Trump v. Barbara · ¶156

Blacks were entitled to citizenship because they were Americans. They had no other homeland, owed no allegiance to any foreign power, and were subject to no other authority. They “fought and bled in the same battles,” “gained and gloried in the same victories,” and were “liable to be called upon to defend [America] in time of war” alongside every other citizen. 2 Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass 256, 266 (P. Foner ed. 1950) (Douglass). The Citizenship Clause thus guaranteed them the “dignity and glory of American citizenship,” so as to ensure that they would never be treated as second class under the law. Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U. S. 537, 555 (1896) (Harlan, J., dissenting).

slip opinion, revised 7/01/26
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