The Birthright Citizenship Act

Some Members of Congress have introduced bills to eliminate birthright citizenship for the children of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally or on temporary visas. The “Birthright Citizenship Act” (HR 1868), introduced by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) has 91 cosponsors. A bill by Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA) would restrict birthright citizenship to the children “of a mother who is a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States.”

Just about everyone who has read the Fourteenth Amendment can clearly see the politicking and potential corruption that could easily be caused by the amendments wording. Yet, we believe one still should see the entirety of the situation at the time of its writing to fully understand how Congressional elected officials could present and rush through a piece of legislation that in all seriousness – no one could be proud of authoring.

As most will admit the U.S. Constitution is more of how the federal government is supposed to limit itself, while producing guidelines on how to ensure safety, protection, laws, courts, and separation of powers within that government. The Constitution is a brilliant document that took a lot of men (and their women) years to produce; however, it was never intended to be scripture or Bible, Torah, or Qur'an like.

So many people revere the Constitution as if it were a holy book or artifact, when in reality it is not. There are clearly some needed changes; however, to get any Congress to do such is out-of-bounds or even reasonable. As we look deeply at the Fourteenth Amendment, hopefully it will become obvious just where changes are needed and why. Therefore, let’s look at some of the issues that the Thirty-ninth Congress had to address much sooner than later.

Of course the matter of Dred Scott v. Sanford needed to be cleaned up before anything else could reasonable get done. In 1857 the Supreme Court had ruled that no black of African descent (even a freed black) could be a citizen of the United States. Furthermore, even prior to the1860s blacks were counted as 3/5ths of a person.

Therefore the Fourteenth Amendment was necessary to over-turn Dred Scott and to settle the question of the citizenship of the newly freed slaves. Now imagine that – need some changes to an unethical law that is antiquated? Congress immediately went to work on it. It must be clearly noted that this was during the Reconstruction Era and the Congress had an enormous amount of matters to settle – especially since the nation had been broken into two parts with separate ideologies on how things were to be managed.

There is a cliché that states: “To the victors go the spoils…” ostensibly meaning if you’ve gone to war and won then you are entitled to take or gather what you want. This was not the case with the United States “Union” government; however, no mistake should be made – over 600,000 men, women, and children died as a direct cause of this war and of course the North wanted some reparations from the South.

If possible think of two separate nations deluxe with governments, legislatures, judiciary, even money designed in your country’s standards. As in all wars the winning side does not want their former enemies to rebuild – especially its war making equipment. Furthermore, think of the South as the agrarian labor intensive providers of the entire nation, who had racked up enormous war debts that they couldn’t pay and for having hundreds of thousands of slaves that instead of being paid for were able to go free. The South had suffered incalculable losses.

The North was bent on what all victors nearly die for – the admission that they had won the war. Moreover, the North wanted various and sundry punishments for those who had left the Union on the State level, Confederate level, including the Confederate president, generals, and other high-ranking men of war.

However, citizenship loomed over those who fought and were not free; Dred Scott needed overturning, and the Fourteenth Amendment needed to be cleared for the forthcoming Civil Rights Act of 1866. (End Part 2)