George Washington Consulted the Legal Treatise "Law of Nations" during his First Day in Office
I'll reiterate yet again so that the point doesn't get lost again (not necessarily by you), the founders relied upon MANY sources to guide them in the framing and governing of this new and unique country. Clearly, they relied heavily upon Vattel's interpretation of natural law.
” the founders relied upon MANY sources to guide them in the framing and governing of this new and unique country.”
I completely agree. Montesquieu’s ‘Spirit of the Laws’.. being one of the major influences. I even have read that the constitutional forms of the Iroquois Confederation were consulted. My only demur was that I doubted you could bring Vattel into court as precedent. In fact it looks like there is very little precedent to work with at all. At least with Blackstone you have someone who is widely accepted as an authority on law and legal terminology in the time frame discussed, circa 1788.