The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1884-10-02
WASHINGTON, D. c., |
SL 10 1904

sept. ~, 1854.
Captain John F. oglevee, Columbus, o.:
DEAR SRI have your letter of
the 17th asking for the facts as to the
conventions made with sundry Eul O.
pean powers touching naturalization.
If you will turn to a volume pub
lished in 1871, being the treaties and
conventions made by the United
States Government since July 4, 1776,
you will find arranged alphabetically
the various conventions to which you
refer. They are eight in number, and
include, in the order in which they
were negotiated, the North German
Union, Bavaria, Baden, Wurtemburg,
Belgium, Sweden, Norway. Great
Britain, and Austria. These conven-
tions are substantially alike. As be-
ing of chief interest, [ quote the first
article Of the convention between the
United States and Great Britain,
which was proclaimed September 16,
1870:
"Citizens of the United States Of
America who have become, OR shall
become, and are naturalized
W law HlGulu Duc
British dominions as Brit
ish subjects, shall, subject to the pro-
visions of article 2, be held by the
United States to be in all respects and
for all purposes British subjects,
and shall be treated as such by the
United Sta es.
"Reciprocally, British subjects who
have become, or shall become, and are
naturalized according to law within
the United States Of America as citi-
zens thereof, shall, subject to the pro-
visions of article 3, be held in all re-
spects and for all purposes citizens of
the United States, and shall be treat
ed as such by Great Britain"
The second article which is alluded
to in the first relates to the method of
either class resuming the citizenship
Of their original country.
It is interesting to note that this
admission by the European powers OF
the validity Of our naturalization laws
and Of the rights which thereby at
tach to the naturalized citizen, was
made after a controversy OF nearly
sixty years. The question, which was
one Of the isshes of the war of 1912,
was not mentioned in the treaty of
peace. Great Britain still maintaining
the doctrine of "once a British sub
iect always a British subject" Mel
ther of the old parties in this country
proved able to settle this dispute.
It remained for the Republican par
tv instinct. with a love of liberty, to
wrest from the powers Of Europe this
Just concession to the dignity OF
American citizenship. which had re-
ceived in 1866 at their hands its crown
in the fourteenth amendment to the
Constitution.
That amendment, as you may re-
member, in its first section declared
that ''all persons born or naturalized
within the United States and subject
to the Jurisdiction thereof are citizens
of the United States and Of the State
wherein they reside" 1t was but nat
ural that the Republican party, hay
ing thus first defined American citl-
zenship and declared its pfoteotion a
duty Of the Government of the Unit
ed States, should proceed to make
good that pledge by requiring from
all the powers an acknowledgment OF
those rights which placed upon an
equality everywhere, in those jurisdic-
tions, native~born and our naturalized
citizens. 1t is the misfrtune Of the
Democratic party that it resisted
unanimously and to the end the adop-
ton of that amendment and thereby
sought to defeat the great declaration
from which have logically proceeded
all these results.
Prior to this era no naturalized citi-
zen could have a sense of personal Sc
curity in revisiting the land of his orr
gin. Since that time his rights have
been as clear as those. Of the native
born American sojourning within that
jurisdiction. Explain the fact as one
may, it yet remains true that this
great boon to the naturalized citizen
was the gift Of Republicanism and
that its maintenance will be point
of honor and a duty with it thence
forward. Very respectfully yours,
EDWARD MCPHERSON, Sec'y.