Charles de Secondat, Baron De Montesquieu

1. Charles de Secondat, Baron De Montesquieu 1689 - 1755

2. LIFE • Born in La Brede, France to a high class family • Received law degree from University of Bordeaux in 1708 • Married Jean de Lartigue, a practicing protestant, and had a son and two daughters. • Presided over the Tournelle, the Parliaments criminal division. • Active member in Academy of Bordeaux – 1725 • Member of Academie Francaise – 1728 • Member of Royal Society in London - 1730

3. Chateau La Brede

4. MAJOR WRITTEN WORKS The Persian Letters – 1721 The Spirit of the Laws – 1748 Catholic Church Banned the Spirit of the Laws - 1751

5. THE PERSIAN LETTERS • Fictional novel, the most humorous to be written by a philosopher. • Traces the journey of two fictional Persians, Usbek and Rica from 1711-1720. • It was a portrayal of what European culture would look like to a traveler from outside of Europe, and the problems they would encounter. • A great piece of literature comparing all aspects of European society against non-European society.

7. THE SPIRIT OF THE LAWS • Written to explain human laws and social institutions. • Gives thought to: • Forms of government • Liberty • Climate and geography • Commerce • Religion

8. Three types of government: Republican (democratic or aristocratic) Monarchies Despotisms “That a republican government is that in which the body or only a part of the people is possessed of the supreme power: monarchy, that in which a single person governs by fixed and established laws: a despotic government, that in which a single person directs every thing by his own will and caprice.” Each form of government has a principle, a set of “human passions which set it in motion” and each can be corrupted if its principle is undermined or destroyed. WHEN the body of the people is possessed of the supreme power, this is called a democracy. When the supreme power is lodged in the hands of a part of the people, it is then an aristocracy. In a democracy the people are in some respects the sovereign, and in others the subject. FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

9. Division of Powers • 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 [law making] 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.

10. Political liberty is “a tranquility of mind arising from the opinion each person has of his safety”. A person does not have total freedom, but has the freedom to do what is allowed under the laws which protect us. One should feel the greatest confidence that if they obey the laws, the power of the state will not be directed against them. Laws should be made so that an innocent person is easily able to prove their innocence. LIBERTY

11. Montesquieu believes that climate and geography affect the temperament and customs of a countries inhabitants. These influences are not irresistible. Cold climate constricts body fibres, causing coarser juices to flow through them. Hot climates, expands those fibres, and creates more rarefied juices CLIMATE AND GEOGRAPHY

12. Montesquieu believes that the only way a country can better itself without negative effects is through commerce. It does not have the negative effects of other methods such as nation building, but instead all costs go directly back into the economy. COMMERCE

13. Religion is only good for the good in which it produces in society. The church and the state should remain separate. Government has no basis on the truth or falsity of religion. Different religions are appropriate for different regions, as the religions normally reflect the regional influences. RELIGION

14. Quotes from Montesquieu • "In republican governments, men are all equal; equal they are also in despotic governments: in the former, because they are everything; in the latter, because they are nothing." • MontesquieuThe Spirit of LawsBk. VI, Ch. 2 • "Luxury is therefore absolutely necessary in monarchies; as it is also in despotic states, In the former, it is the use of liberty, in the latter, it is the abuse of servitude...      "Hence arrives a very natural reflection. Republics end with luxury; monarchies with poverty." • MontesquieuThe Spirit of LawsBk. VII, Ch. 4 • "As distant as heaven is from the earth, so is the true spirit of equality from that of extreme equality...      "In a true state of nature, indeed, all men are born equal, but they cannot continue in this equality. Society makes them lose it, and they recover it only by the protection of laws." • MontesquieuThe Spirit of LawsBk. VIII, Ch. 3

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