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Under your definition a freed slave who could trace his lineage back to the Mayflower would not have been eligible to be president because his parents weren’t citizens at the time of his birth.

I think the 14th amendment was designed to remedy that problem.

The 14th amendment was absolutely not designed to remedy the problem of former slaves becoming president. It was designed to protect the rights of former slaves by making them citizens through a process of mass naturalization.

I've been reading through the debates on the 14th amendment today. They *SAY* it is mass naturalization. The very congressmen who voted on it say it is using the power of congress to naturalize former slaves en masse.

The 14th amendment is a naturalization at birth. Natural born citizens do not need it.