Becoming President: Natural-Born Citizens only or All Citizens?

Chantal Meza

November 28, 2005

American Government

POS 2042

Debate 24: "Becoming President: Natural-Born Citizens Only or All Citizens?"

In Debate 24, Forrest McDonald and John Yinger each defend their opinion on whether natural-born citizens or all citizens should be eligible to become president of the United States. It is safe to say that for the most part every boy and girl has been taught that he or she has the capability to become the next president when they grow up. However, what each boy and girl is not taught is that this statement is not entirely true because it cannot be met by all. According to the Constitution, not every American boy and girl has the chance to lead this country. In fact, any individual that has not been born a citizen of the United States is automatically disqualified from the race to become president. Article II, section I of the Constitution states clearly that only natural-born citizens of the United States can be eligible to become president. This means that foreign-born citizens or naturalized citizens are ineligible. Some may agree that natural-born citizens should be the only ones with the privilege to become president, while others view this as an important civil right that is being taken away from naturalized citizens. In the following debate, Forrest McDonald expresses why he believes natural-born citizens should be the only ones to become president, while John Yinger presents the importance of creating a constitutional amendment to allow foreign-born citizens to be president.

Forrest McDonald, a distinguished university Research Professor of History, believes that only natural-born citizens should become president. He opposes the idea that a constitutional amendment allowing naturalized citizens to be eligible to become president because of the possibility of foreign influence. The fear of foreign influence exists because it can spread and effect people in many different countries. According to McDonald, divided loyalties will always exist if naturalized citizens fill the presidential position. Since the Constitution states conditions for who are eligible to become president, the continuation of the caution by the Framers should be taken into consideration. The original Constitution planned a rather weak presidency. However, now in days, the presidential position has become one of the most powerful. One of the main powers the president obtains is the power as commander in chief. Forrest McDonald strongly feels that he, as well as the majority of Americans, cannot completely entrust such power to a foreign-born citizen. The presidency is a unique position. McDonald feels that a natural-born citizen would be more capable of making crucial decisions. Considering that many of those crucial decisions pertain to foreign policy and national security and that there are no checks to override the possibility of foreign influence, or alleviate any favoritism for a foreigner's homeland because of a single executive. Forrest McDonald concludes his testimony by stating that our country is best led by the wisdom of the Founding Fathers. He believes that constitutional amendments should be pursued only after careful consideration and when a necessary issue is to be addressed. According to McDonald, this debate does not qualify as a great national issue; thus, in his opinion, to pursue a constitutional amendment would not be necessary.

Unlike Forrest McDonald, John Yinger, a Professor of Economics and Public Administration, believes that the U.S. Constitution's declaration that only natural-born citizens are eligible to become president denies naturalized citizens the civil right to run for president. According to Yinger, failure to allow naturalized citizens this civil right turns them into second-class citizens. The amendment would propose presidential eligibility to all citizens, including naturalized citizens and thus would guarantee that every American citizen has equal rights. Yinger's concern for naturalized citizens is that this situation is a threat on the principle of equal rights for all citizens. Because Yinger does not ignore the concern of foreign influence, he is also very aware that he is against the creation of naturalized citizens becoming second-class citizens. Considering that the heart of our democracy is the principle of equal rights for all Americans, and amendment stating that both natural-born citizens and naturalized citizens can run for president would affirm our nations dedication to equal opportunity.