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28 Md. L. Rev. 1 (1968)
Who Can Be President of the United States: The Unresolved Enigma

handle is hein.journals/mllr28 and id is 11 raw text is: Maryland Law Review VOLUME XXVIII WINTER 1968 NUMBER 1 @ Copyright Maryland Law Review, Inc., 1968 WHO CAN BE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: THE UNRESOLVED ENIGMA By CHARLES GORDON* The approach of our 45th presidential election evokes once again the question of constitutional eligibility. Under the presidential quali- fication clause of the Constitution, only natural-born citizens are qualified for this highest office. It is clear enough that native-born citizens are eligible and that naturalized citizens are not.' The recurring doubts relate to those who have acquired United States citizenship through birth abroad to American parents. Can they be regarded as natural-born within the contemplation of the Constitution? In the early stages of the 1968 presidential campaign this question became increasingly urgent, because Governor George Romney of Michigan was a leading contender for the Republican nomination. Governor Romney was born to American citizens in a Mormon colony in Chihuahua, Mexico, and came to the United States with his parents when he was five. Oddly enough, other Republican candidates in recent years have confronted similar difficulties. Barry Goldwater was born in the Territory of Arizona, before it became a state. Governor Chris- tian D. Herter of Massachusetts, a potential candidate in 1952 and 1960, and also Secretary of State during the latter years of the Eisen- hower administration, was born to American parents who were study- ing art in France. Of course, this problem has also faced Democratic candidates. For example, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., once discussed as a possible candidate, was born at the summer home of his parents on Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada. Speculations concerning the presidential qualification clause have thus arisen from time to time. The problem has occasionally been mentioned by the courts. It has also provoked discussion of school- boys and scholars and inquiries to various government agencies. * General Counsel, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center. Coauthor of Gordon and Rosenfield, Immigration Law and Procedure. The views expressed are the author's and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Justice. 1. The naturalized citizen's ineligibility for the Presidency is mentioned in Schneider v. Rusk, 377 U.S. 163, 165, 177 (1964) ; Knauer v. United States, 328 U.S. 654, 658 (1946) ; Baumgartner v. United States, 322 U.S. 665, 673 (1944) ; Luria v. United States, 231 U.S. 9, 22 (1913).

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