Denationalization vs. 'The Right to Have Rights'

The whole idea of citizenship with respect to its place in the history of the U.S. is brought into play in this case study, which argues that obligations and moral conduct, as integral elements of citizenship, merit greater attention than has been accorded them. The basic issues surrounding the citizenship concept are examined as to how it developed; what American statutory and constitutional provisions were relevant; and how the courts and administrative bodies interpreted those provisions. Also explored are issues such as: Why is citizenship important, and why is American citizenship viewed as a precious possession? Has the development of American citizenship been in step with the U.S. system of government? What has been the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in that development? Its 1967 ruling in Afroyim v. Rusk was the Court's leading case. For the first time, the Court held that Congress lacked the power of involuntary expatriation, that citizenship is a constitutional right under the Fourteenth Amendment, and that all the U.S. government can do is formally recognize an individual's voluntary renunciation or abandonment of citizenship. The argument in this study is that the Eighth Amendment, rather than the Fourteenth, would have provided not only a stronger base on which to rest the Afroyim decision, but would have supplied it with a moral dimension as well. The book details the expatriation case of Margaret J. Randall, prominent in academic and literary circles.