[DiogenesLamp]

Because slaves were property and not legally persons and Indians were born of independent nations and therefore not under the jurisdiction of the US government.

Why were the children of German citizens (who were also born of independent nations) not treated exactly like Indians? I would point out that Indians born *IN* American cities were excluded from citizenship, while Germans were not.

I will also point out that many slaves were manumitted and thereafter became citizens who could pass on their citizenship to their children.

The simpler answer is that the founding fathers did not want slaves and Indians to be citizens.

There were plenty of Black citizens during the Revolutionary war era. Crispus Attucks comes to mind.

No, that answer doesn't suffice. Why would Manumitted Slaves be able to obtain and pass on citizenship to their children, when those held in bondage could not?

Even after the slaves were freed, they were still not considered citizens until AFTER the 14th amendment granted them citizenship en masse. Indians were still a No-Go at this time.

There is something more going on here than a mere "born on the soil" requirement.

[Harlan1196]

For an expert on the Constitution, you seemed to have missed a lot of case law on Indian sovereignty. Indian tribes are specifically mentioned three times in the Constitution so it is clear that they have a unique standing as opposed to Germans. The Indians were not considered under the jurisdiction of the US government - the Indian tribes were sovereign nations. It was recognized that they could be naturalized as US citizens:

“[Native Americans], without doubt, like the subjects of any other foreign Government, be naturalized by the authority of Congress, and become citizens of a State, and of the United States; and if an individual should leave his nation or tribe, and take up his abode among the white population, he would be entitled to all the rights and privileges which would belong to an emigrant from any other foreign people.
—Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, 1857”

And over the years other methods of Indians obtaining citizenship were recognized:

1. Treaty provision (as with the Mississippi Choctaw)
2. Registration and land allotment under the Dawes Act of February 8, 1887
3. Issuance of Patent in Fee Simple
4. Adopting Habits of Civilized Life
5. Minor Children
6. Citizenship by Birth (The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924)
7. Becoming Soldiers and Sailors in the U.S. Armed Forces
8. Marriage to a U.S. citizen
9. Special Act of Congress.

But Indians were never born US citizens until 1924.

As for slaves, states did in fact give citizenship to freed slaves. But according to the Dred Scott decision, no one of African descent, slave or free, was protected by the Constitution and could never be a citizen. In the eyes of the Supreme Court, according to the Constitution there were no black citizens, free or in bondage. Hence the 14th Amendment.