On the text selection of President Madison (the "Father" of the Constitution), and the two professors of law, Wythe and Tucker at William and Mary:
Before 1790, the college leaders shared the nationalist outlook of their colleagues elsewhere. In his courses on natural law and politics Madison used Vattel, Montesquieu, and Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations. The first two were standard fare" Pg. 170
Table 3-2:*
Curricular Offerings by Author at Pre-Revolutionary Colleges
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Pufendorf is listed under the College of N.J. and King's College
Grotius is listed under the College of N.J., Kings and the College of Philadelphia
Locke's Essay is listed under Harvard, Yale and College of N.J.
Locke's Two Treatises is listed under the College of Philadelphia
Montesquieu is listed under the College of N.J.
(& others) Pg. 81-82.
* Vattel was taught at Kings College (now Columbia) in 1773! (hat tip to bushpilot1)
Table 5-1:
Curricular Offerings by Author at Original Colleges Post-1783
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Pufendorf same colleges as before
Grotius same as before
Locke's Essay same as before, with addition to William and Mary
Locke's Two Treatises same as before
Montesquieu same as before, with addition to Yale and William & Mary
Vattel is added to Yale and William and Mary.
(& others) Pg. 167-168.
William and Mary home of America's first school of law.
Yale was the largest university (by numbers) in 1783. (Pg. 125)
Pufendorf's work, were commentaries and revisions of the natural law theories of Thomas Hobbes and Hugo Grotius. "On The Duty of Man and Citizen According to the Natural Law (1673)"
Grotius laid the foundations for international law, based on natural law. "The Law of War and Peace (1625)"
Locke incorporated natural law into many of his theories and philosophy. "Two Treatises on Government (1680-1690)" and his Essay "Concerning Human Understanding (1690)"
Montesquieu relied upon the natural law as a standard. Despite the alleged relativism of his thought, he often condemned laws, practices, and institutions as violations of human nature and the natural law. He was also one who articulated the theory of separation of powers. "The Spirit of Laws (1751)"
Vattel. "The Law of Nations or the Principles of Natural Law (1758)"
What we see here is that in the college's curricula of the Pre-Revolutionary era, jurists and philosophers of natural law who's work primarily appears in the 1600's are taught.
Then, in the Post-1783 era, Vattel's work from 1758 is added to William and Mary (influential college of Madison, father of the Constitution, Jefferson and Marshall - who would later quote Vattel's NBC definition (born in country to citizen parentS) in the SCOTUS case: THE VENUS, 12 U.S. (8 Cranch) 253, 289 (1814) ) and Yale (the largest by student population).
Vattel become increasingly more popular in the American colonies after 1775, when Dumas sent (English language) copies of Law of Nations to Benjamin Franklin who stated "It came to us in good season, when the circumstances of a rising State make it necessary frequently to consult the Law of Nations."
Actually I think they were French language versions. Dumas was the editor of one such.
See Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Volume 20 :
The documents are posted #’s 25 and 26. The letter from the French and the Founders translation.
El Gato provided the link in post 20.
Naturels means natural born. It does not mean “natural” according to Vattel and the Founders.