Trump v. Barbara · ¶434

Nothing in the records of the Constitutional Convention supports that conclusion, and the British rule would be a poor fit as an interpretation of the term “citizen” in the provisions governing the qualifications of Members of Congress and the President. An early draft of the Constitution provided that a Representative must have been a “‘citizen of the United States’” for at least three years, but there was opposition to this provision. 2 Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, p. 216, n. 3 (M. Farrand ed. 1911). One delegate argued that three years was not enough, in part because “a rich foreign Nation, for example Great Britain, might send over her tools who might bribe their way into the Legislature for insidious purposes.” Id., at 216. In response, the delegates voted to require seven years’ citizenship for Representatives and nine years’ citizenship for Senators.

slip opinion, revised 7/01/26
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