James Buchanan’s father emigrated to the U.S. from Ireland in 1783. When the U.S. Constitution was adopted in 1787 (and ratified in 1788), it conferred citizenship upon everyone living in the States. Therefore James Buchanan’s father was a citizen of the United States when James Buchanan was born in 1791. So, James Buchanan was a natural born citizen.
Chester Arthur routinely lied about his family background in a successful attempt to hide the fact that his father was not naturalized at the time of his birth.
More on that, here:
http://naturalborncitizen.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/urgent-historical-breakthrough-proof-chester-arthur-concealed-he-was-a-british-subject-at-birth/
Article II, Section 1, Clause 5, allowing anyone who was a “Citizen of the United States” at the time of the adoption of the Constitution to be eligible to be President rendered Andrew Jackson eligible.
...and Mitt Romney’s father was born in Chihuahua, Mexico.
The Mexican constitution of 1857, in effect at the time of George Romney’s birth in Mexico, provided only that those born of Mexican parents were Mexican citizens. So George Romney was never a Mexican citizen.
I see. So simply being “foreign born” as a parent is not always enough to disqualify an offspring from being considered natural born under Article II, Section 1.
There is zero proof that Chester A, Arthur ever lied about his father being foreign born. William Arthur was a well known minister in Vermont, He preached with a strong Irish brogue and the issue raised concerning Chester’s eligibility was whether he had been born in Canada or not. Fairfield, Vermont, Chester’s home town is about 15 miles from the Canadian border and the Arthur’s had lived in Canada prior to emigrating to the US.
Finally, the lie that Arthur is famous for is about his age. He took off a year for some bizarre reason.
William Arthur did become a naturalized citizen when Chester was 14 years old,