JustACommenter

I agree that the clause seems unfair, but if you try to put yourself in the mindset of the founders, it's actually a challenging problem. What makes someone an American? It was clear that it is not ethnic identity and it's not where your ancestors are from, which were the main options prior to the founding of the US.

Also, do be aware it was created with people in the room who were aware of its consequences. Alexander Hamilton signed the document that made it law, and it prevented him from becoming President.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Convention_%28Un...

This case, and the idea that being American has a lot more to do with ideas than with your ethnic origin, are important to my family history.

My grandmother was born in the US. Her mother died when she was young, so she and some of her siblings were sent back to the old country to live with relatives for a while. Eventually my grandmother and her siblings returned to the US, and she married my grandfather, leading to me, a proud American.

The reason this law was important was because my great-grandparents weren't US citizens. In fact, they were prohibited from becoming naturalized US citizens even if they wanted to be ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalization_Act_of_1790 ). Without the 14th amendment, I might not be a US citizen.

Nor would my great-uncle, who served in the US military. It turns out that in 1940 the US military suspected they had a need for Japanese translators. What better way to learn Japanese than to have gone to school in Japan?

My last thought on this topic is a joke:

Q: Who was the greatest German general of World War II?

A: Eisenhower.