“the subsequent situation of James McClure, who though having been born in South Carolina in 1785, was rejected as an American citizen by his government because his English father did not naturalize until two months AFTER he was born. “
Actually, the US government said he WAS a US citizen, based on his birth in the US.
No they did not. They explicitly said he was NOT an American citizen because his FATHER was not a citizen at the time he was born. They later relented (three years later) when South Carolina claimed him as a citizen under South Carolina law, but not before the proof came from South Carolina.
As I mentioned before, Madison WROTE the constitution, and John Armstrong was a member of the Continental Congress when the Constitution was debated.
BOTH of them said he wasn't a citizen of the US unless he could prove he was a citizen under the laws of South Carolina.