Trump v. Barbara · ¶56

In an opinion by Justice Gray, the Court rejected the Government’s position. Justice Gray explained that the Fourteenth Amendment was merely “declaratory” of the “fundamental rule of citizenship by birth” that prevailed at common law. 169 U. S., at 688. That “same rule,” he wrote, “was in force in all the English Colonies”—“and continued to prevail under the Constitution.” Id., at 658. And its contours were clear. It excluded those recognized as exempt “from the jurisdiction of this country”—the “children of ambassadors” and other representatives of foreign sovereigns, as well as those born in the “alien nations” of Indian tribes. Id., at 675, 681–683, 693.

slip opinion, revised 7/01/26
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