John Conness, fortunately, still represents us.
So what if Conness hasn’t held public office since 1869? Because, right now he might be California’s best weapon has against the American president’s lawless plans to deprive U.S.-born children of their constitutional right to citizenship.
Conness, a U.S. senator from California from 1863 to 1869, was a leader in passing the 14th Amendment. And Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship is based on falsely rewriting that 1860s history.
While the amendment text says that “all persons born in the United States” are citizens, Trump falsely claims the amendment was not supposed to include everyone. In his Jan. 20 executive order, Trump says the amendment “has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States,” especially the children of immigrants without permanent legal status.
Fortunately, back in 1866, Conness preemptively put the lie to Trump’s claims. In the course of passing the 14th Amendment, Conness constantly turned aside proto-Trumpian demands from his Senate colleagues to exclude some groups.
In May 1866, when Pennsylvania Sen. Edgar Cowan suggested excluding from birthright citizenship “Gypsies,” “Australians,” “people from Borneo,” “man-eaters,” or “another people of a different race, different tastes and sympathies,” 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. And that such a provision should be deprecated by any person having or claiming to have a high humanity passes all my understanding and comprehension.”
In the debate, Conness made plain that, while many Chinese people had been brought here illegally, under enslavement-like “coolie contracts,” the U.S.-born children were Americans.
“The children of all parentage whatever, born in California, should be regarded and treated as citizens of the United States, entitled to equal civil rights with other citizens of the United States,” he said.
Conness’ words should carry special weight now because he, like us, was living in an era of political emergency and bitter conflict.
John Conness, the 14th of 14 children, was born in 1821 in County Galway, Ireland. He immigrated to New York as a teenager, and to California in the Gold Rush. His business was selling supplies to miners in El Dorado County.
He had little interest in politics until the 1850s, when ruling Democrats — his own party — tried to split California into two states, with Southern California permitting slavery. In 1853, the small-town businessman won a state assembly seat as an “anti-Chivalry,” or anti-slavery, “Union” Democrat.
In the 21st century, the historian Robert Denning would call Conness “the consummate nineteenth-century California politician: bold, energetic, shrewd, partisan, sarcastic.” But Conness never won an election above the level of the Assembly. He lost bids for Congress, lieutenant governor and governor.
But in 1863, his Union Democrats combined with anti-slavery Republicans to form the “Union Republicans.” And Conness was appointed by the legislature to the U.S. Senate.
In Washington, Conness embraced the Emancipation Proclamation and grew close to Lincoln. (Conness was powerful because California’s other senator, James McDougall, was barred from committees because of drunkenness.) In 1864, Conness convinced the president to sign landmark legislation to protect the Yosemite Valley. Mount Conness is named in his honor.
During Reconstruction, Conness became known for support civil rights for Chinese immigrants and Chinese Americans. But back in California, the anti-Chinese movement was growing. In 1868, the California legislature refused to ratify the 14th Amendment precisely because it provided equal protection to Californians of Chinese heritage. (California didn’t ratify the amendment until 1959.)
Conness, unpopular for his inclusionary racial views, retired from politics in 1869, and moved to Boston, where he died in 1909.
But his life demonstrates this truth: What we do, as national leaders attack our rights, may matter for centuries to come.
Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zócalo Public Square.