Hypothetical question here: Alexander Hamilton was born and raised on the Caribbean island of nevis, NOT one of the 13 colonies that eventually became the United States. But he was, of course, a resident of the United States when we declared independence.
So… IF Hamilton had sought the Presidency, would he have been eligible or not?
Of course he would have; he was a US citizen at the time of the adoption of the constitution.
BTW, although it seems likely that someone born abroad of US parents is eligible to be elected president, the point has never been actually ruled on. When someone named Christian Herter was being proposed as VP sometime around 50 years ago (maybe as a possible replacement for Tricky Dick, I don’t recall) and had been born abroad (I think he father was in the diplomatic corps) the question was raised but never fully answered. Given the decision in the RFK case, I have little doubt that the court would accept his “natural born” status. RFK ran for US senator from NY and someone went to court to get him removed from the ballot on the grounds that his claim to NY residency was pretty thin. The court ruled that maybe so, but let the citizens decide since it they want him to represent them, the court saw no reason to intervene. Given the overtly political nature of the current court, it might depend on how conservative the candidate is, of course. I think that the main reason that the meaning of “natural born citizen” has never been settled is that it appears nowhere else in the constitution or, as far as I know, in statute law. There used to be distinction between naturalized citizen and others, but a person born abroad is a citizen at birth and is not naturalized. Two of my children were born outside the US and I assume they are eligible to be president.
To expand on Hari’s point, compare hamilton to George Washington?
Washington, like Hamilton, was born in a British colony, but was not born in the United States. Neither one was “a natural born Citizen.” But there’s never been any doubt that Washington was “a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution,” and threfore was eligible to serve as President.
Hamilton would have been in the same position.
I’d simply add that George Romney was born outside the legal boundaries of the U.S. to parents who were American citizens and the consensus at the time he was running in primaries was that he qualified as a “natural born citizen.”
Well, to make things more complicated, John McCain was born to American citizens in the Panama Canal zone, which was part of the US when he was born, but not when he ran for President.
Hypothetically, lets say McCain was born in the Panama Canal zone to non-citizens. Could he still have run for president?
This is actually a good question.
From my reading, it seems clear that Panama retained its sovereignty, although it suspended the exercise of its authority. This makes it pretty much like Guantanamo, so a child born there to non-citizens would not qualify for US citizenship.