Before the Civil War, colonization schemes and black laws threatened to deport former slaves born in the United States.
Birthright Citizens tells how African American activists radically transformed the terms of citizenship for all Americans..
With fresh archival sources and an ambitious reframing of constitutional law-making before the Civil War, Jones shows how the Fourteenth Amendment constitutionalized the Birthright principle, and black Americans\' aspirations were realized.
All along they argued that birth guaranteed their rights.
Former slaves studied law, secured allies, and conducted themselves like citizens, establishing their status through local, everyday claims.
Jones explains, no single case defined their status.
Still, Martha S.
They faced formidable opposition, most notoriously from the US Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott.
Birthright Citizens recovers the story of how African American activists remade national belonging through battles in legislatures, conventions, and courthouses.
Before the Civil War, colonization schemes and black laws threatened to deport former slaves born in the United States
