Citizen or subject?

The author analyzes the difference between self-governing citizens and passive subjects, tracing constitutional development from revolutionary conventions through the federal league to a national government created by the people. He argues that certain constitutional changes, notably the Eighteenth Amendment, conflict with citizen sovereignty by converting free citizens into subjects, and he supports this claim with close readings of founding debates, constitutional clauses, and legal history to insist on preserving civil liberty and clear limits on governmental power.