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What Defines Eligibility? Is the presidential candidate “natural born”? “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.” Article II, Section 1. I am about to launch a longstanding, much-debated issue…touching only the high points of my understanding to this point. Stay with me, because these two descriptive adjectives demand some attention and much importance. Definitely, natural born has nothing to do with human gestation or birth process: Caesarean, breach or normal delivery. I will set out to show that this more restrictive qualification has everything to do with being born of citizen parents. Though the Constitution does not define natural born, obviously, the Framers of the Constitution knew its meaning very well. They used it only once in Article II, Section 1, borrowing the term from an international treatise known as the Law of Nations (Vattel) referred to in Article I, Section 8. It added a specific, necessary, distinctive and more restrictive qualification for any presidential candidate. Wisely, they gave Congress enumerated powers to enforce any violations against the Law of Nations, including this one. Remember, the U. S. presidency is the most powerful position with which WE THE PEOPLE can vest a person. So, a candidate has to be 1) at least 35 years old, 2) a resident of the United States at least 14 years, 3) natural born (born of citizen parents) or, 4) a citizen at the time the Constitution was adopted, (not an inhabitant or a foreigner or anyone in the process of being naturalized). Well, then, how does natural born stand apart from native born or naturalized citizenship? Generally speaking, there are two distinct claims to U.S. citizenship: 1) native born (jus soli, the place of birth determines citizenship); and, 2) naturalized, (lex soli, by law) a declaration of citizenship by meeting certain requirements. If natural born meant native born or naturalized, then why use it? Undoubtedly, natural born has a specialized meaning and application to this high office. For obvious reasons, launching the new U.S. Republic in 1787, the Framers would have Congress scrutinize every presidential candidate, beginning with the natural born test. They understood that the colonies were populated by common folk and nobility from many other nations, predominantly from England from which they declared independence 11 years earlier. God forbid that the presidency (Commander In Chief) would fall into the hands of one still loyal to England’s Crown! Also, Indians were born on reservations with tribal allegiances. Slaves were inhabitants from various countries and not considered citizens, though having limited or denied rights. Residents were also enemy aliens and foreign diplomats. So, natural born was added to eliminate all chances for ambitious foreigners to be drawn to the office, and by treason be alleged to another country, personality or ideology. Divided loyalty could threaten national security. This was their prime concern and insisted on a natural born citizen. The clue to understanding is Framers always deferred to the a priori Laws of Nature (in The Declaration) above the Law of Nations. The Laws of Nature to which they were avidly devoted are ordained by “nature’s God” and supersede any manmade laws. These were “self-evident” laws, needing no explanation, revealing simple, natural truths that anyone could understand. Among them—“…that all men are created equal and gifted by their Creator with certain inseparable rights…the right to life, the right to live in freedom and the right to pursue a chance to succeed.” It also seemed natural to them that only offspring of citizen parents would qualify to presidential candidacy. Noah Webster defines natural as “to be born or produced; pertaining to nature.” American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828. So, parental citizenship determines if one is natural born. It involves parentage; not the mother as much but the father, by necessity. It requires the citizenship of the natural birth father, especially. If the candidate’s parents were not citizens, then they just might influence their child-candidate to another national loyalty…one of their own nationality…to the worst interests of the United States. Parental citizenship is the very heart of the meaning of natural born. Emer de Vattel (1714-67), a Swiss legal expert, contributed significantly to the foundation of international law and politics by his book The Law of Nations from which Ben Franklin and George Washington drew political perspectives. Vattel writes “The natives, or natural born citizens are those born in the country, of parents who are citizens. I say, that, in order to be of the country, it is necessary that a person be born of a father who is a citizen; for, if he is born there of a foreigner, it will be only the place of his birth, and not his country.” Originally, being natural born was required only of the presidential candidate. However, now, by virtue of Amendment 12 (1804), it is also required of the vice-presidential candidate. “No person except one born to citizen parents of the United States {natural born}, or one who is a citizen at the adoption of this Constitution shall be eligible to the Office of President.” WE THE PEOPLE, The Declaration and Constitution In Today’s English, Serrao, 2010. |
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