but citizens at birth are merely a subclass of "natural born citizens," as that latter term was defined by Vattel and understood by the framers of the Constitution.
Pardon my foggy brain, but don't you mean that "natural born citizens" are a subset (a special case) of all people who are "citizens at birth"?
144 posted on 10/30/2011 7:46:18 PM PDT by thecodont