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Citizenship blog
English as a Common Language Is a Gift to Newcomers, Not a Barrier A shared language is the precondition of a shared public life, and expecting English helps immigrants rise instead of holding them back. Most of Europe Does Not Grant Citizenship by Birth Alone. Here Is the Map Unconditional birthright citizenship is the norm in the Americas and rare among developed democracies, and the American question turns on one amendment. Actual Enumeration, What the Census Clause Requires Every Ten Years The Constitution demands a real count every ten years to divide House seats and electoral votes. What it requires, and the fights since 1790. Subject to the Jurisdiction Thereof, Six Words at the Center of Citizenship Read the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause, the 1866 debate, Elk and Wong Kim Ark, and weigh both readings of its most argued-over phrase. Lincoln's Electric Cord and the Case for a Civic Nation Anyone Can Join America is a creedal nation. Lincoln's electric cord shows how newcomers become fully American, and why assimilation is both possible and required. If New Citizens Must Pass the Civics Test, Graduates Should Pass It Too We ask immigrants to answer questions about the Constitution before they become citizens, and asking graduates the same is the least a school can do. Only Citizens Vote, the Case for Proof of Citizenship When Registering Noncitizen voting in federal elections is already a crime. The case for documentary proof is about verifying a rule that nearly everyone says they accept. Twelve Questions From the Citizenship Civics Test and the Answers Behind Them Twelve real questions from the naturalization civics test, each answered with its source in the Founding, and why a test that asks them is a good idea. Teddy Roosevelt's 1915 Warning Against Hyphenated Americanism, Read Closely A passage-by-passage reading of Roosevelt's 1915 Columbus Day speech on divided loyalty and equal treatment, with what still holds and what the war dated. Natural Born Citizen, the Phrase the Founders Borrowed and Never Defined The Constitution requires the president to be a natural born citizen, a phrase adopted without debate and never squarely defined by the Supreme Court. One Uniform Rule, How the First Congresses Wrote America's Naturalization Laws Article I gave Congress the naturalization power, and four early statutes show a young republic arguing over how long attachment takes to form. Wong Kim Ark and the 1898 Birthright Case, Read Fairly From Both Sides United States v. Wong Kim Ark is narrower than its fans claim and stronger than its critics admit, and a fair reader should see the text on both sides.