The Constitution, and ensuing Amendments, identify three distinct types of citizens:
1) "Natural born" (no hyphen) Article II, Section 1, US Constitution
2) Person born - 14th Amendment
3) Naturalized - 14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment clearly establishes full equality between the "person born" and the "naturalized" citizen, forbidding the States from making or enforcing any law which will "abridge the privileges or immunities" of those citizens.
The Constitution further leaves the election of the President to the States, via the electoral college.
It stands then to reason then, that the States could not deny a naturalized citizen the privilege of serving as President.
That is patently false however, as we know that a naturalized citizen cannot serve in the capacity of President of The United States.
This means that to be a natural born citizen one must satisfy a higher standard than just being born in the US. The "person born" mentioned in the XIV Amendment attains citizenship via geographical location, and the "naturalized" citizen via act of Congress, but a "natural born" citizen's citizenship is a birthright, passed down from parents (plural) who are also citizens.
The Framers understood the definition, because they borrowed the term from Vattel, They did it, in my opinion, to avoid Presidents with any level of loyalty to the Crown.
Excellent post. And welcome to the forum.
Another recent occurrence was in 1968, with the Mexican-born George Romney.
"While Romney was born in Mexico, he was still considered to be a viable and legal candidate to run for president. His Mormon grandfather and his three wives fled to Mexico in 1886, but none of them ever relinquished their citizenship. While the Constitution does provide that a president must be a natural born citizen, the first Congress of the United States in 1790 passed legislation stating: 'The children of citizens of the United States that may be born beyond the sea, or outside the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural-born citizens of the United States.' Romney and his family fled Mexico in 1912 prior to the Mexican revolution. However, the Naturalization Act of 1795 repealed the Act of 1790 and removed the language explicitly stating that the children of US citizens are natural-born citizens. As such, it is inconclusive whether Romney was eligible for the office of President."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Romney_presidential_campaign,_1968#Eligibility
