Baron+de+Montesquieu

Baron de Montesquieu (Jeff, Colin, Jordan, Garrett)

Born in 1689, died in 1755, he was a major philosopher during the Enlightenment.



Quotes- "Republics are brought to their ends by luxury; monarchies by poverty." "Liberty is the right to do what the law permits." Believed that the best form of government was electing by the people. A government in which the people have the power in the government. This would maintain the balance of power in the government.

His two published writings, __The Spirit of the Law__ and the __Persian Letters__, were extremely critical of the European government structure. He was a strong supporter of the idea that laws must be adapted to better fit the people based on social and environmental factors.

Influence on American Democracy:


 * "People are sovereign"
 * May govern through officials but have the power to choose those officials.
 * Argued how democracy can be corrupt
 * Spirit of Inequality
 * Personal interests become more important than interests of a nation
 * Spirit of Extreme Equality
 * Everyone, including government officials, makes the government decisions for themselves.
 * Citizens would then disrespect all officials.


 * Government Branches
 * Checks and Balances


 * Work Cited
 * philosopher, a major, and one of the bleakest. It presents both. "Baron de Montesquieu, Charles-Louis de Secondat (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)." //Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy//. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2011. .