Baron De Montesquieu Accomplishments

The views of these two influential thinkers were considered very radical in their time because their views were radical and very different from any form of government that anyone back then had ever heard of or dreamed possible. They thoughts that a government run by the people would be chaotic. They had never heard of any more separation of power than in England, where it was a limited monarchy. Their views on people were also influential especially Locke's views. He gave people the idea that they are more than just slaves for the government and that they should have some say in how their government is run. These ideas and many more inspired revolutions that were sparked by these two eccentric individuals. Locke and Montesquieu's thoughts also still ring true today. They are the basis for not only the U.S but many other governments as well. That

During the 18th century a European intellectual movement referred to as the Age of Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason, shaped the Western world with the introduction of concepts such as natural rights and the separation of powers. These concepts influenced significant events in history such as the French Revolution, which later on inspired and influenced the American Revolution against Great Britain’s heavy taxation. Furthermore, these significant events introduced the foundations of an ideal government, which stemmed from the ideas of the philosophes of the Age of Enlightenment. For example, John Locke argued that the duty of a government was “to protect the natural rights of the people” ("Foundations of American Government"). Also, Montesquieu

Montesquieu believed that everything was made up of laws or rules that never changed. He wrote the book The Spirit of the Laws, which greatly covers the importance of separation of power in balancing the control of the

ideas about freedom and equality. Auguste Comte, a French philosopher, came up with a political

Thesis: Enlightenment thinkers John Locke and Baron de Montesquieu would highly agree with the preamble to the Declaration of the Independence, while Thomas Hobbes would strongly oppose the preamble due to his general lack of belief in humanity.

Madison based the concept of federalism on the French lawyer Montesquieu 's theory of the separation of powers. This theory states: “Were the executive power not to have a right of restraining the encroachments of the legislative body, the latter would become despotic; for as it might arrogate to itself what authority it pleased, it would soon destroy all the other powers.” Madison, along with the other Founding Fathers, took heed to this warning and created the three branches (executive, legislative, and judicial). Although this system does provide a distinct separation, it does not call for absolute separation. Instead, the

The two most influential people were Baron de Montesquieu and Voltaire. Montesquieu constructed the idea of the separation of powers in the government; he argued that in order to ensure liberty and prevent corruption and tyranny the three main powers of government, legislative, judicial, and executive, should be separate bodies able to check each other. Voltaire brought about the idea of separation of state and religion and the later years of the 1700’s he would push Denis Diderot’s Encyclopédie spreading the Enlightenment to other countries around the world; inspiring Jean-Jacques Rousseau to write The Social Contract and evaluate the idea of having the Government sign a contract with the people to protect natural rights and be bound by the laws. The Enlightenment in Europe would end however with the French Revolution as total chaos and violence dismantled the idea of people’s ability to govern

Baron de Montesquieu created the “separation of powers” where he dividing the power into three branches the executive,legislature, and judiciary (Document 6). Where the government,law enforcement,and adjudication are not in the same hands but different and there was no way where the executive and legislative could not be together or unite power. The Enlightenment did make this event in the 18th century revolutionary because it divided the power into three groups and not leave all the power among one. Everything then depended on the civil law the first one was by the prince or magistrate who did laws, then the second one makes peace or war and provides against invasion, the last one was where the criminals were punished and all men were the

Montesquieu, a philosopher who lived in France during the reign of absolute monarchs, experienced the unjust division of political power between the wealthy nobles and king living in Versailles and the citizens of the third estate. He believed that instead of an absolute monarchy, political power should be divided between three branches of government, the legislative, executive, and judicial, with a system of checks and balances to ensure that one group would not overpower the others. (Doc. 3) Montesquieu’s ideas would become the basis of the United States’ government and serve as an inspiration to the French third estate to support the decline of absolute monarchies. Another French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who wrote The Social Contract in 1762 during the reign of French monarchs, stated that absolute authority removes the natural rights of humanity. (Doc. 5) As a firm believer of individual freedoms, Rousseau explained that a leader must gain the citizens’ consent to rule, as all citizens are equal due to logic and reasoning. Like Montesquieu, Rousseau’s ideas would inspire the French to overthrow its monarch during their revolution. His reasoning encouraged the French to accept a democratic government, where citizens elect a leader to rule them, unlike before where monarchs inherited political power. Frederick II,

The constitution splits the power given to national government into three branches, which are separate from each other: the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. The separation of powers was based on the ideas of Montesquieu, with him ‘L’esprit de lois’ which means the spirit of the law. The executive plays the role of administrating law. The president does this in many ways , for example he; executes federal laws and programs, conducts foreign policy , commands the armed forces, negotiates treaties and other such roles. Checks and balances another main factor of the constitution comes in here, as the people get to keep a check on the president every 4 years with the presidential election, which stops any tyranny of powers. This can also be seen in another branch of government. The legislature passes law, this is done through congress. Congress is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Its roles include;

His other relatives arranged for him to marry his second-cousin, Adrienne de Noailles. She came from one of the wealthiest families in France at the time. Marquis became a part of the inner circle of Louis XVI. Adrienne’s father was a well-known adviser of Louis.

Around the same time, Americans were also influenced by the works of Charles, the Baron de Montesquieu, a French political thinker. He believed that there were three types of governments; a monarchy (ruled by a king or queen), a republic (ruled by an elected leader) and a despotism (ruled by a dictator). In his book, The Spirit of Laws ,

The first Philosopher that made an impact was montesquieu.Montesquieu belief was the separation of powers.He wanted to have three branches,they were called executive branch which is the organ exercising authority in and holding responsibility for the governance of a state. The executive executes and enforces law.The second branch is judicial branch which is the court systems of local, state, and federal governments, responsible for interpreting the laws passed by the legislative branch and

Not only were Hobbes and Locke influential during the Constitutional Period, but also Charles de Montesquieu and Jean Jacques Rousseau. In Montesquieu’s work, The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu described the state of nature as a place of fear where humans avoid violence and war. However, once the state of war enters society, a need for human laws and government is needed in order to maintain law and order. Therefore, Montesquiu helped advocate for governmental authority and raised awareness for the need for separation of powers in the three branches of government. In today’s government, Montesquieu's beliefs in the separation of powers and governmental control are clearly seen in the Constitution. Additionally, Rousseau was able to influence

Before the French Revolution Louis XVI was in power, but in due time his old regime of absolute monarchy was brought down. Some people were in favor of this revolution wanting equality and some were not. One person who was in favor of this desire for equality and change was