It was undoubtedly a very sweeping enactment, the operation of which was not confined to the States which had been slave-holding, but bore directly upon some of the free States where the negro had always been deprived of certain rights fully guaranteed to the white man.
Lest "inhabitant" might be held to mean "citizen" in the connection in which it was used Mr.Trumbull proposed, at the initial point of the discussion, to amend by inserting the declaration that "all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States without distinction of color." Mr.Guthrie of Kentucky and Mr.Howard of Michigan both asked whether that would naturalize all the Indians in the United States.

Mr.Trumbull thought not, because "we deal with the Indians as foreigners--as separate nations;" but he was willing to change it so as specifically to exclude Indians.

Mr.Cowan asked "whether the amendment would not have the effect of naturalizing children of Chinese and gypsies born in this country." Mr.Trumbull replied that it undoubtedly would.

Mr.Cowan then thought it would be proper to hear the senators from California on that question, because "at the present rate of emigration the day may not be very distant when California, instead of belonging to the Indo-European race, may belong to the Mongolians, may belong to the Chinese." Mr.Trumbull inquired if the children of Chinese born in this country were not citizens?
Mr.Cowan thought they were not.
Mr.Reverdy Johnson of Maryland pointed out a difficulty not anticipated by Mr.Trumbull.

By using the word _inhabitant_ in the bill he made it impossible for any State in the Union to "draw any distinction between citizens who have been there from birth, or have been residents for a long time, and him who comes into the State for the first time as a foreigner.