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McCAIN'S CITIZENSHIP ELIGIBILITY FOR PRESIDENT IN QUESTION?
By: Devvy
February 15, 2008
U.S. Constitution, Sec. II, Sec. 1, Clause 5: The Presidency:
"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..."
A couple of weeks ago, I began receiving quite a number of emails making this claim:
"The origin of the natural-born citizen clause can be traced to a July 25, 1787, letter from
John Jay to George Washington, 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." 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.
Legislation and legal arguments
"The requirements for citizenship and the very definition thereof have changed since the
Constitution was ratified in 1788. Congress first extended citizenship to 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 outside the limits of the United
States, shall be considered as natural born citizens." This was addressed by the U.S. Supreme
Court in the Dred Scott case as a form of naturalization. The Dred Scott case, however, was
overturned by the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868. The Fourteenth Amendment mentions two types of
citizenship: citizenship by birth and citizenship by law (naturalized citizens): "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."
"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 by birth. There is some
debate over whether other persons with citizenship can also be considered citizens by birth, or
whether they should all be considered citizens by law (thus "naturalized"). Current US statutes
define certain individuals born overseas as citizens by birth. One side of the argument
interprets the Constitution as meaning that a person either is born in the United States or is
a naturalized citizen. Thus, to be a "natural born citizen," a person must be born in the
United States; otherwise, they are citizens by law and are naturalized. To others, the statute
! that grants citizenship to American children born overseas exempts them from the term
"naturalized" and thus, as with the 1790 law, they are to be considered "natural born citizens"
eligible for the Presidency. Examples of persons who become citizens at birth (whether
"naturalized" or "natural born") would include: birth to Americans overseas, or birth on U.S.
soil, territories, or military bases overseas. Children born outside the United States to
American parents.
"Three major candidates have sought the Presidency who were born outside the United States:
Barry Goldwater (ran in 1964) was born in Arizona while it was still a U.S. territory, George
Romney (ran in 1968) was born in Mexico to U.S. parents, and John McCain (ran in 2000 and
running in 2008) was born in the Panama Canal Zone to U.S. parents. Barry Goldwater's case
among these three is unique in that although Arizona was not a state, it was a fully
incorporated territory of the United States, making it debatable whether or not he was born
"outside" the United States. The Panama Canal Zone was under United States sovereignty between
1903 and 1979. None of these candidates was elected, so it has never been fully addressed
whether children born to Americans overseas are "natural-born citizens" and thus eligible for
the Presidency. However, McCain is currently seeking the 2008 Republican nomination for President."
My first reaction was that McCain, born of a parent who was on active military duty outside the
country is automatically granted citizenship as if he were born at Walter Reed or a hospital in
Terra Haute, Indiana. My husband's children were born in Germany on Army bases leased from the
host countries. They automatically became citizens. When you think about it, how practicable
would it be for the wife of a sergeant or general to have to catch a plane from Okinawa,
Germany or Panama just to give birth so that child would be 'natural born'? Should a child of
active duty military whose parents were born inside the U.S., be penalized for a parent's
service to this republic by denying that child the right as an American citizen to run for the
highest office in the land?
I am not an attorney, but I have learned a world of knowledge from some of the best legal minds
in this country over the past 18 years. As this is such an important question because it would
be a tragedy if John McCain were to get the GOP nomination in September, I asked constitutional
attorney, Larry Becraft, if he could help me on this issue. He has spent years compiling
statutes regarding the word 'citizen,' resident alien, application and so forth. Words have
meaning in the legal world and interpretation of some words, shall, may will, have filled books
found in law libraries. Larry sent the law passed in 1790 about citizenship; see pdf file here.
The question of citizenship regarding a presidential candidate has come up several times,
including 2000 when McCain was running. After doing a thorough search on the Internet, I didn't
find any lawsuit challenging McCain's citizenship in 2000. In 2004, the issue was raised again:
U.S. Congress moves to clarify the rules: Just how 'American' must a president be? "His Natural
Born Citizen Act would include children born outside the United States to citizen parents or
parents able to transfer their citizenship. That would include McCain, whose parents were
citizens, as well as an estimated two million others who, according to government figures, have
been born to U.S. parents living and working overseas."
Further research brought me to this web site which states the following, in part:
.............
http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd342.htm
By: Devvy
February 15, 2008
U.S. Constitution, Sec. II, Sec. 1, Clause 5: The Presidency:
"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..."
A couple of weeks ago, I began receiving quite a number of emails making this claim:
"The origin of the natural-born citizen clause can be traced to a July 25, 1787, letter from
John Jay to George Washington, 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." 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.
Legislation and legal arguments
"The requirements for citizenship and the very definition thereof have changed since the
Constitution was ratified in 1788. Congress first extended citizenship to 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 outside the limits of the United
States, shall be considered as natural born citizens." This was addressed by the U.S. Supreme
Court in the Dred Scott case as a form of naturalization. The Dred Scott case, however, was
overturned by the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868. The Fourteenth Amendment mentions two types of
citizenship: citizenship by birth and citizenship by law (naturalized citizens): "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."
"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 by birth. There is some
debate over whether other persons with citizenship can also be considered citizens by birth, or
whether they should all be considered citizens by law (thus "naturalized"). Current US statutes
define certain individuals born overseas as citizens by birth. One side of the argument
interprets the Constitution as meaning that a person either is born in the United States or is
a naturalized citizen. Thus, to be a "natural born citizen," a person must be born in the
United States; otherwise, they are citizens by law and are naturalized. To others, the statute
! that grants citizenship to American children born overseas exempts them from the term
"naturalized" and thus, as with the 1790 law, they are to be considered "natural born citizens"
eligible for the Presidency. Examples of persons who become citizens at birth (whether
"naturalized" or "natural born") would include: birth to Americans overseas, or birth on U.S.
soil, territories, or military bases overseas. Children born outside the United States to
American parents.
"Three major candidates have sought the Presidency who were born outside the United States:
Barry Goldwater (ran in 1964) was born in Arizona while it was still a U.S. territory, George
Romney (ran in 1968) was born in Mexico to U.S. parents, and John McCain (ran in 2000 and
running in 2008) was born in the Panama Canal Zone to U.S. parents. Barry Goldwater's case
among these three is unique in that although Arizona was not a state, it was a fully
incorporated territory of the United States, making it debatable whether or not he was born
"outside" the United States. The Panama Canal Zone was under United States sovereignty between
1903 and 1979. None of these candidates was elected, so it has never been fully addressed
whether children born to Americans overseas are "natural-born citizens" and thus eligible for
the Presidency. However, McCain is currently seeking the 2008 Republican nomination for President."
My first reaction was that McCain, born of a parent who was on active military duty outside the
country is automatically granted citizenship as if he were born at Walter Reed or a hospital in
Terra Haute, Indiana. My husband's children were born in Germany on Army bases leased from the
host countries. They automatically became citizens. When you think about it, how practicable
would it be for the wife of a sergeant or general to have to catch a plane from Okinawa,
Germany or Panama just to give birth so that child would be 'natural born'? Should a child of
active duty military whose parents were born inside the U.S., be penalized for a parent's
service to this republic by denying that child the right as an American citizen to run for the
highest office in the land?
I am not an attorney, but I have learned a world of knowledge from some of the best legal minds
in this country over the past 18 years. As this is such an important question because it would
be a tragedy if John McCain were to get the GOP nomination in September, I asked constitutional
attorney, Larry Becraft, if he could help me on this issue. He has spent years compiling
statutes regarding the word 'citizen,' resident alien, application and so forth. Words have
meaning in the legal world and interpretation of some words, shall, may will, have filled books
found in law libraries. Larry sent the law passed in 1790 about citizenship; see pdf file here.
The question of citizenship regarding a presidential candidate has come up several times,
including 2000 when McCain was running. After doing a thorough search on the Internet, I didn't
find any lawsuit challenging McCain's citizenship in 2000. In 2004, the issue was raised again:
U.S. Congress moves to clarify the rules: Just how 'American' must a president be? "His Natural
Born Citizen Act would include children born outside the United States to citizen parents or
parents able to transfer their citizenship. That would include McCain, whose parents were
citizens, as well as an estimated two million others who, according to government figures, have
been born to U.S. parents living and working overseas."
Further research brought me to this web site which states the following, in part:
.............
http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd342.htm
