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To: William Tell 2; Jim Robinson; All

> I don’t have a working definition of natural born citizen
> and neither do you.

Sure I do. I use what our Founders would have used — Vattel’s definition (see Post 143):

“natural-born citizens” are born in the country of parents who are citizens

Because Obama's father was a British subject at the time of Obama's Jr's birth, the president is clearly not a "Natural-born citizen". I don't know how much more clear this can be.


Vattel is THE reference the Founders used to construct the Constitution.

As shown in Post 143, Ben Franklin used the "Law of Nations" to help lay the foundation of our republic while courting France to help finance the rebellion against the Crown. But he's not the only Founder who used Vattel in its early days ...
so did cousins Samuel and John Adams.

In 1772, Samuel Adams wrote, “Vattel tells us plainly and without hesitation, that "the supreme legislative cannot change the [Massachusetts] constitution."

Then in 1773 during a debate with the Colonial Governor of Massachusetts, John Adams quoted Vattel that the parliament does not have the power to change the Massachusetts Constitution on its own.

John Adams as so taken by the clear logic of Vattel that he wrote in his diary, "The Idea of M. de Vattel indeed, scowling and frowning, haunted me." These arguments were what inspired the clause that dictates how the Constitution is amended. The Framers left no doubt as to who had the right to amend the Constitution: the Nation, (i.e., the individual States and the people) along with the Legislature.


There is also little doubt that the Framers of our Constitution considered both Blackstone and Vattel, and they choose Vattel over Blackstone.

The Founding Fathers placed into Constitutional concept that the loyalty of a Natural Born Citizen is a loyalty can never be claimed by any foreign political power. The only political power that can exclusively claim the loyalty of a "Natural-born citizen" is that power that governs of his birth of citizens of the State.

Vattel — by including the parents and place in the definition — removes all doubt as to where the loyalties of the natural born citizen ought to lie, as Vattel’s definition removes all claims of another foreign power by blood OR by soil, and is the only definition that is in accord with Jay’s letter to Washington.
John Jay - Natural Born Citizen letter


151 posted on 02/02/2010 6:31:18 PM PST by BP2 (I think, therefore I'm a conservative)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 119 | View Replies ]


To: BP2

Just as I thought, Bippy, all you do is quote birther websites.

You don’t know Vattel from Mattel.

Who are you trying to kid?

You know what maybe those voices in your head will give you a definition and you won’t have to go run to a bogus birther website.


154 posted on 02/02/2010 6:41:08 PM PST by William Tell 2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 151 | View Replies ]

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