were the slaves naturalized or natural born?
Their citizenship required law so they where naturalized.
Their citizenship required law so they where naturalized.
I agree. This position is further reinforced by the Statement of Chief Justice Waite in the Minor v Happersett case in which he says:
The Constitution does not, in words, say who shall be natural-born citizens.
Well, the 14th amendment says this:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States
So apparently this does not say who shall be "natural born citizens". As the words "natural born" are conspicuously absent, Justice Waite's statement sounds correct to me.