Jonah Patel
The original U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789, did not lay down a clear and comprehensive rule about citizenship. Before the Civil War, only some persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction were considered citizens. The 14th Amendment, passed in 1866, 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. However, this did not include everyone born in the United States, excluding, for example, children of foreign ministers and invading armies, and Native Americans. The interpretation of the Citizenship Clause has been a subject of debate, with some arguing that it automatically grants citizenship to all persons born in the United States, while others disagree.
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What You'll Learn
Native Americans
When the US Constitution was ratified in 1788, Native Americans were not considered US citizens. Under Article One, Native Americans, who were classified as "Indians not taxed", were not considered eligible for US citizenship because they were governed by distinct tribes, which functioned in a political capacity. Native persons who were members of a tribe were specifically excluded from representation and taxation.
The earliest recorded date of Native people becoming US citizens was in 1831, when the Mississippi Choctaw became citizens after the Treaty of Dancin. However, the exclusion of Native Americans from US citizenship was further established by Elk v. Wilkins (1884), when the Supreme Court held that a Native person born a citizen of a recognized tribal nation was not born an American citizen and did not become one simply by voluntarily leaving their tribe.
In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment declared that all persons "born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof" were citizens. However, the "jurisdiction" requirement was interpreted to exclude most Native Americans, as they were considered to be under the jurisdiction of their respective tribes and not the United States. The Senate Judiciary Committee clarified this interpretation in 1870, stating that the Fourteenth Amendment had no effect on the status of Indian tribes within the United States.
Despite these challenges, some Native Americans obtained citizenship through various means, such as serving in the military, marrying whites, or accepting land allotments under laws like the Dawes Act of 1887. The Curtis Act of 1898 extended the provisions of the Dawes Act to the citizens of additional tribes, requiring allotment of their lands and granting them the right to vote in local elections. In 1886, Congress passed a law that made Indian women US citizens if they married a white man.
Finally, in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act, granting citizenship to all Native Americans. However, this did not automatically confer voting rights, and some states continued to bar Native Americans from voting until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1965.
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African Americans
The original U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789, did not consider African Americans citizens of the United States. In fact, Black activists understood that tens of thousands of Native Americans had been forcibly relocated, and feared that the fate of Black Americans could be the same.
In 1857, the Dred Scott v. Sandford Supreme Court decision declared that no Black person, enslaved or free, could be a citizen of the U.S. Chief Justice Roger Taney concluded that the Constitution included no protections for free African Americans, leaving individual states to regulate them as they saw fit.
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1868, transformed national belonging by granting citizenship to African Americans and all those born on U.S. soil. The Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment specifically intended to repeal the Dred Scott decision. It established the principle of birthright citizenship, meaning a person born in the U.S. is automatically a citizen. The amendment also granted African Americans due process and equal protection under the law, allowing them to pursue the benefits of citizenship and justice.
Despite the ratification of the 14th Amendment, African Americans continued to face segregation and discrimination. The 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision further reinforced the rise of segregation, with separate areas provided for African Americans rarely being equal. However, African Americans continued to challenge segregation and demand their equal rights under the Constitution.
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Corporations
The original U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789, did not lay down a clear and comprehensive rule about national citizenship. The concepts of state and national citizenship were mentioned, but the details were unclear.
The Fourteenth Amendment, passed in 1866, clarified the issue of citizenship. It 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."
However, the amendment did not extend citizenship to corporations. In the case of *Insurance Co. v. New Orleans* (1870), it was declared that corporations were not citizens and therefore could not claim the protection of the Fourteenth Amendment's Privileges and Immunities Clause. This was reaffirmed in the earlier holding of *Paul v. Virginia* (1869), which stated that corporations were not within the scope of the Privileges and Immunities Clause of state citizenship set out in Article IV, § 2.
The Supreme Court's interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment has been consistent in excluding corporations from citizenship rights. The Court has held that citizens of the United States within the meaning of this Amendment must be natural and not artificial persons, and that a corporate body does not qualify as a citizen.
While the original Constitution did not explicitly address the issue of corporate citizenship, the subsequent interpretation and case law have made it clear that corporations are not considered citizens under the Constitution and are therefore not entitled to the same rights and protections as natural persons.
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Children of foreign ministers
The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, ratified in 1868, guarantees birthright citizenship to every child born "within the jurisdiction of the United States". The Citizenship Clause 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."
The Fourteenth Amendment affirms the ancient and fundamental rule of citizenship by birth within the territory, including children born to resident aliens. However, there are two exceptions to this rule: children born to diplomats and children born to members of foreign armies living on U.S. territory. The children of foreign ministers or diplomats are excluded from birthright citizenship because, under international law, diplomats and their families are generally immune from the legal control and courts of their host country. This exception was already part of common law before the Fourteenth Amendment, and it was explicitly mentioned during the debates over the Amendment.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which preceded the Fourteenth Amendment, granted U.S. citizenship to all persons born in the United States "not subject to any foreign power". However, the Act did not address the issue of children born to foreign diplomats, as they were already excluded from birthright citizenship under common law. The Fourteenth Amendment sought to entrench the principle of birthright citizenship in the Constitution to prevent it from being struck down by the Supreme Court or repealed by Congress.
The interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause was clarified in the 1898 Supreme Court case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark. This case involved a child born in the United States to parents of Chinese descent, who were subjects of the Emperor of China but had a permanent residence and business in the United States. The Court held that the child was a citizen of the United States, as the Fourteenth Amendment affirmed birthright citizenship for children of all immigrants. This decision established an important precedent, confirming that anyone born on U.S. soil is automatically conferred citizenship at birth, regardless of their parents' immigration or citizenship status.
While the Fourteenth Amendment and the Wong Kim Ark case established a broad interpretation of birthright citizenship, there have been recent challenges to this interpretation by anti-immigrant political factions. These groups have sought to restrict birthright citizenship, particularly for children born to undocumented immigrant parents. However, the Constitution's text, enactment history, and subsequent elaboration by the Supreme Court strongly support the interpretation of birthright citizenship, including for the children of immigrants.
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Children of occupying enemy soldiers
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees birthright citizenship to every child born "within the jurisdiction of the United States." The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment 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."
However, there are certain exceptions to this rule. Children of foreign diplomats and occupying foreign forces are not considered citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment. This is because foreign diplomats and occupying foreign forces are not considered "subject to the jurisdiction of the United States." This means that if a foreign soldier has a child with a local resident during an occupation or invasion, that child would not be considered a US citizen. This interpretation is supported by the Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which established that birthright citizenship does not extend to the children of foreign diplomats, enemy combatants, or invading foreign troops.
In the case of an occupying enemy soldier having a child with a US citizen, the child may still be considered a US citizen. If one parent is a US citizen, the child is generally considered a US citizen as well, regardless of the other parent's citizenship status. However, there may be complexities and variations in such cases, and each situation would need to be assessed individually.
It is important to note that the interpretation of the Citizenship Clause has evolved over time, and there are ongoing debates and legal challenges regarding birthright citizenship in the United States. The original Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment did not specifically address the scenario of children born to occupying enemy soldiers, and the interpretation of citizenship laws has been refined through court cases and legislative actions over the years.
In summary, while the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship to those born in the United States, there are exceptions for children of foreign diplomats and occupying foreign forces. The specific circumstances of each case, such as the citizenship status of the parents and the location of the child's birth, would determine whether a child of an occupying enemy soldier would be considered a US citizen.
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Frequently asked questions
The original US Constitution, adopted in 1789, did not lay down a clear and comprehensive rule about citizenship. However, it was understood that only some persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction were citizens.
The requirements for citizenship were not explicitly defined in the original Constitution, but it was generally understood that citizenship was limited to white persons born in the United States as descendants of citizens.
No, Native Americans were not considered citizens under the original Constitution. The Supreme Court held that Native American tribes represented independent political powers, and Native people were not considered American citizens even if they left their tribes.
No, the children of slaves were explicitly excluded from citizenship under the common law rule, which applied only to the children of "free persons."
No, corporations were not considered citizens and could not claim the protections of the Citizenship Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment.
