Forget About Obama, Was Washington Constitutional?

The Constitution’s text on the issue states “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.” The problem arises due to a pesky comma. Does the clause “at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution” refer only to “a Citizen of the United States” or to both clauses including “a natural born Citizen?” It turns out that according to accepted rules of grammar in 1787, the pesky comma means that “at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution” refers to both antecedent clauses.

This means that the President must be a natural born citizen at the time of adoption or a citizen at the time of adoption, 1789. Any person born after 1789 isn’t eligible to be President of the United States. That makes Zachary Taylor the last constitutional President.

Full article: http://jonathanturley.org/2011/02/20/forget-about-obama-was-washington-constitutional/

(written by guest blogger David Drumm)

but I recall a historian talking about that particular issue mentioning that they pushed it through specifically to spite one of the other big names in the founding circle because the rest didn't like him or something.

But really, it wouldn't make sense because everyone living in the US at the time of the adoption of the Constitution was considered a Citizen at the time of adoption and eligible.

n/t

he was Constitutional either way you look at it.

"The first child of Augustine Washington (1694–1743) and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington (1708–1789), George Washington was born on their Pope's Creek Estate near present-day Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County, Virginia."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington#Early_life_.281732.E2.80.931753.29

- as its commonly know that the founding fathers didn't think the country would survive longer than 50-60 years so they intentionally limited the length of time that the nation could have a president via that section of the constitution. That way their grandchildren would have an opportunity to start over and write another constitution in the event that the first one proved inadequate. The founders felt that 50-60 years would be adequate time to test-run the original document.

Doesn't anyone read history anymore?? Washington wrote about this extensively in his diaries as "The Constitution 60 Year Plan". Poor George . . . so ignored.

Otherwise the clauses would duplicate each other.