By John P. Rattigan
Special to Boston Irish

At its 289th Anniversary Dinner on Saint Patrick's Day, an announcement was made that the
Charitable Irish Society had submitted an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief to the United
States Supreme Court in opposition to the Trump administration's attempt in the case of Trump
v. Barbara to alter the provisions of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution securing birthright
citizenship.
The brief was drafted by co-counsel and Society Past President Christopher A. Duggan and the
Hon. Frank J. Bailey, a retired federal judge and President of the Pioneer New England Legal
Foundation.
This is a first-of-a-kind event in our 289-year history. The Society was compelled to add its voice
to those who, like the Respondents, believe that the US Constitution means what it says and
that the fundamental law applies equally to everyone in America.
Oral arguments before the High Court justices are scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, April 1.
Section One of the 14th Amendment states in clear, direct terms that “All persons born or
naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United
States and the State wherein they reside.”
The brief before the court centers on a debate in the US Senate in 1866 between California
Sen. John Conness, an Irish immigrant from Abbey, Co. Galway, who supported the birthright
citizenship clause and Sen. Edgar Cowan from Pennsylvania, a states-rights Democrat, who
opposed it. Cowan said he feared that his state would be overrun by dark-skinned “Gypsies”
and warned that California would be overrun by yellow-skinned “Mongolians” if Section One
were adopted.
Conness made the intention of the amendment clear: “Human beings born in the United States,”
he said, “shall be regarded as citizens of the United States, entitled to civil rights, to the right of
equal defense, to the right of equal punishment for crime with other citizens.”

Despite Cowan’s fears, Section One was adopted by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and
three-fourths of the voting states and become part of our fundamental law in 1868. For all that,
was forced out of his Senate seat in 1869 because of his unpopular support for Chinese
immigrants and for birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment.
John Conness’s story has a Boston twist. He left California in 1869 and moved to Dorchester,
Massachusetts, where he lived for four decades with his second wife, Mary Russell Davis, and
their children until his death in 1909. He is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Dorchester. His
house, on River Street, is now owned by the City of Boston.
During his tenure as a US senator, Conness was a close confidant of Abraham Lincoln and had
the distinction of being the last surviving pallbearer at Lincoln’s funeral.
For readers who are interested, you may view a more detailed summary of the legal arguments
in Trump v. Barbara as well as the entire brief itself. These can be found in the “Society News”
menu section of the Society website: charitableirishsociety.org
John P. Rattigan is a past president of the Charitable Irish Society.