Before digging into it, some preliminary info on the subject of citizenship would be helpful.
Here are a handful of definitions - from dictionary.com - of the word "citizen."
- a native or naturalized member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection (distinguished from alien).- an inhabitant of a city or town, especially one entitled to its privileges or franchises.- an inhabitant, or denizen: The deer is a citizen of our woods.- a civilian, as distinguished from a soldier, police officer, etc.
And for good measure, here are a few for the word "citizenship."
- the state of being vested with the rights, privileges,and duties of a citizen.- the character of an individual viewed as a member of society; behavior in terms of the duties, obligations,and functions of a citizen: an award for good citizenship.- the fact or status of being a citizen of a particular place- the qualities that a person is expected to have as a responsible member of a community
I suppose a citizen could described as a subset of people who live in a community that have special rights. These seem to be primarily political, meaning that they can vote and hold office, but other political rights - like speech, assembly and the press, are applicable to everyone - as are many other rights.
I'll save it for a separate post to outline these a bit more. When we cover the equal protection clause in 2305 (and to a lesser degree 2306) we'll note that people cannot be treated unequally before the law due to citizenship - and the equal protection clause is not restricted to citizens, but instead applies to persons in a states jurisdiction.
There's much room for interpretation here.
If you feel ambitious, you might want to read through the Wikipedia on the "History of Citizenship."
- Click here for it.
