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The wit and wisdom of Emerich de Vattel

by Dr. Conspiracy on 23. May, 2010 in Emmerich de Vattel

Emer de Vattel

Almost unknown in modern times, the 18th century Swiss jurist and philosopher Emerich de Vattel became an instant celebrity in 2008 when his book The Law of Nations (partial English title of Le Droit des Gens. ou Principés de la Loi Naturelle, Appliqués à la conduite & aux affaires des Nations & des Souverains) was discovered to contain the magic phrase “natural born citizen” in a context that involved citizen fathers, something President Obama doesn’t have. Despite the fact that the English edition of de Vattel’s book available when the Constitution was written doesn’t have the words “natural born citizen” nor has anyone outside of a few minority and dissenting court opinions cited de Vattel on the acquisition of citizenship, still he forms the backbone of Obama denialism based on the President’s British citizen father.

The denialists go very far in raising the importance of de Vattel and The Law of Nations. They describe it as the basis for the US Constitution, sitting at the hand of each Founder for reference. And some go so far as to believe that the words “The Law of Nations” that appear in the Constitution insert de Vattel’s entire 4-volume work into the Constitution by reference.

It seems to me that if this Swiss writer and his book is so foundational to all that is American, then perhaps we should get to know them better, and this article seeks to do that. Following are some interesting items from The Law of Nations. (For earlier articles on this subject, see: http://www.obamaconspiracy.org/category/whoswho/emerich-de-vattel/). The following should not be taken as sufficient to understand de Vattel’s complete thought on the subjects raised; it is a long work.

In the first example, we see that de Vattel would prohibit all of the anti-Obama blogs.

Book I

§ 114. Freedom of philosophical discussion.

I speak of the freedom of philosophical discussion, which is the soul of the republic of letters. … I know that liberty has its proper bounds — that a wise government ought to have an eye to the press, and not to allow the publication of scandalous productions, which attack morality, government, or the established religion. [The Bill of Rights in the U. S. Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of speech, including criticism of the government and religion. I believe that WorldNetDaily and the Post & Email blog would be the first against the wall in a republic governed by Mr. de Vattel.]

§ 127. Of religion internal and external.

Religion consists in the doctrines concerning the Deity and the things of another life, and in the worship appointed to the honour of the Supreme Being. So far as it is seated in the heart, if is an affair of conscience, in which every one ought to be directed by his own understanding: but so far as it is external, and publicly established, it is an affair of state. [The Bill of Rights in the U. S. Constitution prohibits the establishment of religion.] (more…)

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De Vattel: revisited

by Dr. Conspiracy on 06. May, 2009 in Books, Citizenship, Emmerich de Vattel

Emer de Vattel

Emer de Vattel

Citizenship denialist hoax exposed!

Those advocating that we should change our traditional view of “natural born citizen” in favor of a view advocated by a 18th century Swiss philosopher, Emer de Vattel, argue that the framers of the Constitution relied on a work by that philosopher for their definition of “natural born citizen”. They cite this passage from his work, the short English title of which is The Law of Nations:

The natives, or natural-born citizens, are those born in the country, of parents who are citizens

Those words, however, are quoted from a translation of de Vattel that first appeared in 1797, 10 years after the Constitution’s ratification. Did the framers know Vattel’s work in the French? If so, there is a problem because the literal phrase “natural-born citizen” is not present in the original French which says:

Les Naturels ou indigènes font ceux qui font nés dans le pays de Parens Citoyens.

For those who don’t speak French, the word “citizen” (Citoyen) appears only ONCE in the sentence. (more…)

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De Vattel for Dummies

by Dr. Conspiracy on 22. Mar, 2009 in Citizenship, Emmerich de Vattel, Featured Articles

Introduction

dvdIn 1758, Swiss philosopher and jurist Emmerich de Vattel published an influential work titled Le Droit des Gens. ou Principés de la Loi Naturelle, Appliqués à la conduite & aux affaires des Nations & des Souverains or translated into English, The Law of Nations or Principles of the Law of Nature Applied to the Conduct and Affairs of Nations and Sovereigns.

The long title is important because it tells us what the book is about. It is not a codification of international law, or a dictionary of legal terms. It is a book about natural law and how it applies to governments. In his book de Vattel tells us: The Law of Nations is the science which teaches the rights subsisting between nations or states, and the obligations correspondent to those rights.

The Law of Nations (as we will call the book going forward) is a wide-ranging book, looking at such topics as sovereignty (an intrinsic property of nations), international relations, making war and making peace. (more…)

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The Law of Nations and the Law of the United States

by Dr. Conspiracy on 21. Feb, 2009 in Citizenship, Emmerich de Vattel

Emer de Vattel

Emer de Vattel

One of the more vexing nObama arguments is their redefinition of Natural Born Citizen. The primary way they attempt to do this is to assert that the definition of “natural born citizen” in the Constitution should be determined by a book by a Swiss philosopher and jurist from the 18th century name Emmerich de Vattel writing in a book loosely called “The Law of Nations”. The approach inflates de Vattel’s influence.

A mindless literalism appears among the nObama when they say that an 18th century Swiss jurist de Vattel’s work, Le Droit des Gens. ou Principes de la Loi Naturelle, appliques a la conduite & aux affaires des Nations & des Souverains, is written into the US Constitution because the phrase “The Law of Nations” appears therein (and that is a translation of a bit of Vattel’s French title). (more…)

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