Baron De Montesquieu's Second Treatise Of Government

During the Enlightenment Era, certain ideas such as The Second Treatise of Government by john Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, Spirit of the Laws, Jean Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract Virginia Declaration of Rights, Thomas Paine, Common Sense, The United States Constitution, and Declaration of Independence served as the main basis for the formation of the American Government in the late 18th century. The 18th century was the era when the Enlightenment climaxed in the French and American revolutions. The 13 American colonies at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as 13 new independent states and not under British ruling anymore. In the 18th century the British government operated its colonies under the economic theory that promoted government regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of state powers at the expense of rival national powers.
The Second Treatise of Government …show more content…
Montesquieu's most radical work divided French society into three classes the monarchy, the aristocracy, and the commons. Montesquieu saw two types of powers existing, the sovereign and the administrative. The administrative powers were the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary. These powers were to be divided up into three classes so that each would have a power over the other, he referred to them as Estates. It was important he did this because if one class became power hungry they could've took over the other classes and expanded their work whether it was good or bad. One of his more striking ideas, outlined in The Spirit of the Laws, is the climate theory. This theory states climate should substantially influence the nature of man and his society. He even goes so far as to assert that certain climates are superior to others. His view is that people living in hot countries are "too hot tempered," while those in northern countries are "too cold