III Regions, III The Americas and The Caribbean, 22 North America: American Exceptionalism in International Law

How has America been exceptional over history in its approach to international law? This chapter reviews a little of the story from the late 18th century, when the United States declared its independence from the United Kingdom, to the beginning of the 20th century, as the United States watched Europe descend into the First World War. The pages below, largely based upon material and observations drawn from a new book, America and the Law of Nations 1776–1939,1 emphasize not the ways in which the American approach to international law has been similar to that in...