Historic Supreme Courts--14th Amendment, Episode 7: Born Here, Belong Here: The Wong Kim Ark Case

Quick rundown: Wong Kim Ark was born in San Francisco to Chinese parents, got stopped at the border just because of his ancestry, and the Supreme Court had to answer a plain question — does "all persons born" really mean all persons?

The Court surprisingly read the 14th Amendment at face value and affirmed birthright citizenship, even amid loud anti-Chinese sentiment. It’s a sharp, human moment in history that still matters in today's debates about who counts as American.