Immigrants allowed to become POTUS

Lafayette became a natural born citizen ... of Maryland.

On 28 December 1784, the Maryland General Assembly conferred citizenship on the (French-born) Marquis de Lafayette, using those terms.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland— that the Marquiss (sic) de la Fayette and his Heirs male forever shall be and they and each of them are hereby deemed adjudged and taken to be natural born Citizens of this State and shall henceforth be intitled (sic) to all the Immunities, Rights, and Privileges of natural born Citizens thereof, they and every one of them conforming to the Constitution and Laws of this State in the Enjoyment and Exercise of such Immunites, Rights, and Privileges.

Unfortunately until the 14th amendment (1868), you could be a natural-born citizen of a state but not one of the United States. I still think that he could become president of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation (1781-1789) after the war. This job was fairly similar to that of the modern-day Speaker of the House. He had no real powers other than to "preside," which is actually where the term "president" comes from. It could thus happen between 1785 and 1789.

Otherwise, he could be appointed as Secretary of foreign Affairs or Secretary of War under those same Articles of Confederation. My idea would be to use Lafayette in one of those three positions to modify OTL decisions taken by the Committees of Eleven and the Constitutional Convention (Hamilton was in favor of the use of "citizen" instead of "natural-born citizen").

Another less funny possibility without Lafayette is just to silence John Jay, as he is allegedly the main reason for the "natural-born citizen" clause.

A few links :
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_drafting_and_ratification_of_the_United_States_Constitution
- http://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/john-jay-on-natural-born-citizenship.html
- https://www.jayweller.com/natural-born-citizen-defined/
- https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu...gle.ch/&httpsredir=1&article=7137&context=ylj

Edit :
- New York State gave citizenship to Baron Von Steuben months before Maryland gave citizenship to Lafayette.
- Lafayette was actually a honorary citizen of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and Virginia during his lifetime. He only became a honorary citizen of the United States in 2002.
 
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Lafayette became a natural born citizen ... of Maryland.

On 28 December 1784, the Maryland General Assembly conferred citizenship on the (French-born) Marquis de Lafayette, using those terms.



Unfortunately until the 14th amendment (1868), you could be a natural-born citizen of a state but not one of the United States. I still think that he could become president of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation (1781-1789) after the war. This job was fairly similar to that of the modern-day Speaker of the House. He had no real powers other than to "preside," which is actually where the term "president" comes from. It could thus happen between 1785 and 1789.

Otherwise, he could be appointed as Secretary of foreign Affairs or Secretary of War under those same Articles of Confederation. My idea would be to use Lafayette in one of those three positions to modify OTL decisions taken by the Committees of Eleven and the Constitutional Convention (Hamilton was in favor of the use of "citizen" instead of "natural-born citizen"). Lafayette could even more straightforwardly be part the Committee of Eleven that was presided by Washington...

Another less funny possibility without Lafayette is just to silence John Jay, as he is allegedly the main reason for the "natural-born citizen" clause.

A few links :
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_drafting_and_ratification_of_the_United_States_Constitution
- http://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/john-jay-on-natural-born-citizenship.html
- https://www.jayweller.com/natural-born-citizen-defined/
- https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu...gle.ch/&httpsredir=1&article=7137&context=ylj

Wouldnt he be eligible as a citizen at the time of adoption of the Constitution, though?
 
Wouldnt he be eligible as a citizen at the time of adoption of the Constitution, though?

As he was a "natural born citizen" of Maryland, you could use the Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution to consider him de facto as a "natural born citizen" of the United States, but yeah it’s more about safeguarding citizen rights than citizenship... prior to amendement 14, nothing clearly defined Federal citizenship. And there is still the (continuous) residency clause of 14 years old...

It’s far easier to modify the results of the Committees of Eleven or the Constitutional Convention for whatever alternate history reasons, in order to remove/butterfly the stupid natural born clause.

Tabula rasa !
 
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As he was a "natural born citizen" of Maryland, you could use the Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution to consider him de facto as a "natural born citizen" of the United States, but yeah it’s more about safeguarding citizen rights than citizenship... prior to amendement 14, nothing clearly defined Federal citizenship. And there is still the residency clause of 14 years old...
Lafayette was in USA 1777-1781. After his return in 1781, he OTL visited in 1784 and 1824 and died in 1834.

If during his 1784-1785 trip, Lafayette decides to stay... he´d count 14 years residence by 1798 at the latest, and possibly 1794 if he gets his presence in 1777-1781 counted as "residence".
Steuben arrived in 1777 and stayed. He´d die in 1794.

In 1788, neither Lafayette nor Steuben would yet qualify under 14 years residence, unlike Washington. In 1792, Steuben would and Lafayette might, but Washington was running for reelection. In 1796, Steuben was dead, Washington was not running again... and Lafayette might qualify.

Which election between 1796 to 1832 would have best odds for Lafayette?
 
Lafayette was in USA 1777-1781. After his return in 1781, he OTL visited in 1784 and 1824 and died in 1834.

If during his 1784-1785 trip, Lafayette decides to stay... he´d count 14 years residence by 1798 at the latest, and possibly 1794 if he gets his presence in 1777-1781 counted as "residence".
Steuben arrived in 1777 and stayed. He´d die in 1794.

In 1788, neither Lafayette nor Steuben would yet qualify under 14 years residence, unlike Washington. In 1792, Steuben would and Lafayette might, but Washington was running for reelection. In 1796, Steuben was dead, Washington was not running again... and Lafayette might qualify.

Which election between 1796 to 1832 would have best odds for Lafayette?
OTL he lived to 1834, in 1832 He would have been 75. In 1896 he would have been only 39, quite young for a president, but He has the prestige of a war hero general (when he was only 19). He could provoke the Southern establisment during His office which had a large influence though.
 
Which election between 1796 to 1832 would have best odds for Lafayette?

Im thinking 1796, 1800, 1808, or 1816; guessing hed run as a Federalist since OTL he advocated for the Constitution and his views on slavery would push him away from the Republicans. 1796 was won by a Federalist OTL, and 1800 was close enough that his popularity might have swayed it. In 1808 he could capitalise on the Embargo, and 1816 would be possible with a worse War of 1812. After that though the Revolutionary generation is losing political relevance and his views on slavery will start to seriously hurt his chances. That being said 1824 was enough of a mess that he *might* have a shot...
 
The most obvious names (besides Kissinger and Schwarzenegger) are Carl Schurz (Liberal Republican/Democrat 1872) and John Peter Altgeld (Democrat/Populist 1896)--though I doubt that either of them would win the general election. Jennifer Granholm was another possibility. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Granholm Also, Robert F. Wagner, Sr. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Wagner And there's Ferdinand Pecora: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Pecora

A long shot would be the Canadian-born S. I. Hayakawa.

Sorry for the late reply but are you sure that Schwarzenegger could have become POTUS, if immigrants were allowed to become POTUS?
He's a socially liberal Republican, which allowed him to be elected Governor of California, but, in a national level, his socially liberal views would alienate much of the Republican basis.
 
Sorry for the late reply but are you sure that Schwarzenegger could have become POTUS, if immigrants were allowed to become POTUS?
He's a socially liberal Republican, which allowed him to be elected Governor of California, but, in a national level, his socially liberal views would alienate much of the Republican basis.

I realize that, but for a while even conservative Republicans were fascinated by his ability to win votes in heavily Democratic California. It was after all Orrin Hatch who proposed a constitutional amendment which everybody knew (despite disclaimers and "it could be used by Jennifer Granholm, too!" arguments) was designed to enable Schwarzenegger to become president: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Opportunity_to_Govern_Amendment
 
I realize that, but for a while even conservative Republicans were fascinated by his ability to win votes in heavily Democratic California. It was after all Orrin Hatch who proposed a constitutional amendment which everybody knew (despite disclaimers and "it could be used by Jennifer Granholm, too!" arguments) was designed to enable Schwarzenegger to become president: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Opportunity_to_Govern_Amendment

I had read about that proposed amendment just before posting the comment. However, I'm still skeptical that Schwarzenegger could, ever, win a Republican primary. What Orrin Hatch thought and what his basis thought regarding Schwarzenegger may have been very different things.

As for Kissinger, IMO, he doesn't have the kind of personality to be President, his personality fits much more, what he actually was, a diplomat.
 
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I'm surprised no one has menchend alexander Hamilton yet.

Hamilton was eligible to become President as a citizen at the time of ratification. However, by the point in his career where it has become a possibility (i.e. after Washington leaves office) he is bogged down by scandal and personal issues that'll make it all but impossible for him to become president.
 
Instead of its OTL text, the US Constitution's Article II, Section I, Clause 5, reads:

No person, who has not been a citizen of the United States for fourteen years, and resident within them for the same, or a citizen at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years.

Thus, immigrants are legally able to become president, but nativist sentiment remains unchanged by this POD (though of course it can be impacted down the line). Does this ever happen? Who might become a foreign-born president?
Giuseppe Garibaldi had been extremly popular in US. I dont know about his English skills.
 
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