In 1906, Elihu Root, a Republican Wall Street lawyer, former senator and secretary of state, was one of the founders of the American Society of International Law and served as its first president. Under his influence the ASIL became, and has remained to this day, the premier institution of its kind in the world, promoting peace and human rights through international law.
Many other Americans have embraced Elihu Root’s vision of a United States in an interconnected world based on common values of justice and humanity. To name only a few: Woodrow Wilson, Wendell Willkie, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Philip Jessup, Myres McDougal, Jimmy Carter, retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and yes, Justice Anthony Kennedy.
