Montesquieu's Influence On The US Constitution

Montesquieu was a French philosopher who lived during the European Age in the 17th and 18th centuries. His writings and his political ideas were read by American colonists and founders and had an influence on the shaping of the U.S. Constitution. Montesquieu's most famous work was The Spirit of the Laws, the work of political philosophy which his ideas were drawn. Montesquieu's contribution to political adress is his theory on the separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches, which became the bedrock of the U.S. Constitution and the way the founders envisioned a plan that would divide and thus balance the powers of the new government. Montesquieu based his thinking on the republican government of the ancient Romans and on the parliamentary monarchy of Britain at the time. These governments, he argued, prevented the concentration of power in one person's hands and the infringement upon individual liberties that come with dictatorial governments. …show more content…
He explained the principle of checks and balances to limit government power. He favored representative government and a rule of law. He denounced tyranny. He requested that when government violates individual rights, people may legitimately rebel. These perspectives were most fully developed in Locke’s famous Second Treatise Concerning Civil Government, and they were so radical that he never dared sign his name to it. He acknowledged authorship only in his will. Locke’s writings did much to inspire the libertarian ideals of the American Revolution From Locke, James Madison drew his most fundamental principles of liberty and government. Locke’s writings were part of Benjamin Franklin’s self-education, and John Adams believed that both girls and boys should learn about Locke. The French philosopher Voltaire called Locke “the man of the greatest