Laws are designed to create ORDER within society, which is the prerequisite for the concept of equality under the Law. Citizens are most free when they understand the Law, they are most happy when they wake up to a new day and the Law is the same.
As discussed in Part 1, there are bad Laws, laws which result in chaos. There are good Laws which are improperly interpreted, they result in chaos. Chaos is never good for society, for it invites plunder, the stealing from others for the enrichment of the few.
The Living and Breathing interpretation of the 14th Amendment simply ignores the clause: “subject to the jurisdiction thereof”. It may be legal talk, but it encompasses the original intent of the citizenship clause. Some may like it, some may despise it, but that does not matter. What matters is the original intent of the phrase when the Amendment was ratified.
American citizenship is the same as being a member of a family, some are members due to lineage of their families, some are adopted. But whether a descendant or adopted, the result is the same, they are both members of the family. There may be others that want to join the family, that is great, but they cannot just invite themselves to a Sunday dinner. That does not work, there is a process to gain the honor of becoming a family member. The 14th Amendment established a family – the citizens of the United States of America
During the ratification of the Constitution, James Madison, John Jay and Alexander Hamilton wrote a series of essays, The Federalist Papers, that published the discussions, the intent, examples and the meaning of almost every word in the Constitution. Citizens had a text to determine if they approved or disapproved, the original citizens had a set of rules, and they voted. It was a simple act of democracy – the one with the most votes wins. The Constitution won.
Unlike the Federalist Papers, the record of the debates and discussions were recorded by Congressional stenographers, whom documented the proceedings word by word. If one takes the time, one can be in the middle of the discussions, like that fly on the wall; one can glean the Original Intent.
The Civil War was horrendous and created chaos at all levels. As discussed in Part 2, leaders presented solutions in an effort to heal the Nation. There was the 10% Plan, the Wade Davis Plan, the 40 Acres and a Mule Plan, all insufficient. The first great legislation occurred shortly before Lincoln was assassinated, Congress ratified the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude.
The States ultimately ratified the Amendment, but all knew that the Nation had changed, and more was needed. The 13th Amendment corrected the flaws of slavery in the original Constitution, and it reversed the consequences of the Dred Scott decision. However, the Constitution was no longer just a pact which limited the actions of the Federal Government toward the citizens, the 13th Amendment gave Congress the duty of enforcing the new law at the State level.
Soon, Congress realized that more was needed than simple freedom, for many Southerners needed someone to blame for the defeat of their lifestyle, thus they created inhuman Black Codes. To counter the continued abuse of black freedmen, the 39th Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which stated:
“That all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared citizens of the United States.”
Congress understood that citizens have the rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness and they enjoy all the privileges and immunities of citizens. But Congress recognized the obvious, they needed a more permanent law, a Constitutional Amendment to enshrine citizenship of freedmen and address lingering issues from the late war.
A robust discussion created an outline of the issues which were used to create a draft of the Amendment. As discussed in Part 3 and expanded in Part 4, Congress decided that the 14th Amendment was to be a single amendment with five sections, each section addressing a specific issue, with each section requiring ratification within the Amendment. The Amendment included citizenship, apportionment, punishment, debt and enforcement by Law. Representation within Congress by Southern States was granted with ratification.
The citizenship clause of the Amendment is discussed in Part 5 and 6. The Senate detailed the meaning of “subject to the jurisdiction thereof”, they confirmed that is was the same as “not subject to any foreign power” found in the Civil Rights Act. They recognized the danger of uncontrolled immigrate invasions,(1) but they struggled with the concept if one is born – are they a citizen? Ultimately, they agreed that Indians born in the United States did not become citizens by birth, for they had a dual allegiance: their tribe and the United States. The same applied to the children of ambassadors and aliens, who at that time were all legal residents of the United States.
The United States is founded on the principle of Natural Law, which means that citizenship follows the citizenship of the father. Part 7 discusses the existing categories of citizenship at birth – one must have at least one parent who is a citizen, otherwise, one can become a citizen by naturalization.
If the Dred Scott Supreme Court ruling was the worst in history, it is the opinion of the author that the Wong Kim Ark decision was a close second, by fractions of a second, for it went against the Original Intent of the 39th Congress.
United States of America citizenship has value, that is why everyone wants it. But it was never intended for everyone, for as an analogy, it is impossible to create a melting pot which has water and liquid sodium, the explosion would rock eastern Europe.
The Original Intent of the 14th Amendment was to ensure that persons born or naturalization and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States are citizens. Without that bedrock of Original Intent, that knowing the meaning, then there will be chaos, much like is happening today. While the United States of America may have issues, if we focus on the promises of life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, we can solve those issues.
Some Comments and Questions
The 14th Amendment passed even though it did not give birthright citizenship to the children of legal “Indians”. It did not give birthright citizenship to the children of legal ambassadors. It did not give birthright citizenship to the children of legal aliens within the country. It did not give citizenship to Anwar al-Aulaqi, an American born Yeman, whose parents were legally within the US attending college, who was killed in a drone strike ordered by President Obama. The citizenship clause does not recognize dual allegiance.
Do you believe the 14th Amendment gives birthright citizenship to the children of those within our country illegally?
Do you believe the 14th Amendment gives citizenship to children of women who are here practicing “birth tourism”?
In 2019, over 33,000 foreign-born “birth tourism” women gave birth to children, plus 39,000 additional births to legal foreigners.(2) Birth tourism costs thousands to ensure handlers arrange the particulars, but then US citizenship is worth the expense. The practice is that new mothers apply for a Social Security number while in the hospital, then apply for a passport once the number is received. At that time, they may return to their countries, or partake of the welfare program which did not exist prior to the Great Society of LBJ.
This number does not reflect the total number illegal aliens giving birth daily and using the same procedure to get “documentation.” It is not that there may be 100,000 new babies born of non-citizens each year, it is that they are allowed to bring in family, members that have a pathway to citizenship. How many “new citizens” are added due to the compassion of chain migration?
What is the Solution?
First, the Supreme Court must void the Wong Kim decision. Using original intent, we know the meaning of the Citizenship Clause in the 14th Amendment.
Second, citizenship has value. If you win a lottery that was rigged without your knowledge, you must return all money. If you violate the legal standards for evidence, by the concept of Fruit from the Poisonous Tree, none of that evidence can be used in court. And yes, if you receive citizenship in an unlawful manner, it should be revoked. There are methods to legally obtain citizenship. It seems that if the United States is a nation of Laws, perhaps citizenship should fall under the same umbrella.
Citizenship in the United States is the greatest benefit in the world, and it must be protected.
I thank God every day that I am a natural-born citizen.
Tom Weaver, Patriot © March 2, 2025
- Congressional Globe, 39th Congress Session 1, S.p. 2890 (May 30, 1866)
- https://cis.org/Press-Release/Estimate-Births-Tourists-Foreign-Students-and-Other-Visitors
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