The Federal government was created in 1777 by the union of thirteen colonies of Great Britain in "certain articles of confederation and perpetual union," the first one of which declared that the "stile of this confederacy shall be the United States of America." Each member of the confederacy was denominated a state. ... The confederacy, owing to well known historical reasons, having proven a failure, a new Constitution was formed in 1787 by "the people of the United States of America," as its preamble declares. ... The Constitution was created by the people of the United States, as a union of states, to be governed solely by representatives of the states; ... In short, the Constitution deals with states, their people, and their representatives. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude "within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction," is also significant as showing that there may be places within the jurisdiction of the United States that are not part of the Union. To say that the phraseology of this amendment was due to the fact that it was intended to prohibit slavery in the seceded states, under a possible interpretation that those states were no longer part of the Union, is to confess the very point in issue, since it involves an admission that, if the states were not a part of the Union, they were still subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Upon the other hand, the 14th Amendment, upon the subject of citizenship, declares only that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the state wherein they reside." Here there is a limitation to persons born or naturalized in the United States which is not extended to persons born in any place "subject to their jurisdiction." [Downes v. Bidwell, 182 U.S. 244, 249-251] [45 L.Ed. 1088, 1092 (1900)] # # #
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Downes v. Bidwell