answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

Baron de Montesquieu

User Avatar

Wiki User

12y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: He thought that the power of government should be divided among three separate branches?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about General History

What did Barron Montesquieu argue?

He argued the division of power within any government. His model was Britain, where the executive power resided in the King, the legislative power in the parliament, and judicial power in the courts. He thought that any two branches could check and balance the power of the third.


Why is the island of Ireland divided and how has that led to conflict?

the island of Ireland is divided because of there religion. The conflict was because they thought everyone should be Catholic.


How did baron de montesquieu influence the US Constitution?

Montesquieu believed that all things were made up of rules or laws that never changed. He set out to study these laws scientifically with the hope that knowledge of the laws of government would reduce the problems of society and improve human life. According to Montesquieu, there were three types of government: a monarchy (ruled by a king or queen), a republic (ruled by an elected leader), and a despotism (ruled by a dictator). Montesquieu believed that a government that was elected by the people was the best form of government. He did, however, believe that the success of a democracy - a government in which the people have the power - depended upon maintaining the right balance of power. Montesquieu argued that the best government would be one in which power was balanced among three groups of officials. He thought England - which divided power between the king (who enforced laws), Parliament (which made laws), and the judges of the English courts (who interpreted laws) - was a good model of this. Montesquieu called the idea of dividing government power into three branches the "separation of powers." He thought it most important to create separate branches of government with equal but different powers. That way, the government would avoid placing too much power with one individual or group of individuals. He wrote, "When the [lawmaking] and [law enforcement] powers are united in the same person... there can be no liberty." According to Montesquieu, each branch of government could limit the power of the other two branches. Therefore, no branch of the government could threaten the freedom of the people. His ideas about separation of powers became the basis for the United States Constitution. Despite Montesquieu's belief in the principles of a democracy, he did not feel that all people were equal. Montesquieu approved of slavery. He also thought that women were weaker than men and that they had to obey the commands of their husband. However, he also felt that women did have the ability to govern. "It is against reason and against nature for women to be mistresses in the house... but not for them to govern an empire. In the first case, their weak state does not permit them to be preeminent; in the second, their very weakness gives them more gentleness and moderation, which, rather than the harsh and ferocious virtues, can make for a good environment." In this way, Montesquieu argued that women were too weak to be in control at home, but that there calmness and gentleness would be helpful qualities in making decisions in government.


What is the meaning of the separate-but-equal principle?

That was the attempt at segregation that thought we could have equal treatment for blacks and whites while keeping separate facilities for them. But somehow, they never were quite equal.


What did the Romans contribute to modern thought?

The most outstanding contribution of ancient Rome was the development of the their government into a republic. The ancient Roman republic was not perfect, however, the republic's structure of having a "balance of powers" in a manner of speaking, led to the USA's government of having powers shared by three different branches of government. The framers of the US Constitution created a republic where powers are balanced between the legislature, the Federal Court system and the executive branch. However, this balance between branches of government does not resemble at all the branches of the government of the Roman Republic, which were totally different. The concept of balance of powers comes from Polybius, the ancient Greeks scholar, and the work of Montesquieu, the famous the 18th century French philosopher, rather than Roman political thought. The US branches are more akin to that of the British government of the time of the drafting of the US constitution (except for the monarch) which was the model used by Montesquieu. Although several ancient civilisations developed written laws before the Romans, some of the key principles of Roman civil law have provided part of the foundation of the law of many modern countries. These were: citizenship status and citizenship rights, equality under the law, the right to have a proper trial and to defend oneself, the right to appeal, that the burden of proof rests on the accuser and not on the accused, that it is the exact form of actions and not intentions or words which is punishable, that a law deemed unreasonable or unfair can be repealed, and that no Roman citizen should be tortured.

Related questions

Who said Government powers should be divided into the branches?

When our countries government was being made a long time ago think Benjamin Franklin and other people like George Washington and James Madison thought of the idea to have 3 branches: Judicial, Executive and Legislative. So that's why we have 3 branches of government.


Who said the Government powers should be divided into three branches?

When our countries government was being made a long time ago think Benjamin Franklin and other people like George Washington and James Madison thought of the idea to have 3 branches: Judicial, Executive and Legislative. So that's why we have 3 branches of government.


What were Montesquieu Beliefs about government?

Montesquieu believed in the separation of powers within a government, where power is divided among different branches to prevent tyranny. He also advocated for a system of checks and balances to ensure each branch of government could limit the power of the others. Additionally, he favored a representative government and believed in the importance of laws being based on the customs and values of a society.


Was the three branches of government ever thought of before the constitution?

No, not until about 15 years after the constitution was completed.


Why is 3 branches of government needed?

The Great Compromise thought of the idea of creating three branches of the government into order to divide the powers so that not one person/section could have complete power. Now the branches share the powers and make sure that one of the branches are doing their job without abusing their powers.


Why do you think the writers of the constitution added a system of checks ad balances?

so if two of the other government branches thought the other was too powerful they could check the issue then balance the branches


Why did the writers of the Constitution include a system of checks and balances in the government?

So that no one branch of the government has total control


Who suggested the plan for 3 branches of government in the constitution?

The person who presented the idea of separate branches was a french political philosopher named Baron De Montesquieu. He thought for the best interest of the people was to clearly separate the Executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.


What 1781 document established a government with a single-chamber congress and no executive or judicial branches?

The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union is the 1781 document that was written to establish a government with a single chamber of Congress and no executive or judicial branches. This type of government was thought to weaken the power of the people throughout the United States and would give Congress too much power.


Why it was so important to determine who would be in control of Reconstruction plans between the executive and legislative branches of government?

It was important because they wanted to have control over the country they thought who ever was chosen itbe the ultimate authority we could say.


What form of government did montesquieu believe in?

Montesquieu thought that a limited monarchy was the best type of government, with a monarch and its underlings, with whom the power was shared with. Basically, a monarch with limited power and some other peopple with a little power


Who developed the three branches of government?

The "Founding Farthers" did because they thought that one person,( like a monarchy) shouldnt have all the power. So, they spread the power out to three "branches" and also allowed certain people voting for President.