Was the founding of the United States Illegal?

by jahovay

Was having a discussion with some friends about legalities and power in groups and the idea of laws and states and this question came up. Was curious as to what real historians might think about this question.

Superplaner

Legality depends on which laws you decide to follow. Since no international law regarding declarations of independence existed in 1776 the question has two possible answers:

  1. Yes, declaration was certainly against British law at the time.
  2. No, had present international laws existed in 1776 the declaration of independence would not have been illegal (at least not according to the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on Kosovo's declaration of independence from 2010).