Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness-Part II: How the Natural Law Concept of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Inspired America's Founding Fathers.

The article focuses on the influence of the natural law philosophy of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, as interpreted by Emerich de Vattel in *The Law of Nations*, on the founding principles and constitutional development of the United States. Vattel’s rigorous criteria for just war, sovereignty, and constitutional law deeply shaped the thinking of America’s Founding Fathers, including Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and James Madison, who frequently cited Vattel in legal and diplomatic contexts. The Declaration of Independence’s inclusion of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” reflects Vattel’s Leibnizian concept of happiness, distinguishing American republican ideals from Lockean property rights. Hamilton’s legal and economic initiatives, grounded in Vattel’s natural law, helped establish the U.S. Constitution’s framework, judicial review, and a national economic development program aimed at fostering the nation’s productive powers and sovereignty.