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Blackstone wrote of Natural Born Subjects, not citizens, and wrote a lot about them, not just the raw definition. The whole notion, according to Blackstone, comes from the fealty owed to the feudal Lord.

Historically, that is where sovereignty came from. Maybe that's not the right basis to start from philosophically, but are Vattel's conclusions really closer to our own tradition of freedom than Blackstone's?

I don't know, I'm asking. But given all the respect the founders and their contemporaries had for Blackstone, can we just dismiss his views now?

[RegulatorCountry]

Historically, that is where sovereignty came from. Maybe that's not the right basis to start from philosophically, but are Vattel's conclusions really closer to our own tradition of freedom than Blackstone's?

Yes, they are. Have a look at the first Supreme Court decision deemed to be of historic import, Chisholm v. Georgia, wherein Justice John Jay cited Vattel at length, regarding the sovereignty of The People, in the absence of a monarch.