Question! What/where is the 1790 law that would make a Cuban citizen in the 1900s a USA citizen automatically?
Relying upon this Act can be problematic, since such a declaration via Nationality Act only existed for five years, being rescinded and replaced in 1795, with language identical save the removal of the critical phrase “natural-born,” meaning that by law individuals born “beyond sea” ie in a foreign land to a US citizen father with certain residency restrictions were to be regarded as “citizens.”
That the 1790 Act existed at all does speak to Original Intent however, since the first Congress was largely comprised of Founders. I've taken the existence of it to mean that the Founders did not originally intend to preclude Presidential eligibility to all individuals born to a citizen father abroad.
I've also taken the 1795 Act that replaced it to mean that a blanket attempt to do so was a problem. I believe that was a result of jurisdictional claims in the form of foreign citizenship upon children born with the geographic territories of nations following “jus soli” law.
Others have pointed out that Congress was constrained by the Constitution upon the matter, limited to the creation of a uniform set of naturalization laws across the Several States.
Read the 1790 law and look at the very non-specific way it refers to the father simply residing in the USA.
Then look at the very loose methodology around the nation, and particularly in western Viginia, Pennsylvania, etc. — the frontier — regarding fulfilling any citizenship requirements. It called for simply swearing before any magistrate, any place, any time.