“Meaning, where did the idea of natural born citizen come from if not Vatel?”
The answer/argument from the other side is “English common law” and Blackstone. It’s the line of reasoning used in Wong Kim Ark.
“it had to come before the cases you cited.” It did indeed, and in many relevent cases, English rulings and Blackstone were cited.
The answer/argument from the other side is “English common law” and Blackstone.
Well that's nice to know. Do you agree with that assessment?
It did indeed, and in many relevent cases, English rulings and Blackstone were cited.
Ah, I see.
I defer to greater minds...
The Framers Used Emer de Vattel, Not William Blackstone to Define a “Natural Born Citizen”
As James Brown Scott has correctly stated: "It is therefore to be expected that, when terms of municipal law are found in the Constitution, they are to be understood in the sense in which they were used in Blackstone's Commentaries; and when the law of nations is referred to, that its principles are to be understood in the sense in which Vattel defined them." James Brown Scott, The United States of America: A Study in International Organizations 439 (1920). There is little doubt that citizenship properly falls under the law of nations and not under the rules of municipal law.
A very informative article, IMO.