What If , Marquis de Lafayette is presiden

The obvious answer is that he was ineligible as not being a natural-born citizen. However, several states gave him citizenship in the 1780's, so you could argue that he was eligible as a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of the Constitution. Note the Maryland General Assembly Act of 1784:
"Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland--that the Marquiss 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 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 Immunities, Rights and Privileges." http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E00EFDE1F3BEE3ABC4F53DFBF668382609EDE

Remarkably, one of Lafayette's descendants decided to test this provision as late as the1950's--and while the conclusion is not clear, this may be one of the few instances where *Dred Scott v. Sandford* is still good law! https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.talk.royalty/dhcr5LFibgo/6oETXw9AbuQJ
 
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Keeping in mind the above, the biggest gap is probably Lafayette wanting to go home to be France's own George Washington. But, let's say the revolution was quashed pretty early on; in that case, maybe he flees to America, and runs for office. Butterflies from an aborted French Revolution mean who he runs against could be up in the air.
 
Well, Jefferson offered Lafayette the governorship of Louisiana, but he demurred. I actually tried to start a discussion about this very same topic about a year ago. Now, one of the problems is that Lafayette was a staunch opponent to slavery. Even if he were to take the governorship and secured election after it attained statehood, a staunch anti-slavery proponent would have difficulty gaining the nomination of a natural party (now, he might have been able to blunt slavery in Louisiana, and buttress French culture in that state by inviting emigration of anti-Napoleon Frenchmen during that time). Now, a further problem is that the romanticism of Lafayette is based on the fact that he was French, was involved in French politics, and did not meddle in American affairs. The second he becomes an American politician, and was forced to take a stand on American political issues, that romanticism is going to die a quick and messy death.

Now, does that mean that he wouldn't still find a nomination due to his celebratory status? No. But it would be difficult to say the least. I think the best case would be a successful governorship, curtailing (probably not ending, at least at first) slavery in Louisiana, and a strengthening of French culture in that state. He is likely a loyal Democratic-Republican and I could see him taking command of US forces during the War of 1812. Maybe we see Lafayette becoming the hero who saved New Orleans. In that later case, a United States without Andrew Jackson is going to be a change from OTL. Not sure how politics would develop, but I could see the Lafayette family becoming entrenched in Louisiana and, maybe, his son being able to run for politics. But, as I said, a timeline without Andrew Jackson is going to be a huge change and I'm not sure how politics would develop (hell, maybe Lafayette becomes a staunch supporter of JQA. In a world with no Jackson, JQA might go down as one of the most successful presidents in the early Republic and, due to my own love of Adams, a utopia to be sure! :D )
 

Saphroneth

Banned
Worth noting that the restriction on people not born in the US is actually not an immutable law of the universe :p
In fact, there's only about eight countries in the world where you have to be a born citizen:
  • Afghanistan
  • Albania
  • Algeria
  • Argentina
  • Colombia
  • Mexico
  • Philippines
  • United States of America

Of these several were based on the US - so I think the born citizen requirement could be recsinded without fuss, perhaps replaced with a simple requirement for (say) sole citizenship.
 
The Consitution considered everyone who was a citizen at the time of its signing a natural born citizen. So Hamilton, Lafayette, etc. were all eligible to run for president.
 
The Consitution considered everyone who was a citizen at the time of its signing a natural born citizen. So Hamilton, Lafayette, etc. were all eligible to run for president.
No. But it WAS 'natural born' OR 'citizen at the time of the adoption of the Constitution'.
However, there's also a residency clause. Had he spent the necessary time (14 years, iirc, but I didn't look it up) in the US?
 
No. But it WAS 'natural born' OR 'citizen at the time of the adoption of the Constitution'.
However, there's also a residency clause. Had he spent the necessary time (14 years, iirc, but I didn't look it up) in the US?

The original post didn't say *when* Lafayette runs for president. He lived, remember, until 1834, so there was plenty of time for him to have lived fourteen years in the US--especially if he accepted Jefferson's invitation to become governor of Louisiana.
 
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