There is nothing unconstitutional about having a British father.
Chester Arthur’s lies came during his Vice Presidential campaign in 1880. His fraudulent attempt to obfuscate family history provides context and evidence that in 1880 it was recognized that having been born as a British citizen would make one ineligible to be President or VP. His falsification of family history indicates he was aware of POTUS ineligibility.
Not at all. It is unconstitutional to run for President or Vice President if you are the son of a British Citizen.
mlo
“Me Luv Obama”
“Me Lactate for Obama”
The rub is that there's nothing particularly Constitutional about it either, which is at the heart of the debate. Imagine that the British Ambassador, Military Attache, etc. to the US has a child with his spouse that is born at a U.S. Hospital on U.S. soil. Certainly few would argue that the child should not have any issues returning to England someday as a British subject, with British Nationality conferred through his/her parents. Certainly the case could also be made for dual-citizenship, and arguably for "natural born" status here in the U.S. (i.e. "anchor baby").
This is something that our Founders did not specifically address in the Constitution, although a fair case can be made that they did address it elsewhere, or relied on generally accepted definitions of the day. The 14th Amendment muddied the waters as much as they clarified them, but with it remaining in some degree of ambiguity, there is some substance to the argument that Obama's dad, being a British subject, may have conferred British nationality on Obama simply by fathering him. Likewise, US law at the time did not automatically confer US citizenship due to his mother's age and other possible factors, depending on where he was actually born.
LOL! I agree. You can have a father from just about any country. Not prohibited by the constitution.
But if you were born on US soil to a British father, although you are a US citizen, you are not a "natural born US citizen" unless your British father filed and became a US citizen prior to your birth.