David Armitage, The Declaration of Independence: A Global History

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In this conference, David Armitage observed that the United States of America was born not as an "assault on...international law," but "born in conformity with...the prevailing laws of nations." Armitage observed that the Founders drew on the 1758 work of Emer de Vattel, The Laws of Nations. Vattel described nations as "free and independent," language Thomas Jefferson and the other Founders employed. Armitage in the author of The Declaration of Independence: A Global History. In contrast to those Americans who express disregard for international opinion, Armitage observed that the American Revolutionaries appealed directly to world opinion.