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Published byRudolf Kelley Modified over 8 years ago
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Montesquieu
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Biography Montesquieu was a French political thinker. He lived during the Enlightenment, the period that people started asking why. By that time, England met the Glorious Revolution. James II of England was overthrow by the parliament to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1715 the Sun King, Louis XIV died. He was inherited by mostly weak and feeble kings. These transformations greatly impacted Montesquieu. He referred to them repeatedly in his work.
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Important works He was extremely support the theory of separation of powers. He coined Checks and Balances. He wrote “The Spirit of the Laws”.
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parliament and congress courtspresident judicialexecutivelegislative The separation of powers
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Checks and balances This system was built so that no branch of government could become too powerful. “Checks” mean each branch responsible for monitor others. “Balances” mean ability of each branch to use it power to limits others power.
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literature His first success publication is “Persian Letters”. It referred to the senselessness of contemporary society. It brought him famous. His master work is “The Spirit of the Laws”. It referred to political theory. He suggested that the governing power should be dividing to three branches. At first, it was published anonymously. “The Spirit of the Laws” had highly influence. He gained great acceptance in Europe, especially Britain, except in France. The Roman Catholic Church banned Montesquieu’s works.
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M ontesquieu was famous in British as a champion of British liberty, Montesquieu remained a powerful influence on many of the American founders, most remarkably, James Madison of Virginia, the "Father of the Constitution." Montesquieu's belief that "government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another" influenced Madison and others to form the government that use the theory of separation of power.
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N owadays, no democratic system is absolute separation of powers or an absolute no separation of powers. Constitutions with separation of powers is found worldwide, particularly in America, which is the first system that mix constitutions with separation of powers. Separation of powers systems is almost always presidential except for Switzerland, which run by a seven- man executive branch of state called the Federal Council.
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