CHAPTER VII.

NATURALIZATION BY ADMISSION OF TERRITORY TO STATEHOOD.

78. In general.

79. Louisiana.

80. States carved out of Northwest Territory; in general.

81. - Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.

78. In general.-Section 3 of article 4 of the Constitution provides that "new states may be admitted by the Congress into this Union;" and the second paragraph of the same section declares that "the Congress shall have power to dispose of, and make all needful rules and regulations respecting, the territory or other property belonging to the United States."

So far as the original states were concerned, all those who were citizens of such states became, upon the formation of the Union, citizens of the United States. As remarked by Mr. Chief Justice Waite in Minor v. Happersett, 21 Wall. 162, 167, 22 L. ed. 627, 628: "Whoever, then, was one of the people of either of these states when the Constitution of the United States was adopted, became, ipso facto, a citizen,—a member of the nation created by its adoption. He was one of the persons associating together to form the nation, and was, consequently, one of its original citizens. As to this there has never been a doubt." 79. Louisiana. By article 3 of the treaty of Paris of 1803 (8 Stat. at L. 202) it was provided that "the inhabitants of the

ceded territory shall be incorporated in the Union of the United States, and admitted as soon as possible, according to the principles of the Federal Constitution, to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages, and immunities of citizens of the United States; and in the meantime they shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property, and the religion which they profess."

It was said by Mr. Justice Catron, in his separate opinion in Scott v. Sandford, 19 How. 393, 525, 15 L. ed. 691, 750: "The settled doctrine in the state courts of Louisiana is, that a French subject coming to the Orleans territory, after the treaty of 1803 was made, and before Louisiana was admitted into the Union, and being an inhabitant at the time of the admission, became a citizen of the United States by that act; that he was one of the inhabitants contemplated by the 3d article of the treaty, which referred to all inhabitants embraced within the new state on its admission. That this is the true construction I have no doubt."

In Desbois's Case, 2 Mart. (La.) 185 (decided in 1812), one Desbois, of French birth, applied for a license to practise as a counsellor and attorney at law in the superior courts of Louisiana, and by one of the rules of the court the applicant could not be admitted unless he was a citizen of the United States. Desbois conceded that he had no claim to citizenship by birth, nor by naturalization under the acts of Congress to establish an uniform rule on that subject, but he contended that there was a third mode of acquiring citizenship of the United States. namely, the admission into the Union of a state of which he was a citizen. He contended that, as he had, in the year 1806, removed to, and settled with his family in, the city of New Orleans in the territory of Orleans, in contemplation of the enjoyment of the advantages which the laws of the territory and of

the United States held out to foreigners removing into that territory, and had ever since considered it as his adopted country, he had become a citizen under the act of Congress of March 2, 1805 (2 Stat. at L. 322, chap. 23), further providing for the territorial government of Orleans, the enabling act of February 20, 1811 (2 Stat. at L. 641, chap. 21), and that of April 8, 1812 (2 Stat. at L. 701, chap. 50), admitting the state.

Judge Martin, who delivered the opinion of the court, referred, among other things, to the fact that the act of Congress authorizing the formation of the state government of Louisiana was almost literally copied from that which authorized that of Ohio, and, pointing out that by the 1st section of the latter statute the inhabitants of the designated territory were authorized to form for themselves a state constitution, while by the 4th section the persons entitled to vote for members of the convention were described as, first, all male citizens of the United States, and next, all persons having in all other respects the legal qualifications to vote for members of the general assembly of the territory, which were a freehold of 50 acres of land in the district, and citizenship of one of the states, and residence in the district, or the like freehold and two years' residence in the district, said: "The word 'inhabitants,' in the 1st section of this act, must be taken lato sensu; it cannot be restrained so as to include citizens of the United States only; for other persons are afterwards called upon to vote. There is not any treaty, or other instrument, which may be said to control it. Every attempt to restrict it must proceed on principles absolutely arbitrary. If the word is to be taken lato sensu in the act passed in favor of the people of one territory, is there any reason to say that we are to restrain it in another act, passed for similar purposes, in favor of the people of another territory?" Id. pp. 192, 193.

His conclusion was that the applicant must be considered a

citizen of the state of Louisiana, and entitled to all the rights and privileges of a citizen of the United States.

In 1813, in United States v. Laverty, 3 Mart. (La.) 733, Judge Hall of the district court of the United States held that the inhabitants of the territory of Orleans became citizens of Louisiana and of the United States by the admission of Louisiana into the Union; denied that the only constitutional mode of becoming a citizen of the United States is naturalization by compliance with the uniform rule established by Congress; and fully agreed with the decision in Desbois's Case, which he cited.

In an Alabama case, it was held, however, that an alien moving into the territory of Louisiana after it was ceded to the United States, and residing there until after its admission into the Union, as a state, does not thereby become a citizen of the United States. State v. Primrose, 3 Ala. 546.

80. States carved out of Northwest Territory; in general.— By the ordinance for the government of the Northwest Territory, of July 13, 1787 (1 Stat. at L. 51), it was provided that, / as soon as there should be 5,000 free male inhabitants of full age in the district thereby constituted, they were to receive authority to elect representatives to a general assembly, and the qualifications of a representative in such cases were previous citizenship, of one of the United States for three years and residence in the district, or a residence of three years in the district and a feesimple estate of 200 acres of land therein. The qualifications of electors were a freehold in 50 acres of land in the district, previous citizenship of one of the United States, and residence, or the like freehold, and two years' residence in the district. And it was also provided that there should be formed in the territory not less than three, nor more than five, states, with certain boundaries, and that, whenever any such state should contain 60,000 free inhabitants, such state should be admitted by its

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delegates in Congress on an equal footing with the original states in all respects whatever, and should be at liberty to form a permanent constitution and state government, provided it should be republican and in conformity with the articles of compact. 1 Stat. at L. 51a, chap. 8; Rev. Stat. 2d ed. Organic Laws, pp. 13, 14.

81. Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.-Reference to the various acts of Congress creating the Indiana and Illinois territories (2 Stat. at L. 58, chap. 41; 2 Stat. at L. 514, chap. 13); the enabling acts under which the state governments of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois were formed (2 Stat. at L. 173, chap. 40; 3 Stat. at L. 289, chap. 57; 3 Stat. at L. 428, chap. 67); and the act recognizing and resolutions admitting those states (2 Stat. at L. 201, chap. 7; 3 Stat. at L. 399; 3 Stat. at L. 536); and to their original constitutions,-establishes that the inhabitants or people who were empowered to take part in the creation of these new political organisms, and who continued to participate in the discharge of political functions, included others than those who were originally citizens of the United States. And that the action of Congress was advisedly taken is put beyond doubt by the language used in the legislation in question.

82. Michigan.-In case of the admission of Michigan this was strikingly shown. By the act of Congress of January 11, 1805 (2 Stat. at L. 309, chap. 5), a part of the Indiana territory was constituted the territory of Michigan, and a government in all respects similar to that provided by the ordinance of 1787 (1 Stat. at L. 51a, chap. 8) was established. The act of February 16, 1819 (3 Stat. at L. 482, chap. 22), authorized that territory to send a delegate to Congress, and conferred the right of suffrage on the free white male citizens of the territory who had resided therein one year next preceding the election, and had paid county or territorial taxes. The act of March 3, 1823