[patlin]

In Elk v Wilkins which was decided 16 years after the ratification of the 14th & the Expatriation Act, Gray in his holding, in which he wrote the deciding opinion, upheld the dicta in Slaughterhouse which was:

“main purpose” of the clause “was to establish the citizenship of the negro” and that “[t]he phrase, ‘subject to its jurisdiction’ was intended to exclude from its operation children of ministers, consuls, and citizens or subjects of foreign States born within the United States.”

Justice Steven Field, joined by Chief Justice Chase and Justices Swayne and Brad­ley in dissent from the principal holding of the case, likewise acknowledged that the clause was designed to remove any doubts about the constitu­tionality of the 1866 Civil Rights Act, which pro­vided that all persons born in the United States were as a result citizens both of the United States and of the state in which they resided, provided they were not at the time subjects of any foreign power.

Therefore, it was unanimous that the definition of ‘subject to the jurisdiction did not mean mere local, it meant complete, local & political. The only way to gain political was through descent from the parent or by consent as this is the law of nature which is the law of nations.

Tell me, what law did congress pass after the 14th & the expatriation act which clarified that the US did NOT adhere to dual citizenship, the changed the meaning of subject to the jurisdiction. What gave Gray the authority to overturn his ruling that declared the 14th amendment to in fact be constitutional in its wording that denied citizenship to children born owing allegiance to a foreign power. You always avoid the fact that the intent of the law can not be determined without looking into the history of when the law was made and Grey in Elk, quoted Slaughterhouse, which quoted the framers of the Amendment.

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2006/03/From-Feudalism-to-Consent-Rethinking-Birthright-Citizenship

[PugetSoundSoldier]

Which breaks down to who is a subject of a foreign State; who is excluded from the jurisdiction of the United States. That would be consuls, ambassadors, foreign dignitaries. All else are subject to our jurisdiction. Who is exempt from the jurisdiction of the US when on US soil?

[patlin]

correction/calrification:

Tell me, what law did congress pass after the 14th & the expatriation act(1868-1884) which clarified that the US did in fact accept as law the concept of dual citizenship. And for tht matter, why even the need for the expatriation act if dual nationality was in fact part of the law of the land?

[thecodont]

What gave Gray the authority to overturn his ruling that declared the 14th amendment to in fact be constitutional in its wording that denied citizenship to children born owing allegiance to a foreign power.

Chester Arthur appointed two Associate Justices (no Chief Justices).

Gray, Horace | Massachusetts | Arthur | January 9, 1882 - September 15, 1902
Blatchford, Samuel | New York | Arthur | April 3, 1882 - July 7, 1893

The Supreme Court Web site used to be supremecourtus.gov, now it's supremecourt.gov, when did that happen? The site appears to have been redone in the last month or so. The historic list of justices defaults to a graphic timeline instead of the text version. You can still access the text version through a link.