Understanding the term: Natural Born Citizen

As the Obama Birth Certificate argument reaches the mainstream, and while the Left argues the issue should be over and done with because it has been proven that Obama was born in Hawaii, while the Right argues Barack Hussein Obama may very well not have been born in Hawaii, I propose a third possibility: Despite his birth place, Obama is not eligible because of his dual allegiance, which exists because he does not fall within the parameters of being a Natural Born Citizen of the United States of America.

To understand this argument, one must understand the term, Natural Born Citizen.

Breaking it down, let us first think about the first word, "Natural." The founders used Natural for a specific reason. Natural means, basically, not of man. So, natural would be a condition that happens outside of law, since law is something created by man. Therefore, simply being a citizen by legal means, like naturalization, does not make one a "Natural" born citizen.

The word "Born" pertains to birth. Birth is important not just because of the "where," but because of the "who." Birth is the natural way to be a citizen, outside of the law, giving both place, and parentage, an important role.

"Citizen." A citizen is someone belonging to a particular nation. To be naturally born as a citizen means the person must be a citizen by birth, and by means outside of man's law.

In American society during the time of the founding of this nation, it was not only important to be born in America. Loyalty was an important factor. Dual loyalty was a dangerous thing, especially during a time of revolution. Therefore, a man with a father that was not born in America, but of British birth, would be considered to have dual allegiance. So, in addition to being born in the colonies, and later the states, one's father must have been born an American as well. Women were, at the time, not as important of a factor. Heirs are sons of their fathers. Citizenship was something, in a sense, you inherited from your father. So, to be a Natural Born Citizen was a person born in America of an American father. Later, as the importance of women grew in society, it became important that a person was the child of two American parents in order to be a Natural Born Citizen.

One reader has repeatedly asked what court cases support my argument, as if the judiciary is the end all of legal matters. Before 1803 the courts were not the arbiters of the U.S. Constitution, and were not originally meant to be. The creeping incrementalism of an ever increasingly powerful judiciary followed to the point that today people think the decisions of 9 people in black robes should always overpower the decisions of the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, and the People.

The founding fathers never intended for the courts to have that kind of power, which is why law was not made by the courts when these questions arose. In fact, often times they depended on common law which was enforced by the people's actions and voting tendencies. In the case of a Natural Born Citizen, it was apparent to the founders what was meant by the term, so little was done to clarify it. This is not to say there were not writings, and some legal clarifications made. I am only saying that a lot of explanation was not presented because the founding fathers felt that the words, "Natural Born Citizen" was clarification enough.

Now, we find ourselves living with a liberal slant to our society, and with a liberal interpretation of the U.S. Constitution that basically says, "It means what we say it means by our own definition."

I prefer to stick with the original intentions of the founding fathers.

With all of this said, it becomes apparent to me that by the very fact that Barack Obama's father was born in Kenya, and held a Kenyan loyalty, Barack Obama does not fit the definition of Natural Born Citizen.

In short, even though I still believe there is something fishy going on regarding Barack Obama's Birth Certificate, in the end it really doesn't matter.

Obama did not inherit Natural Born Citizenship from his father because it was not his father's to give. If Obama's father had been born on American soil, despite a Kenyan lineage from his grandfather, then it would be an entirely different situation. But in the case of our current President, Obama's father was born in the nation of Kenya, making the elder Obama a non-American.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Defining Natural-Born Citizen - The Federalist Blog, P.A. Madison

OF OUR NATIVE COUNTRY, AND SEVERAL THINGS THAT RELATE TO IT, Section 212, Citizens and Natives - Vattel: The Law of Nations: Book I

Vattel: The Law of Nations: Prefaces to the various editions