Landmark Decisions: United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898)

The landmark Supreme Court decision affirming the Constitutional right to birthright citizenship, regardless of circumstance.

Hello readers,

There has been a lot of discourse lately surrounding the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution and whether or not it guarantees the right to birthright citizenship.

Today, we are releasing a special issue surrounding United States of America vs Wong Kim Ark, the 1898 Supreme Court decision which affirmed that indeed, the 14th Amendment does grant citizenship to all those “born and naturalized” within the boundaries of the United States, and that one who is born within the United States is, by default, “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” [1].

Before we get into the case, however, let’s define “landmark decision.”

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What is a landmark decision?

A landmark court decision is one that changes the interpretation of existing law in the United States [1]. This is most often done through the United States Supreme Court, but it can also be done in a federal appeals court, especially if the Supreme Court decides not to hear the given ca…