Enlightenment
Influences on the
US Government
Janelle Martinez Garcia
Baron de
Montesquieu
Thesis Statement
Montesquieu was the one who came up with the notion of dividing
government power into three branches: executive, legislative, and
judiciary. This viewpoint affected the architects of the Constitution when
it came to formulating laws and dividing responsibilities, as well as the
insertion of safeguards to protect individual liberty.
Description of influence on American political
philosophy and Influential documents
The colonists intended to be a free country, separate from England, as
expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Montesquieu recognized
the perils of a system in which a single individual wields full authority.
According to Montesquieu, government power should be split into three
branches: legislative, executive, and judiciary.
• include a minimum of FIVE direct citations from the Declaration of
Independence and from a source related to your philosopher.
Explanation of continued influence on American
politics today
• (2-3 paragraphs);
• include two explicit and concrete examples
• how does philosophy influence the core political principles in American
constitutional democracy? How are those influences still evident
today?
Bibliography/Citations