U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 7 - Consular Affairs
7 FAM 1131.6-2 Eligibility for Presidency
(TL:CON-68; 04-01-1998)
a. It has never been determined definitively by a court whether a person
who acquired U.S. citizenship by birth abroad to U.S. citizens is a naturalborn
citizen within the meaning of Article II of the Constitution and,
therefore, eligible for the Presidency.
b. Section 1, Article II, of the Constitution states, in relevant part that “No
Person except a natural born Citizen...shall be eligible for the Office of
President;”
c. The Constitution does not define “natural born”. The “Act to establish an
Uniform Rule of Naturalization”, enacted March 26, 1790, (1 Stat.
103,104) provided that, “...the children of citizens of the United States,
that may be born ... out of the limits of the United States, shall be
considered as natural born citizens: Provided that the right of citizenship
shall not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in
the United States.”
7 FAM 1130 Page 8 of 103
CONTINUES:
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 7 - Consular Affairs
d. This statute is no longer operative, however, and its formula is not
included in modern nationality statutes. In any event, the fact that
someone is a natural born citizen pursuant to a statute does not
necessarily imply that he or she is such a citizen for Constitutional
purposes.
7 FAM 1130 Page 9 of 103
Thank you for posting the reference.
I know Donofrio specifically mentioned the 1790 law and the 1795 one that replaced it. In one of his radio interviews he specifically mentioned these two pieces of legislation. IIRC he stated that the 1795 legislation was passed because the writers of the 1790 legislation realized that they could not change the constitution and therefore rewrote the law.
He said that this interpretation was based on historical letters that discussed the pieces of legislation. I don’t remember specifically who he said the letters were addressed to and from, but I think he did name specific legislators from that time period. Perhaps another freeper who listened to the broadcasts remembers more than I do about the historical letters.