[jeffbee]

It basically was. The common law doctrine of citizenship by birth prevailed from the founding up to Dred Scott.

The reason it is uncommon worldwide is because nobody practices common law outside of the Anglophone former colonies and England itself. England had absolute birthright citizenship right up until Thatcher

[CalChris]

Yep, jus soli. And Dred Scott overruled that for blacks. And (after the Civil War which was about slavery) the 14th Amendment overturned Dred Scott with birthright citizenship.