Montesquieu

Montesquieu was an eighteenth-century French philosopher whose work *The Spirit of the Laws* profoundly influenced political theory, particularly the doctrine of separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

His ideas shaped the framers of the U.S.

Constitution.

a Montesquieu-inspired system of checks and balances.

contemporaries

Voltaire

French Enlightenment satirist

RousseauFrench surname, philosopher or painter
DiderotPhilosopher who assembled comprehensive knowledge
LockeEnglish empiricist philosopher's surname

Hume · d'Alembert · Encyclopédie · Enlightenment

philosophy

separation of powers

Constitutional distribution of authority

checks and balancesConstitutional power-limiting framework
political theoryStudy of governance principles
constitutionalismGovernance bound by fundamental laws

republicanism · liberalism · despotism · liberty · civil liberties · sovereignty · governance · democracy · aristocracy · monarchy

biography

Bordeaux

French port and vineyard area

aristocratPerson of noble birth
juristLegal expert or scholar
satiristOne who mocks through wit

social commentator · nobleman · lawyer · wine merchant · Grand Tour · magistrate

influence

Founding Fathers

Revolutionary-era American statesmen

U.S. ConstitutionSupreme law of America
Federalist PapersFounding-era persuasive essays
MadisonWisconsin's governmental seat

Hamilton · Jefferson · French Revolution · legislative branch · executive branch · judicial branch · bicameralism · federalism · limited government · Blackstone

Montesquieu

Voltaire

separation of powers

Bordeaux

Founding Fathers

Montesquieu

Opposites

Categories

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