Now that he's gov, there's already talk of a constitutional amendment allowing foreign born naturalized citizens to become president of the USA, in anticipation of a possible run by Arnold Schwarzenegger. But is it necessary?

The clause goes like this:

We've already had a number of presidents (seven, total) that were not born in the USA.

Thoughts?

El Presidente

 

Out of curiousity (because I slept through history) which 7 weren
't natural born citizens? Were they the first 7 presidents? If so it makes sense that they weren't born here. As I mentioned I'm just curous not trying to be an a**.

Personally I don't think they should change it. Our democracy is something that Americans fought & died to create & protect so it should be American's who lead us to the future.

 

I do believe you are correct about the first 7 being from England...I don't know of ANY present day presidents not born in the US of A

 

All were born in what is now the USA.
We declared our Independence on July 4th 1776.
Anyone born prior to that could not have been born in the USA.
There were eight.
(I believe you either forgot William Henry Harrison or considered the two John Adams' to be the same person.)

 

42 men have been President
(unless you include the time when Reagan got shot and the Press Corp asked Alexander Haig, "...who is in charge?")

If you want to get elected, get yourself born in VA,OH,MA or NY.
23 of the 42 (55%) have come from these four States.

VA - 8 (Mother of the Presidents)
OH - 7
MA - 4
NY - 4
NC - 2
VT - 2
TX - 2

One each:
SC, NH, PA, KY, NJ, IA, MO, CA, NE, GA, IL, AR, CN

 

Raoul...After hearing a lot of my Dem friends these past couple of years, G.W. isn't really President (well, that's what they say...), so is it actually 41 men have been President? Or, is Al Gore President and George is filling in for him? Gosh, I'm all confused.

I've also heard that during the end of FDR's presidency, Eleanor actually ran things, so that would be 41/42 men and one woman. Oh wait...can't forget Hillary....oh, never mind.

 

I count Bush, born in Connecticut.

If Gore would have won it would have screwed everything up.
He was born in the District of Columbia.
(talk about being a lifetime politican)

 

I didn't for a moment think you were trying to be an a**. The first seven presidents of the USA were born in colonies of the British Empire, and as such, they were British subjects. President Martin van Buren was the first one born in the USA, but before the present US constitution, in 1782, Kinderhook, NY.

I agree that Americans should continue to lead the USA, so the argument then becomes what constitutes an American? Washington was British until he helped establish the USA. On the other hand, natual born citizens include Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and Jose Padilla, all curiously from New York.

 

Thanks for the info guys. Like I mentioned I slept through history in school. It used to **** my teacher off, but only on days when i was in my cheerleading uniform since he was a football coach.

To me an American is someone who was born in USA & lived the vast majority (75%) of there life in this country. to me you have to live first hand in a country for quite a while to really realize what it needs to help make it better.

 

Hey, Benjamin Harrison (the 23rd President of the Untied States) was from Indiana !

 

Maybe that's where he landed but, he squirted out in Ohio.

(August 20, 1833 at Hamilton County, Ohio)

 

that raoul sure is smart for a simple goat herder.

 

speaking of raoul, isn't it time to start up the raoul for prez thread yet?

maybe this time we can actually get your name on the ballot. too bad about that nasty pic with you and the goat on the motorcycle coming out last time.

 

technecally, before the consitution, there was a "Articles of Confederation" in which the first few presidents were under, then the Constitution came along, and technically Wshington wasn't the first president. He was under the Constitution, but not under the articles of confederation, which was first

 

That is an EXCELLENT question!! I'm a history buff, so here it is. Before July 4, 1776, the colonies operated as separate nations working for a common goal. Think the European Union of today. There wasn't really a President of the USA in the current sense. During the Revolutionary War, America had no real centralized government. Washington was pretty much on his own as the Continental Congress met infrequently due to the extreme danger of being associated with it (several of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were executed). Most work was done by the states themselves.

After the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/artconf.htm if you're interested) had an office of president of the Continental Congress. Somewhat like the Secretary General of the UN these days. Congress could pass laws on a national level, but couldn't enforce them and couldn't levy taxes. Only the states could contribute to Congress' goals.

OK, so back to your original question. John Hanson, of absolutely no relation to the band Hanson, was the first president of the United States. The Articles were adopted in 1781 and he was unanimously elected by Congress (even Washington voted for him!). SIX more guys followed: Elias Boudinot (1783), Thomas Mifflin (1784), Richard Henry Lee (1785), Nathan Gorman (1786), Arthur St. Clair (1787), and Cyrus Griffin (1788).

Gives you a whole new understanding of "We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honour.

El Presidente