The True North Strong And Free

The U.S. Constitution states, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States...shall be eligible to the Office of President."

So is Ted Cruz -- who was born in Canada to an American mother and a Cuban father -- eligible to run for President?  I suppose we'll have to leave that decision up to the Supreme Court, eh?

However, this is not the first time such a controversy (or kerfuffle -- depending upon your point of view) has arisen in a Republican campaign:  prior to the election of 1860, Reginald Remington Trump (a distant relative of Donald Trump's) ran against Hector Granville Cruz (Ted Cruz's great-great-great-great-grandfather) -- and Hector "Heck" Cruz was also born in Canada to an American  mother and a Cuban father.

At that time, though, the issue never made it to the Supreme Court because both men lost the Republican nomination to Abraham Lincoln, who then went on to become the 16th President of the United States.

Interestingly enough, Emmett Lee Dickinson helped his good friend Abraham Lincoln secure the nomination and win the general election by publicizing "He told a phony tale" (below on the left), a poem all about the Trump-Cruz kerfuffle (or controversy -- depending upon your point of view).  Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to write "He told a homely tale" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:
 
He told a phony tale
And spotted it with fears –
Upon his impish face was set
A Grin brought on by smears –
 
All jumbled was the charge
No other hits had stuck
The crowd was snowed, divided then
The campaign ran amok
 
With Mother – from the States –
With Father – from the Sea –
And though they lived in Canada –
From Cuba, was he –
 
With Family Tree below
And Family Tree above
He was no Natural Citizen –
But claimed he was – sort of –

By Emily Dickinson:
 
He told a homely tale
And spotted it with tears –
Upon his infant face was set
The Cicatrice of years –

All crumpled was the cheek
No other kiss had known
Than flake of snow, divided with
The Redbreast of the Barn –

If Mother – in the Grave –
Or Father – on the Sea –
Or Father in the Firmament –
Or Brethren, had he –

If Commonwealth below,
Or Commonwealth above
Have missed a Barefoot Citizen –
I've ransomed it – alive –

Pictured at the left:  Candidates from the 1860 election:  Reginald Remington Trump (far left) and Hector Granville Cruz (left).

Hector "Heck" Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother and a Cuban Father.  Historians claim that Cruz lost the Republican nomination because Reginald Trump accused him of being a Canadian-American.  Historians also report that Reginald Trump lost the nomination because he was an obnoxious jerk. 

For more on the 1860 Trump-Cruz dispute -- and "New Yuck Values" -- click HERE.