Baron De Montesquieu
By: Hanna Hodak Period Two
Facts About Montesquieu
- Lived from January 18, 1689 to February 10, 1755
- Lived in Bordeaux, France for most of his life.
- Montesquieu had a family of two daughters, a dad, a mom, and a spouse.
- He was born into a wealthy family but was put into the hands of a poor family when he was younger.
- Fun Fact: He had died of a fever when he was 66 years old.
Famous Quotes From Montesquieu
- We must have constantly present in our minds the difference between independence and liberty. Liberty is a right of doing whatever the laws permit, and if a citizen could do what they forbid he would no longer be possessed of liberty. - He is talking about his wanting of liberty and that everyone needs liberty.
- If triangles had a god, they would give him three sides. - He is talking about his idea of separation of powers or three branches of government.
- Friendship is an arrangement by which we undertake to exchange small favors for big ones. - He is talking about John Locke's idea of social contract between the government and it's people.
- Useless laws weaken the necessary laws. - He is saying that laws that are not supposed to be laws or laws that should not have been laws make the important ones less powerful.
- Men should be bewailed at their birth not at their death. - He is saying men should not just be sad at their death but have some sorrow their whole life.
Important Things To Remember
- three-part government -- legislative, executive, and judicial
- separation of governmental powers
- U.S. government based on his suggested structure
- wrote On the Spirit of Laws
- Believed in the rights of the individual
- influence the writing of constitutions of many countries including the United States
Bibliography
- http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/growth_of_democratic/html/montesquieu.htm
- https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#q=famous%20quotes%20from%20montesquieu&es_th=1&safe=strict&ssui=on
- http://www.biography.com/people/charles-louis-de-secondat-21292453
- http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/c/charles_de_montesquieu.html
- http://biography.yourdictionary.com/montesquieu
Who did he influence? And how?
Montesquieu was a very important man, who influenced many people. Some of the most popular things that he has influenced and helped people with are the three branches of government or separation of powers, influenced the people writing the constitution of many countries, and wrote the spirit of the law. There are many other important things he wrote about, thought about, or taught about that influenced our government today.