The case had nothing to do with someone born a citizen of the U.S., and never mentioned the phrase "natural born citizen." So why did the author lie and claim that it did?
Bruce, I’ll assume your point about “Natural Born Citizen” not being mentioned in the Venus case is well-intentioned. Perhaps you didn’t know that Emmerich de Vattel, being French,wrote in French. I suppose your argument could be expanded to claim that Vattel himself never mentioned “The Law of Nations.”
Justice Henry Livingstone (the Aide-de- Camp to General Benedict Arnold prior to his defection), writing the unanimous decision in “ The Venus, 12 U.S. 8 Cranch 253 253 (1814)” quoted the entire 212th paragraph of Vattel’s French edition, on page 12 of his ruling, using his own translation.
” Vattel, who, though not very full to this point, is more explicit and more satisfactory on it than any other whose work has fallen into my hands, says:
“The citizens are the members of the civil society; bound to this society by certain duties, and subject to its authority, they equally participate in its advantages. The natives or indigenes are those born in the country of parents who are citizens. Society not being able to subsist and to perpetuate itself but by the children of the citizens, those children naturally follow the condition of their fathers, and succeed to all their rights.”
As mentioned in earlier posts, Ben Franklin stated that Vattel was referenced frequently during the Constitutional Convention.
You may find it useful to read the informative posts above to see if you think Livingston’s “natives” and “indigenes” are the equivalent of “Natural Born Citizen.”
If you read farther,
United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), and
Minor v. Happersett , 88 U.S. 162 (1875) being later cases, specifically do use the term “Natural Born Citizen”.