A Common Sense Definition of a “Citizen” and a “Natural Born
Citizen” By: Mario Apuzzo, Esq.September 1, 2011 The Framers of
the Constitution called all those who made up the citizenry of
the new Constitutional Republic “Citizens of the United States.”
We know this from reading the following constitutional Articles:
Article I, Section 2, Clause 2 provides that, in addition to
being at least 25 years old and when elected to be an
“Inhabitant” of the State in which he shall be chosen, a
Representative must be a “Citizen of the United States” for 7
years. Article I, Section 3, Clause 3 provides that, in addition
to being at least 30 years old and when elected to be an
“Inhabitant” of the State in which he shall be chosen, a
Representative must be a “Citizen of the United States” for 9
years. The Framers provided in Article I, Section 2 and Section
3 the eligibility requirements for then and future
Representatives and Senators, respectively, which were, among
other things, that each had to be at least a “Citizen