slavery, ultimately contributing to the Civil War.
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Citizenship and race
The word "citizen" appears in the United States Constitution, specifically in the Citizenship Clause, which is the first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment. This clause states that "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."
The concept of citizenship has had a complex and often troubled relationship with race, especially in the context of the United States. Citizenship is premised on individual equality, while race has been used to create collective inequality. Citizenship is celebrated as a cultural achievement, while race has been used as a natural condition to justify social hierarchies. Despite these differences, the modern concepts of race and citizenship emerged together and have been closely linked ever since.
In the United States, the relationship between race and citizenship has been particularly fraught due to the country's history of slavery, racial segregation, and immigration. Race has been used to determine rights and membership, with people of African descent systematically denied citizenship and the privileges that come with it. For example, in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case, the Supreme Court ruled that persons of African descent were not and could not become citizens, a decision that was later reversed by the Fourteenth Amendment.
Even after the abolition of slavery and the passage of civil rights legislation, race has continued to impact the treatment of citizens. Legal cases and historical accounts demonstrate that citizens have been treated differently based on race, with African Americans facing civic disabilities, violence, and economic exploitation. The concept of birthright citizenship, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, affirmed that all children born in the United States are citizens, regardless of their parentage. However, this decision and the broader issue of birthright citizenship remain controversial, with ongoing debates about the rights of immigrants and their children.
The intersection of race and citizenship is not unique to the United States but is also evident in other settler colonies like Australia and Brazil, where large-scale immigration has shaped the evolution of citizenship. The complexities of federalism in the US context, with the tension between state and national citizenship, have further complicated the relationship between race and citizenship.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the word "citizen" appears in the US Constitution.
The word "citizen" appears in the Citizenship Clause, which is the first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution.
The Citizenship Clause states that "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 was adopted on July 9, 1868, and extended citizenship to formerly enslaved people, reversing a portion of the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision that had declared African Americans could not become citizens of the United States.
