So you think the Framers wrote the 10th because Vattel said that's the way our republic should be organized, rather than they wrote it that way themselves and Tucker, talking about it later, just grabbed the analogy to explain it? I don't think I agree, if so.
jus soli subjects of England had natural-born status because the King said they did.
But earlier you said "[Tucker] never mentioned how the King could MAKE a natural born citizen, because even a King can't do that. A King can proclaim someone to BE natural-born, and insist they are treated AS natural-born......but even a King cannot instill in someone a blood Right they never possessed." So are you saying that some natural-born subjects were "really" natural born by blood, but others were only "proclaimed" natural born? Was this a functional distinction in any way?
Doesn't matter where he was born. The Law of Nations says children take the citizenship of the father, remember?
Vattel's Law of Nations wasn't a rule book, it was a philosophical treatise on the "Principles Of The Law Of Nature Applied To The Conduct And Affairs Of Nations And Sovereigns." Who cares what it says about citizenship? This is our country, we can make our own rules. Besides, as a Mama, I'd expect you to be a little unhappy with the idea that your kids could inherit their father's citizenship but not yours.
do please tell me you didn't mean the 'birther' part as some kind of pejorative.
I confess I've used it that way, but in this case, no. I've tried to come up with a different term, and on threads like these, dealing with just the Constitutional questions, I sometimes say "strict eligibility." But for the whole mishmosh of theories about why Obama's not eligible, "birther" is the only word I can think of.
I am much obliged by the kind present you have made us of your edition of Vattel. It came to us in good season, when the circumstances of a rising state make it necessary frequently to consult the law of nations.
Benjamin Franklin To Charles-Guillaume-Frédéric Dumas, Philadelphia December 9, 1775.
NOTE: There's a 'do you agree to the terms of the website' when you get there. Just click through. Its one of the best resources for letters I've found.
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rather than they wrote it that way themselves and Tucker, talking about it later, just grabbed the analogy to explain it?
He was helping them write it and communicated regularly with members of Congress about the newly emerging Republic. A search here:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/hlawquery.html
for the exact phrase St. George Tucker, brings up ONE HUNDRED returns. Read the letters for yourself.
I would, however, like to say, that despite several of the letters talking about slaves, Tucker was a staunch abolitionist.
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So are you saying that some natural-born subjects were "really" natural born by blood, but others were only "proclaimed" natural born? Was this a functional distinction in any way?
Yes. The Right of Inheretence concerning the 'excepting if the mother or father were aliens' part of the in the English law posted earlier in the discussion.
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Vattel's Law of Nations wasn't a rule book, it was a philosophical treatise on the "Principles Of The Law Of Nature Applied To The Conduct And Affairs Of Nations And Sovereigns."
Really?
Having given you this general idea and description of the law of nations; need I expatiate on its dignity and importance? The law of nations is the law of sovereigns. In free states, such as ours, the sovereign or supreme power resides in the people. In free states, therefore, such as ours, the law of nations is the law of the people.
Of the Law of Nations, James Wilson, Lectures on Law
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Besides, as a Mama, I'd expect you to be a little unhappy with the idea that your kids could inherit their father's citizenship but not yours.
Well, except my part of the family is just a decade short of being here for 400 years, and I pretty certain I've got a grip on the citizenship shell game., but I do sincerely thank you for your concern.
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But for the whole mishmosh of theories about why Obama's not eligible, "birther" is the only word I can think of.
Then since you are an exceptional case, I will never take offense of your using it.
;-)