Clause 2: No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
Clause 3: No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
Clause 5: 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.
Please explain the difference between Citizen and Natural Born Citizen.
The Founding Fathers specified a difference in their requirements for certain offices, why would they do that and how do you think they defined the difference between Natural Born Citizen vs. Citizen?
“Please explain the difference between Citizen and Natural Born Citizen.”
Clause 2 - the person needs to have been a citizen for 7 years - does not need to be born in the USA.
Clause 3 - the person needs to have been a citizen for 7 years - does not need to be born in the USA.
Clause 4 - if someone was a citizen at the time the Constitution was adopted, they were eligible regardless of where they were born. Afterward, someone needs to be a natural born citizen - attained in the natural means of attaining citizenship, by birth. Congress quickly interpreted that to include those born to two US citizens abroad or on the seas.
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