“In every government there are three sorts of power; the legislative; the executive, in respect to things dependent on the law of nations; and the executive, in regard to things that depend on the civil law.
“By virtue of the first, the prince or magistrate enacts temporary or perpetual laws, and amends or abrogates those that have been already enacted. By the second, he makes peace or war, sends or receives embassies; establishes the public security, and provides against invasions. By the third, he punishes criminals, or determines the disputes that arise between individuals. The latter we shall call the judiciary power, and the other simply the executive power of the state.
The political liberty of the subject is a tranquility of mind, arising from the opinion each person has of his safety. In order to have this liberty, it is requisite the government be so constituted as one man need not be afraid of` another.
When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical manner.
Spirit of Laws by Maggie Foster
“Selection from The Spirit of Laws by Baron de Montesquieu (1748)”
The document “Selection from The Spirit of Laws by Baron de Montesquieu (1748)” has a basic outline that explains that civil and government law should be broken down into branches and how everything will not work unless it is done like this. In addition, he goes into detail about what each branch does. He talks about how one is meant to help laws, another to have overseas communications and keep the peace, and the other to take down the criminals and angry people. He also brings in the idea that absolute power is absolutely corrupt. That when one ruler has everything and complete control, all of those aides in their true downfall.
In the first paragraph, Montesquieu introduces different branches of government. He sorts them into the legislative branch, the executive branch, a civil law branch, or the judicial branch. He really drills into the idea that these branches are what nations’ governments need to survive.
What is interesting about this being said by Baron de Montesquieu is that he is a French nobleman who was very close to the king, and he is basically opposing monarchy rule. His name Baron even means the land owner and close to the king. His own name contradicts what he is preaching. In all, he gave an outline of what America has today for our government but he did go directly the opposite of what his original government layout was.
In the next couple of paragraphs, he continues to dig into the idea that political liberty is crucial. He argues that the “political liberty of the subject is a tranquility of mind, arising from the opinion each person has of his safety”, and he is trying to say that when people feel safe and calm with their government there is more trust (Montesquieu 1). Without this freedom and safety, the government will not work because no one can trust anyone and it can turn into chaos.
Including his earlier statements, with these separate, more in-depth branches, people can get more involved with their government resulting in more trust and security. Altogether, he is furthering his idea that these branches of government will overall improve the well-being of people and countries.
Finally, he ends his document with how absolute power is absolutely corrupt. He encompasses the idea that with absolute power there “can be no liberty…” and every law will be enacted “… in a tyrannical manner,” resulting in people not being able to have certain freedoms and feeling trapped (Montesquieu 1). He is trying to find a better way than what is going on in other countries and make freedom more accessible. In conclusion, Montesquieu is trying to get the point across that with tyranny there are no equal freedoms and liberties, and the only way to conduct a government is with separate branches.
“Selections from the Spirit of Laws” by Bell McKee
Baron de Montesquieu was a Frenchmen who is accredited as the first person to outline the different branches of government in his piece “Selections from The Spirit of Laws.” Montesquieu writes from France where they are ruled by a monarchy. As a French nobleman himself, he would not only own land but also have closer relations with the King than typical. Montesquieu’s piece was not a popular one and was even banned by the church at a point.
Montesquieu discusses in his paper how one person cannot be entrusted with too much power. He establishes a need to have checks and balances to prevent a government categorized by “tyrannical laws” or one that is run in a “tyrannical manner” (Montesquieu). Montesquieu includes power corrupts people and that the powers of a government must be “united in the same person” (Montesquieu). Montesquieu informs that they must have a government that is “constituted as one man need not be afraid of another” (Montesquieu). Montesquieu is continuing to talk about avoiding tyranny here and how necessary it is to have a successful government.
Montesquieu ties liberty to freedom in his piece as well. He calls the “political liberty of the subject” equal to the “tranquility of mind” (Montesquieu). He states this is based on the trust the people involved have in each other, which links back to his fear of tyranny. Montesquieu spends most of his work outlining how the three branches of government should interact and balance one another.
Montesquieu speaks on the jobs of each branch that the United States would later adapt. He says that one branch “enacts temporary or perpetual laws” and adjusts current laws (Montesquieu). Montesquieu assigns his second branch the task of world relations, completing tasks such as keeping peace and establishing public safety. The third and final branch he outlines is created to judge conflicts between individuals and “[punish] criminals” (Montesquieu).
Over the course of his piece “Selections from The Spirit of Laws,” Baron de Montesquieu touches on tranquility, tyranny, and how a government should look, and the Americans will take note of his words when they begin to form their own nation.
