Pertinent passage
The Constitution does not, in words, say who shall be natural-born citizens. Resort must be had elsewhere to ascertain that.
At common-law, with the nomenclature of which the framers of the Constitution were familiar, it was never doubted that all children born in a country of parents who were its citizens became themselves, upon their birth, citizens also.
These were natives, or natural-born citizens, as distinguished from aliens or foreigners. Some authorities go further and include as citizens children born within the jurisdiction without reference to the citizenship of their [88 U.S. 162, 168] parents.
As to this class there have been doubts, but never as to the first. For the purposes of this case it is not necessary to solve these doubts. It is sufficient for everything we have now to consider that all children born of citizen parents within the jurisdiction are themselves citizens.
The words 'all children' are certainly as comprehensive, when used in this connection, as 'all persons,' and if females are included in the last they must be in the first.
That they are included in the last is not denied. In fact the whole argument of the plaintiffs proceeds upon that idea.
The purpose of the suite was to suggest that women were granted suffrage under the 14th amendment. The court found that they did not.
Perhaps I miss what people say but it seems to me that the quotes of Minor v. Happersett also says the NBC has to be born in the country of the parent’s citizenship. It is important that there are these requirements together.