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The Constitution
The Constitution states that there is citizenship within the United Sates but it does not specifically say whether anyone is a citizen of either. Article two of the Constitution states that only a natural born citizen of the United States may become the president of the United States. -
Early Civil War
Prior to the Civil war, based on diversity of citizenship access to jurisdiction of the federal courts would have been a considerable controversy.Eventually National citizenship was dependent on state citizenship.Concern was brought up on those that were born or residents in District of Columbia or in a federal territory. -
Civil Rights Act Era
In 1866 congress passed the Cicil Rights Act, this meant that anyone that was born or naturalized in the United States were considered citizens of the United States and the state in which they lived. This meant huge change which was that citizenship depended on birth and not race. All citizens living in each state will all have the same basic rights, this meant the right to hold property and also make contracts. The statue was scripted as forbidding race discrimination among all citizens. -
Fourteenth Amendment
In the spring of 1866 the fourteenth amendment was drafted. This now granted state and national citizenship and language quite similar to the Civil Rights statue and amended by the house. There was debate on restrictions of the grant of citizenship to anyone subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, there was no dispute on a the principle of federal rule of race- blind citizenship based on birth.