The citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment has not been an issue for most of the time it has been in force. Before the Fourteenth was ratified, July 9, 1868, each state had its own definition of citizen. Those laws included whoever the state had wanted to be a citizen. In many states, Blacks, Indians, and women were excluded, and in some states there was a requirement that an adult male paid taxes to become a citizen. When it was written, the intention was that Black people, ...
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