Montesquieu 's Views On The Constitution

Influences on the Constitution mark back to ancient times. James Madison and other framers study the works of Aristotle and Plato intently. Both Aristotle and Plato were Greek philosophers who theorized about how to make government better, called political philosophers. Plato’s book

‘Transformed beyond recognition from the vision of the Founding Fathers.’ Discuss this view of the modern US constitution.

The Founding Fathers of the United States relied heavily on many of the principles taught by John Locke. Many of the principles of Locke’s Second Treatise of Government may easily be discovered in the Declaration of Independence with some minor differences in wording and order. Many of the ideas of the proper role of government, as found in the Constitution of the United States, may be discovered in the study of Locke. In order to understand the foundation of the United States, it is vital that one studies Locke. A few ideas from Hume may be found but the real influence was from Locke. Rousseau, on the other hand, had none.

Madison starts perhaps the most prominent of the Federalist papers by stating that one of the most effective arguments in favor of the Constitution is the fact that it forms a

few reasons to believe that it does a worse one” (Hertzberg, 2002). Robert Dahl's main perspectives on the United States Constitution are the Framers of the Constitution are the ones who created the constitution. The framers perception was delineated by the things they know such as their falsely ideas of what they actually know. Although the framers have an idea of what they knew, there is always something that pause between their ideas such as the “political necessities of a particular movement”

Democracy in America has been a guiding principle since the foundation of the country. Many over the years have commented on the structure and formation of democracy but more importantly the implementation and daily function within the democratic parameters that have been set. Alexis de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian born July 29, 1805. He is most famously known for his work Democracy in America. Democracy in America has been an evolving social and economic reform, and has continually changed since it’s founding.

Rousseau and Jefferson are two very compelling philosophers, that both have had a great influence on the revolution. The two authors share several key concepts with one another, such as their views about human right, the freedom and protection of them, the strengths of man himself, and the difference between where their style of writing came from, considering Rousseau came from Switzerland and Jefferson the United States.

Madison shows throughout Federalist 47,48, and 51 that men are not perfect and as such maintaining a system of government is inherently challenging. Madison finds it important to quote Montesquieu in Federalist 48 as many interpret Montesquieu's enlightenment ideals as near perfect examples on how a government's power should be separated in order to display his view that an effective government is one that prevents arbitrary use of political power. I personally agree with Madison in finding that an effective government is one that focuses on avoiding arbitrary uses of political power over effective political leadership as a government is the definition of a necessary evil and the less its powers, effective or not, are used the better. I however

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 ,

Charles-Louis Montesquieu lived in 18th century France and became one of the most influential political philosophers due to his influence on the creation of American government. Throughout his lifetime, Montesquieu wrote several books addressing various political topics. One such book, Lettres Persanes, has presented a challenge for many who read it. The language itself is easily understood; however, the true quest has been uncovering the underlying theme unifying the individual letters. The book addresses several issues through the use of satire, with the primary topic being the political corruption in France. While this is definitely part of the partially discovered theme, Montesquieu also addresses the volatile state of religion in France in this work. Pauline Kra, whose career focused on studying both Montesquieu and Voltaire, claims that there is a complex chain of ideas linking each letter. For many historians, such as Pauline Kra and Randolph Runyon, the purpose of delving into Lettres Persanes has been to uncover and solidify the connections through the letters. Few, if any, have examined and attempted to interpret the religious views Montesquieu presents in this novel. Based upon literary evidence, Montesquieu is conveying through the Lettres Persanes that there should be religious tolerance due to the similarities between most religions despite his agnosticism.

Government is built on the premises of the established ideas of former politicians and then the new outlooks of recent politicians. All ideas on government are based on the structure and laws of former civilizations. Thus, many politicians can have similar viewpoints on government due to basing their ideas on the same former structures. But, in contrast new government structures include a variety of variations. Therefore, Jean Domat, Montesquieu and Jean Jacques Rousseau have major differences in their outlooks on government, but they do share similar aspects.

In this essay I will try to explain and critique the two dominant methods of constitutional interpretation. Which are originalism and non-originalism. I will do this by taking help from “How to Read the Constitution” by Christopher Wolfe, and different source’s from Internet. I will start by giving what Wolfe says originalism is, and then I will give some background to other ways to interpret the constitution, and the founders and interpretation and I will finish up with my view on originalism and non-originalism and the critics to that.

Montesquieu called the idea of dividing the power of the government into three consecutive branches, also known as “separation of the powers”. Montesquieu was sometimes called the father of modern anthropology.   His ideas about the English government directly influenced the U.S. constitution. He began to discover laws by which men govern themselves, because he believed the church held back society through strict enforcement and economic sense. Rousseau was a French philosopher and writer during the Age of Enlightenment.

3. Summarize the legal arguments raised by the (a) plaintiff and by the (b) defendant.

Separated by nearly 150 years of history, Montesquieu and Charles Baudelaire, both high society Frenchman, use their platforms as writers to critique and comment on French society and modernity. Nonetheless, despite their common societal status and nationality, Montesquieu and Baudelaire focus on different aspects of French society. For Montesquieu in the Persian Letters written in 1721, the strengthening French monarchy represents a growing threat to French society. Baudelaire in The Painter of Modern Life, “Eyes of the Poor”, "The Modern Public and Photography", written in 1863, 1855, and 185, critiques photography as an art form and modernity as a whole. For Baudelaire, photography and modernity present superficial lifestyle and artificial