Replies

James Wilson, along with Benjamin Franklin, was a Delegate to the US Constitutional convention. He was also a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature which Ratified the US Constitution.

In looking through his writings I stumbled across this comment from him.(James Wilson Lectures on Law, 1790-1791)

“Generally speaking,” says the great political authority,b Aristotle,* “a citizen is one partaking equally of power and of subordination.”
A citizen then—to draw his description as one of the people—I deem him, who acts a personal or a represented part in the legislation of his country. He has other rights; but his legislative I consider as his characteristick right. In this view, a citizen of the United States is he, who is a citizen of at least some one state in the Union: for the members of the house of representatives in the national legislature are chosen, in each state, by electors, who, in that state, have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature.c In this view, a citizen of Pennsylvania is he, who has resided in the state two years; and, within that time, has paid a state or county tax: or he is between the ages of twenty one and twenty two years, and the son of a citizen.

I looked up the Pennsylvania constitution of 1776. (Replaced in 1790) It says:

SECT. 5. The freemen of this commonwealth and their sons shall be trained and armed for its defence under such regulations, restrictions, and exceptions as the general assembly shall by law direct, preserving always to the people the right of choosing their colonels and all commissioned officers under that rank, in such manner and as often as by the said laws shall be directed.
SECT. 6. Every freemen of the full age of twenty-one years, having resided in this state for the space of one whole year next before the day of election for representatives, and paid public taxes during that time, shall enjoy the right of an elector: Provided always, that sons of freeholders of the age of twenty one years shall be intitled to vote although they have not paid taxes.

And Guess who happened to be President of the Pennsylvania Constitutional convention of 1776? It was Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin, who was good friends with Charles W.F. Dumas and Used his version of Vattel's "Droit des Gens" as a secret code book with which to communicate with our agents in Europe.

So Apparently Pennsylvanians James Wilson and Benjamin Franklin recognized citizenship by descent, so how did RAWLE get it so wrong?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Aristotle defined a citizen to be one who's parents are citizens. (Book III section II)

But the citizen whom we are seeking to define is a citizen in the strictest sense, against whom no such exception can be taken, and his special characteristic is that he shares in the administration of justice, and in offices.
...
But in practice a citizen is defined to be one of whom both the parents are citizens;