As America celebrates 250 years, the Supreme Court moved to affirm over 100 years of court rulings in which citizenship is guaranteed for those born on U.S. soil, with few exceptions. But is no-questions-asked "birthright citizenship" really what the framers of the 14th Amendment intended? A closer look at the exclusions they carved out tells a different story — one overcome by baked-in administrative assumptions that shaped 19th Century thought, while creating 21st Century conflicts.