Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: ASA Vet
Was Washington a NBC? There were no US citizens at the time of his birth.

I am not trying to take issue with Jus Soli / Jus Sanguinis / Vattel but just want to understand how this reading of Jus Sanguinis can be reconciled with the facts in the case of the Founders.

This is a good-faith question -- I am fine with Sarah or Rand or (if he is Constitutional) Bobby as VP -- though I am putting on my asbestos suit here in any event, meaning that I don't foresee the need to reply unless I have more questions.

Thanks in advance.

27 posted on 06/23/2012 7:59:02 PM PDT by aposiopetic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies ]


To: aposiopetic
President Washington was not a NBC. Our founding fathers being smarter than the idiots we have now, knew there were no NBC's yet. NBC's didn't exist prior to Adoption of the Constitution. Additionally, although beginning in 1787 NBC's began to be born, they wouldn't also meet the age requirement of 35 until at least 1822.

That was the reason the founders stated "citizen at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution." They exempted themselves from the NBC rule so we wouldn't have to wait 35 years to have an eligible person. Notice, they used different terms "Citizen at the time of Adoption" and separately "Natural Born Citizen." The founders knew the difference, so wrote the Constitution in a manner to buy us the 35 years. They could have just declared any citizen eligible, but choose the more restrictive requirement "NATUAL BORN CITIZEN" for the office of President only. For House of Representatives members the founders considered age 25 and a citizen for 7 years as good enough. For Senators, they went with 30 years of age, and 9 years a citizen.

Article II, Section 1:

"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; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."

29 posted on 06/23/2012 9:08:43 PM PDT by ASA Vet (Natural-born citizens, are those born in the country, of parents who are citizens. De Vattel)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson