1689-1755

All things are made up of rules or laws that never changed

Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu

Was political thinker that lived during the Era of the Enlightenment

Born in Bordeaux, France to a wealthy family. Despite his parents being wealthy he was placed in the care of a poor family 

When his father died in 1713 he was placed in his uncles care

In 1715 he married Jeanne de Lartigue who was wealthy herself

His Life

The next year, his uncle passed away and inherited his fortune, as well as the title Baron de Montesquieu and Président à Mortier in the Parliament of Bordeaux

was a member of the Bordeaux and French Academies of Science and studied the laws and customs and governments of the countries of Europe.

wrote two books :Persian Letters in 1721 and Spirit Of The Laws in 1748. Persian laws critized the lifestyles and liberties of the wealty french and the church

Spirtit Of The Laws was his ideas on how the government would work best and, was his most famous work.

he hoped knowledge of the laws of government would reduce problems in society and improve human life

received a law degree from the University of Bordeaux in 1708, and went to Paris to continue his legal studies.

In 1725 he resigned from the parlement " Montesquieu believed that all things were made up

of rules or laws that never changed.“Was widely traveledBy the time he died, of a hiogh fever he was

completely blind

Lived before the French Revolution

In 1715 the long-reigning Louis XIV died and was succeeded by the five-year-old Louis XV. These national transformations impacted Montesquieu greatly; he would later refer to them repeatedly in his work.

NOTE

He believed there are three types of government

-Republican-which can be democratic or aristotic forms -Monarch-free governments headed by a hereditary figure, e.g. king, queen, emperor-Despotisms-enslaved governments headed by dictators

His Beliefs

 He was largely responsible for the popularization of the terms feudalism 

Feudalism is a decentralized sociopolitical structure in which a weak monarchy attempts to control the lands of the realm through reciprocal agreements with regional leaders... Montesquieu loved knowledge, science, law, toleration.

Montesquieu hated armies, conquests, tyrants, priests.

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 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 believed 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. He believed that every one should have equal but different powers, this way the govnment would avoid placing to much power on one individual or a group of individuals. His ideas about the seperation became the basis for the U.S constitution.

Montesquieu's most influential work divided French society into three classes (or trias politica, a term he coined): the monarchy, the aristocracy, and the commons. Montesquieu saw two types of governmental power existing: the sovereign and the administrative

 He next published Considérations sur les causes de la grandeur des Romains et de leur décadence (Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans, 1734), considered by some scholars a transition from The Persian Letters to his master work.

      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.

One of his more exotic ideas, which is outlined in Spirit of Laws is the climate theory, which tells that climate should significantly influence the nature of man and the nature of his society. He even goes as far as to say that certain climates are superior to others: the temperate climate in France being the best of possible climates. His view is that people living in hot countries are "too hot-tempered" and the people of the northern countries are "icy" or "stiff". The climate in middle Europe thus breeds the best people.

We should also note that Montesquieu (like many of America's Founders) endorsed the practice of slavery and held the view that people of African descent did not deserve to be treated as humans, writing: "Sugar would be too expensive if it were not produced by slaves. These slaves are blacks ... it is not possible that God, who is a very wise being, would have put a soul ... in such an utterly black body." 

      "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.“

"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."

Quotes

"Law should be like death, which spares no one.“

Montesquieu's motto was, "freedom-Liberty is the stepchild of privilege. “

"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."

“  Lunch kills half of Paris, supper the other half. ” 

"I have always observed that to succeed in the world one should seem a fool, but be wise. "

In the infancy of societies, the chiefs of state shape its institutions; later the institutions shape the chiefs of state.”

“Liberty is the right to do what the law permits.”

“Luxury ruins republics; poverty, monarchies.”

The reason the Romans built their great paved highways was because they had such inconvenient footwear”

“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."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montesquieuhttp://www.indopedia.org/Charles_de_Second

at,_Baron_de_Montesquieu.htmlhttp://plato.stanford.edu/entries/montesquieu/

Bibliography