"US Citizen" musings 1/3
I came across some interesting court cases recently.
1787 – The Constitution for the United States of America is written.
1819 – Just 32 years later, while James Madision, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson were all still alive, the Massachusetts Supreme Court said there were only citizens of the states:
The term, “citizens of the United States,” must be understood to intend those who were citizens of a state, as such, after the Union had commenced, and the several states had assumed their sovereignties. Before this period there were no citizens of the United States. Manchester v. Boston, Massachusetts Reports, Vol. 16, Page 235 (1819)
1821 – Two years later, a federal court said a citizen of one state is a citizen of the other states, as well:
“A citizen of one state is to be considered as a citizen of every other state in the union.” Butler v. Farnsworth, Federal Cases, Vol. 4, Page 902 (1821)
1855 – No such thing as “citizen of the United States”
“A citizen of any one of the States of the Union, is held to be, and called a citizen of the United States, although technically and abstractly there is no such thing. To conceive a citizen of the United States who is not a citizen of some one of the States, is totally foreign to the idea, and inconsistent with the proper construction and common understanding of the expression as used in the Constitution, which must be deduced from its various other provisions.” Ex parte Frank Knowles, California Reports, Vol. 5, Page 302 (1855)
1868 – 14th Amendment adopted. In the main body of the US Constitution, anyplace where “Citizen” was written, the word was capitalized. Starting with the 14th Amendment, and all amendments thereafter, the word “citizen” was lower-case. Interesting.
1873 – Just 5 years after the adoption of the 14th Amendment, federal courts said this:
The term resident and citizen of the United States is distinguished from a Citizen of one of the several states, in that the former is a special class of citizen created by Congress. U.S. v. Anthony 24 Fed. 829 (1873)
1875 – 2 years after that, we have the US Supreme Court stating:
We have in our political system a government of the United States and a government of each of the several States. Each one of these governments is distinct from the others, and each has citizens of its own. United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542 (1875)
1883 – 8 years later, the Indiana Supreme Court said:
One may be a citizen of a State and yet not a citizen of the United States. McDonel v. The State, 90 Ind. 320 (1883)
1906 – US Supreme Court (this case has never been overturned, and has been cited by other courts over 1,600 times, making it one of the most authoritative court cases in American law):
The individual may stand upon his Constitutional Rights as a Citizen. He is entitled to carry on his private business in his own way. His power to contract is unlimited. He owes no duty to the State or to his neighbors to divulge his business, or to open his doors to an investigation, so far as it may tend to incriminate him. He owes no duty to the State, since he receives nothing there from, beyond the protection of his life and property. His rights are such as existed by the Law of the Land (Common Law) long antecedent to the organization of the State, and can only be taken from him by due process of law, and in accordance with the Constitution. He owes nothing to the public so long as he does not trespass upon their rights. Hale v. Henkel 201 U.S. 43 at 89 (1906)