Just like the late night TV hosts, we are sometimes amused when listening to the back and forth between the presidential candidates. Albeit from a different perspective. 

Recently, we followed up on claims about candidates' eligibility based on  Article 2 of the Constitution to help us understand the requirement. Article 2 states, in part, that, " No person except a natural born citizen... shall be eligible to the office of President ." A quick google search returned several articles and analyses tackling the issue through statutes, historical intent and judicial philosophy. It seems the experts firmly and absolutely conclude that.... US presidents must be born on US soil!  ...Or, need not be born on US soil! ...Or, acknowledge that it could actually go either way.

 

It's an interesting issue and one that prompts interesting questions.

If you know a young debater, take a moment to read that portion of Article 2 out loud and ask them what they think it means. Why should we have this requirement? Why should we not? Ask them to think about potential outcomes of the rule.

At DebateAble, we know that there's always more than one way to consider any issue, and we know that kids become stronger debaters and critical thinkers when they are taught to explore different arguments and viewpoints-- whether or not they agree with them!

Fun fact! Martin Van Buren, our country's eighth president, was the very first "natural born" president in every sense of the word: he was born on US soil to two parents who were both US citizens at the time of his birth.