What Were the Founders' Views of Citizenship?

In this Federalist Society America250 series, experts analyze modern legal and policy debates through the lens of the Founding generation. The Founders gave us the tools to answer many contemporary questions; join us as we explore those answers.

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara and consider the contours of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, join us for a panel discussion looking back to the Founding Era to ask: What were the Founders' views of citizenship?

American citizenship is a priceless gift, but what does it entail? Who can be a citizen? What rights and responsibilities flow from citizenship? And how did the Founders’ answers to these questions differ from contemporary practice? Join us for this discussion exploring how the community that framed the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution understood the rights and duties of citizenship in the American republic, and the implications of that understanding for current debates over immigration.

Featuring:

Richard Brookhiser, Senior Editor, National Review; Historian and Author of What Would the Founders Do?: Our Questions, Their Answers
Prof. Jud Campbell, Professor of Law and Helen L. Crocker Faculty Scholar, Stanford Law School; Author of General Citizenship Rights, Yale Law Journal
Prof. Thomas Lee, Leitner Family Professor of International Law, Fordham School of Law; Author of Natural Born Citizen, American University Law Review
(Moderator) Elle Rogers Bernstein, General Counsel, U.S. Senator Jim Banks

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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.