That construction has been continuous and consistent. Then. when the fourteenth amendment was under consideration. as is shown by the memorandum put in the RECORD by the Senator from Michigan . which Senators will find at pages 1821. and 1822 of the CONGRESSrONAL RECORD. of course it was desired to change the provision which counted slaves at only threefifths of their actual number. With the abolition of slavery that became an anomaly in the Constitution. and the prime attention of Congress was directed to that point. -But while the question was under discussion it was then suggested in the House of Representatives that the word "persons" should be changed to read "citizens" and another proposition was made to change it to read "voters." After a considerable debate upon the subject it was deliberately decided then that the word "persons" should not be changed to read "citizens". it should not be changed to read "voters". and one of the reasons assigned was that it would disreggrd in the apportionment about 2.000.000 of lawabiding aliens who had not yet become naturalized.
Keywords matched
naturalized