If you probe the allegiance..then what do you do about :
Bob who was born here of two US citzens and has an allegiance to Saudia Arabia and will bow before the King.
The founding fathers might have thought no such person would be elected.
Isn’t a natural born citizen defined at birth and not what he thinks at the age of 16 and then 20 and then 25, etc.
What’s the definition of allegiance. Allegiance in the mind or merely the country of the father. What if the country of the father cannot be conferred on the child because he was a bastard (as in the case of Obama)
Again, trying to get in the heads of the founders, I think their idea of "probing allegiance" was to assume that if the father and mother were US citizens (pledged allegiance to the US), then they would raise their child the same way.
I take the notion that a US citizen "has allegiance" to a foreign country to mean that the person is a dual citizen, subject to follow the orders of both countries. The US recognizes the right of individuals to expatriate, and Bob should do so.
-- Isn't a natural born citizen defined at birth and not what he thinks at the age of 16 and then 20 and then 25, etc. --
That's how the statutory law works. I've been pondering this point a bit, this morning, and the thought crossed my mind that "natural born," as appearing in the constitution, has a quality similar to "high crimes and misdemeanors" and "advice and consent." That is, the term in the constitutional context has a unique substantive effect, in that it means whatever Congress says it means, as applied in an individual case.
Still, in that context, Congress will (or should - if it wasn't totally derelict) look to external law and history for guidance. If a person is born of US citizen parents, it seems clear that they are "natural born citizens." If born of the King of Saudi Arabia and a US mother, one might have concerns about the child's destiny and suitability for advancing US interests over all other countries. That concern shouldn't evaporate if the child is born in NYC or some other US locale - regardless of what statutory law might say.
-- What if the country of the father cannot be conferred on the child because he was a bastard (as in the case of Obama) --
Good question as to a child born to an unwed mother, and also if the father is literally unknown. In general, it's up to the person claiming citizenship status to prove it - they have the burden to produce evidence of parentage, location of birth, and so forth.