Permit me to hint, whether it would not be wise & seasonable to provide a strong check to the admission of Foreigners into the administration of our national Government; and to declare expressly that the Command in chief of the American army shall not be given to, nor devolve on, any but a natural born Citizen.
John Jay, New York 25 July 1787
Statesman, diplomat, first Chief Justice of the U.S., President of Continental Congress, minister to Spain, secretary of foreign affairs, and author of the Federalist Papers along with Madison and Hamilton.