More proof that the Constitutions Framers did in fact rely heavily on Vattels Laws of Nations. From books.google/books?id=DeyiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PR30&dq=Le+droit+des+gens++Library+Company+of+Philadelphia&hl=en&ei=SHK4TanFFoXEgAfemuBm&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false So much did Vattels Law of Nations please England that three times (in 1760, in 1793, and in 1797) an anonymous translation was published with which it appears that William Cobbett was familiar in 1797. In the United States, a Nation still more enamored of liberty, its success was even greater. From 1758 to 1776, Grotius, Pufendorf, and Burlamaqui were read, studied, and commented upon in the English colonies of America; but, Vattel, at that time, seems to have been unknown to them. In 1773, the Law of Nations was taught at Kings College (now Columbia University). In 1774 Adams, and in 1775 Hamilton, quote or praise Grotius, Pufendorf, Locke; neither mentions Vattel. But the War of Independence gave the United Colonies the new name of States. A hard task engaged the American people, who, by the study of the Law of Nature and of Nations, were preparing themselves for the great work of independence. Anxious to build upon solid foundations, their statesmen turned to European publicists. Charles W.F. Dumas, a Swiss living in Holland, and an ardent republican reread Vattel with the United States in mind, brought out a new edition with notes inspired by recent events, and sent three copies of it to Franklin. Vattel, replied Franklin, came at the right time. It came to us in good season, when the circumstances of a rising State make it necessary frequently to consult the Law of Nations. (Franklin to Dumas, Dec. I775). The fathers of independence soon felt that they were in accord with the ideas of Vattel. They were pleased with him for praising the moderation of the English Puritans who first established themselves in New England after buying from the Indians the land that they wished to occupy. Although their liberalism, progressively extended to include religious freedom, much exceeded that of England, and consequently that of Vattel, they found in the Swiss writer all their maxims of political liberty: the right of a people to separate themselves from a State of which they are a part (Laws of Nations, Book I, §§ 201, 202); the obligation of the Nation to assure happiness to all as an end of the State, an obligation which they themselves inscribed in the Constitution; finally, the recommendation of those confederations of Republics to which, taught by Vattel and Rousseau that there they would find a sure guaranty of rest and peace, the United States was, from 1778 to 1787, to trust its fortunes. From 1776 to 1783, the more the United States progressed, the greater became Vattels influence. In 1780 his Law of Nations was a classic a text book in the universities.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 07:09:23 +0000
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