Source: Law & Liberty
by Michael D Ramsey
“[The 14th] Amendment’s framers chose a phrase that was well-defined in pre-enactment law. ‘Subject to the jurisdiction’ of a nation meant under sovereign authority, and it included everyone within sovereign territory apart from foreign sovereigns, diplomats, and armies. This view of citizenship followed from the longstanding English common law rule called jus soli, which as explained by Coke and Blackstone, made everyone born in England an English subject regardless of the status of their parents. … American common law generally followed the English rule in the pre-Civil War period, substituting citizenship for subjectship. … This broad view of citizenship did not extend to children of slaves, tribal Native Americans, or persons with diplomatic immunity. But as indicated by the authorities above (among many others), it extended to everyone else. Or at least it did until some states began denying citizenship to native-born free persons of African descent …” (02/13/25)
https://lawliberty.org/the-originalist-basis-of-birthright-citizenship/