When was the law passed that you need to be born in the USA to be president?

Answer 1

According to the United States Constitution, to become president you not only have to be a citizen of the U.S., you have to be a natural-born citizen. A natural-born citizen is someone born on US soil or on foreign soil, but to parents who are US citizens.

Answer 2

Since day one of the US. The US Constitution specifies that you must be a natural born US citizen to qualify for Presidency. Article 2 Section 7 also states that they must have lived in the US for 14 years. And must be at least 35 to be elected president. See the related question below about President Obama's citizenship for the quote of the actual article of the Constitution that addresses and defines natural born citizen and other requirements for holding that office.

Answer 3

You do not have to be born on US soil, known as native-born, but have to be a natural-born, born on US soil OR born to US citizens citizen, citizen. Although I believe it was drafted when the original constitution was written, It was the Naturalization Act of 1790 that made it official. This document laid the definition of what it means to be a natural-born American citizen.

Answer 4

Never. The US Constitution requires that any prospective President must be a "natural-born" citizen (with the fairly obvious exception that anyone who was a citizen at the time of the adoption of the Constitution was also eligible, since there were no "natural-born" citizens anywhere near 35 years old at the time).

Natural-born citizens are not limited to those born in the US, which is why the whole "Obama wasn't born in the US" thing is stupid. His mother was a US citizen, making him a "natural-born citizen" regardless of where his physical place of birth was.

Answer 5

U.S. Const., Art. II, Sec. 1, Cl. 5:

"No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, 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, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."

This requirement was drafted in the original text of the Constitution, and became effective when New Hampshire voted to ratify the Constitution on June 21, 1788. It has not been altered by amendment since that time. It continues to be the law today that only an individual who is a "natural born Citizen" is eligible to the office of President. This has been defined as an individual who is considered a born citizen of the United States under U.S. citizenship law (i.e., a citizen of the United States who is not a naturalized citizen of the United States) that is, it includes people not born on U.S. soil, as long as by U.S. citizenship law the person is considered a born U.S. citizen.

Technically, a candidate for President need not be a born citizen, but since only a born citizen could constitutionally be sworn into office as President, it would be pointless for a candidate who is not a born U.S. citizen to pursue the office.

Note that the status of being a born U.S. citizen is not a prerequisite to be elected Governor of a U.S. State. Therefore, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, who is not considered a born U.S. citizen by U.S. citizenship law, having been born in Austria, would have been constitutionally ineligible to the office, as would have Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, who is not considered a born U.S. citizen by U.S. citizenship law, having been born in Canada.

Answer 6

When the constitution was created on September 17, 1787. It is in the second article fourth clause which states " No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution". So to answer your question, it was at the time of adoption of the constitution which was on Sept 17, 1787.

Answer 7

1787/8. It forms part of the original Constitution.

Answer 8

Since the country was founded.