There were articles in the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper during Chester Arthur’s time claiming he was not a natural born citizen. I did a little reading and there were claims that he was actually born in Canada, and that he used his brother’s birth certificate. I have no idea if any of this is true or not, but I do know that one of his parents was Canadian and became an American citizen at some time after his birth. It is a fine distinction, but there is a great difference between a natural born citizen and a native born citizen. If the founders wanted our president to be natural born, so do I. Children of military members born overseas not in military hospitals are not considered natural born. Mitt Romney’s father was born in Mexico to two American missionaries. He was not natural born. And although he was the Governor of Michigan he never attempted to run for president. Barry Goldwater was born in the Territory of Arizona and not natural born. Both McCain and Goldwater received acts of Congress, and Obama was included with McCain. I did some reading of scholarly material written by Leo D’Onofrio, an attorney, on natural born citizenship before Obama’s first election. Both parties are equally guilty of attempting to circumvent the law.
Both McCain and Goldwater received acts of Congress,
No, Congress cannot make that determination. The Senate issued the following resolution:
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 511
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 10, 2008
Mrs. McCaskill (for herself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Obama, Mr. Coburn, Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Webb) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
April 24, 2008
Reported by Mr. Leahy, without amendment
April 30, 2008
Considered and agreed to
RESOLUTION
Recognizing that John Sidney McCain, III, is a natural born citizen.
Whereas the Constitution of the United States requires that, to be eligible for the Office of the President, a person must be a "natural born Citizen" of the United States;
Whereas the term "natural born Citizen", as that term appears in Article II, Section 1, is not defined in the Constitution of the United States;
Whereas there is no evidence of the intention of the Framers or any Congress to limit the constitutional rights of children born to Americans serving in the military nor to prevent those children from serving as their country’s President;
Whereas such limitations would be inconsistent with the purpose and intent of the "natural born Citizen" clause of the Constitution of the United States, as evidenced by the First Congress's own statute defining the term "natural born Citizen";
Whereas the well-being of all citizens of the United States is preserved and enhanced by the men and women who are assigned to serve our country outside of our national borders;
Whereas previous presidential candidates were born outside of the United States of America and were understood to be eligible to be President; and
Whereas John Sidney McCain, III, was born to American citizens on an American military base in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936: Now, therefore, be it
That John Sidney McCain, III, is a "natural born Citizen" under Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution of the United States.
You are correct that the resolution was based on the Tribe-Olson opinion that included a statement on the eligibility of Obama. They said that Obama was eligible just being born on US soil and that Hawaii was a state at the time of his birth. When you look at who sponsored this resolution, it is obvious the Dems were using it as a cover for Obama.
Historical practice confirms that birth on soil that is under the sovereignty of the United States, but not within a State, satisfies the Natural Born Citizen Clause. For example, Vice President Charles Curtis was born in the territory of Kansas on January 25, 1860 — one year before Kansas became a State. Because the Twelfth Amendment requires that Vice Presidents possess the same qualifications as Presidents, the service of Vice President Curtis verifies that the phrase “natural born Citizen†includes birth outside of any State but within U.S. territory. Similarly, Senator Barry Goldwater was born in Arizona before its statehood, yet attained the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 1964. And Senator Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961 — not long after its admission to the Union on August 21, 1959. We find it inconceivable that Senator Obama would have been ineligible for the Presidency had he been born two years earlier.
Correction to your post -
George W. Romney, Mitt’s father, although born in Mexico to American citizen parents who were Mormon missionaries, actually did run for President (more precisely, the Republican Party nominee) in 1968.
Richard Nixon won the nomination and went on to beat Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace.