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To: Jeff Winston
That being the case, and given that he was quoted by the Founders SIXTEEN TIMES more often than Vattel, and given that I can certainly show where the notably thrifty Founders spent precious public funds to purchase his work for use in the Senate, would you not now agree that this book, which specifically treats "Offenses Against the Law of Nations," and not Vattel's, is likely the source of the phrase "Offenses against the Law of Nations," as used in our Constitution?

Unless and until you provide a verifiable and historical source for your assertions as well as for the purpose of my perusal, no, I will not.

433 posted on 03/09/2013 1:24:01 PM PST by MamaTexan (To follow Original Constitutional Intent, one MUST acknowledge the Right of Secession)
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To: MamaTexan
Unless and until you provide a verifiable and historical source for your assertions as well as for the purpose of my perusal, no, I will not.

I am fully able to provide VERIFIABLE AND HISTORICAL SOURCES for my assertions, which are as follows:

1. The Constitution says, "The Congress shall have Power... To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations...

2. The "law of nations" was a general topic of law, and there were a number of writers on the subject besides Vattel.

3. A different writer wrote a book in which he included a chapter entitled, "Of Offences Against the Law of Nations."

4. Vattel does not mention either "Piracies" or "Felonies" in his work on the law of nations. He does not use the word "Felon" at all, and mentions "Pirates" only once in his entire book.The other author that I refer to speaks of "felons" and "felonies" 5 times, and has a discussion of Piracy in which he uses the terms "Piracy," "pirate," "piratical," some 15 times.

5. The other writer was extremely well known, not only to a few people, but to all lawyers in early America, and he was quoted by the Founding Fathers SIXTEEN TIMES more often than they quoted Vattel.

6. I can show you where the notably thrifty Founders spent precious public funds to purchase that author's work for use in the Senate.

Now, if I can provide a verifiable and historical source for every single one of the above six points, wouldn't you agree that the author I refer to, rather than Vattel, was most likely the source of the phrase used in our Constitution? Why wouldn't you? It only makes sense.

462 posted on 03/09/2013 2:06:08 PM PST by Jeff Winston
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To: MamaTexan

Oh... I can also show that the other writer uses the term “high seas” multiple times in his chapter on Offences Against the Law of Nations, whereas Vattel NEVER uses that term in his book.

So we have an author who has a chapter entitled virtually identically to the Constitution.

He is quoted sixteen times more often by the Founding Fathers than Vattel. And he uses ALL of the words “piracy,” “felony,” and “high seas,” not one of which are ever used by Vattel in his book.


466 posted on 03/09/2013 2:10:51 PM PST by Jeff Winston
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