By Nancy Spannaus
April 9, 2025—In a self-described “Address to the People of the United States” in January 1787, patriot Benjamin Rush exhorted his fellow Americans to support the process of building a new government based on the principles which had inspired the war for independence. He said:
There is nothing more common than to confound the terms of the American revolution with those of the late American war. The American war is over: but this is far from being the case with the American revolution. On the contrary, nothing but the first act of the great drama is closed. It remains yet to establish and perfect our new forms of government; and to prepare the principles, morals, and manners of our citizens, for these forms of government, after they are established and brought to perfection.
Rush’s insight should be kept in mind as we celebrate and commemorate the 250th birthday of the American Revolution. It also forms part of the foundation for my just-released book, From Subject to Citizen: What Americans Need to Know about Their Revolution.
From Subject to Citizen leaves the issues of the Revolutionary War to the military historians, and concentrates on the political, economic, and ideological processes involved in the build-up to the war, the Declaration of Independence, and the creation of the Constitution. Its outlook is heavily shaped by the insights of President Abraham Lincoln, who reacted to the nation’s political crisis of his time by undertaking an in-depth study of the founding era.
Subject vs. Citizen
Crucial to understanding the American Revolution is to recognize the difference between “subject” and “citizen,” as it was understood in the 18th Century. A subject was a person who was under the rule of a government in which he or she had little or no say; a subject might be granted certain rights and might complain if they are violated. But the responsibility for governing remained with the sovereign, in that period, the monarchies. Loyalty was to the sovereign.
A citizen, on the other hand, was a person who not only had the right to participate in his government, but took responsibility for the outcome of that participation for the general welfare of society. A citizen had the duty to educate himself on the laws and procedures of government, and to respect those laws. As Thomas Paine put it, “the law was king.” A citizen played an active role in society not just at election time, but all year around.
Clearly, the shift from subject to citizen in America was not accomplished with the war for independence, nor even with the founding documents. Many Americans – almost all women and African Americans, among others – remained subjects to the government by law. But a process was set in motion, and principles asserted, that would lead in the direction of fuller participation. It is undeniable that our nation has made considerable progress in this direction, despite periods of existential threat.
But, I would argue, too few Americans are fulfilling their responsibilities as citizens today. They react to government, and may even vote, although percentages are often shockingly low. But many view politics as a spectator sport, where they root for one team or the other. They fail to educate themselves on the principles of government and participate in governing accordingly. One might then argue that they get the government they deserve.
The Table of Contents
My book is dedicated to changing this situation. To encourage you to read From Subject to Citizen, I am publishing the full table of contents below:
Forward
- Revolutionary Fervor Grows
The Causes of the Revolution: An Overview
The Revolutionary Committees of Correspondence: Engines of National Unity
The Significance of the Fairfax Resolves
The Continental Association: From Royal Subjects to Republican Citizens
“To the Future Grandeur and Glory of America”: Alexander Hamilton’s Vision
1775: Year of Revolution
1775: Americans Take the Lead on Slavery
We Americans Rejected Monarchy, Remember?
2. The Declaration
Abraham Lincoln on the Declaration
The Fight Behind the Declaration
Frederick Douglass Did Not Trash the Declaration
Freedom, Not Libertarianism
Why We Declared the Right to Happiness
3. The Constitution
How Revolutionary was the American Revolution? From the Declaration to the Constitution
Our Constitutional Commitment to Economic Progress
‘A Republic if You Can Keep it’: George Washington’s Timely Advice
Frederick Douglass on the Constitution
The Confederate Constitution, or Alexander Hamilton’s?
What Is an American System Foreign Policy?
Vattel, Leibniz, and the American System
4. The Challenge
Lincoln on Saving Our Institutions
Frederick Douglass: “Knowledge Unfits a Man to be a Slave”
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