From Randy Hughes
Creston
It was exciting to see a letter discussing the U.S. Constitution printed in the Creston News Advertiser. More attention to that document can only be beneficial to all of us.
The letter attributes a quote to President James Madison. I have been unable to find the source of that quote, admitting that I am no Madison scholar. The quote is widely distributed, but never attributed to any letter, speech or other writing of Madison. If the source could be revealed, no one would be better pleased than I. In my reading of Madison’s ideas, I find that the phrasing and vocabulary of that particular quote is atypical.
The letter also gives an interpretation of who is a citizen by virtue of birth in the United States. Interpretation of the Constitution is what has enabled it to survive from its origins in an era of candlelight and horse drawn carriages to the age of nuclear power and jet travel. Until the Constitution is amended or United States v. Wong Kim Ark is superseded, all persons born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens. “All persons” is clear to me.