4 ms·

This rule was enacted to prevent Alexander Hamilton from becoming president. He also wasn't born in the US. The term "naturalized" wasn't yet well defined. The

• rfw300 5y ago
  This is a common belief, but it is false. The eligibility provision has an oft-forgotten second clause: > 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; Hamilton was a citizen at the time of the Constitution’s adoption and was therefore eligible to run for president should he have been so inclined.
• rospaya 5y ago
  > The first American born president (born after the revolution) was Van Buren, the first 7 were born British citizens! Van Buren was born in NY, in the US, but was the only president that used English as a second language. Both of his parents were of Dutch descent.