Baron de Montesquieu
Montesquieu (1689-1755) was a French philosopher that believed in the separation of powers and a system in which each branch of government was allowed to check the other branches and make sure they didn't get too powerful.
Montesquieu's views on the way government heavily influenced our Founding Fathers. His opinions were basically fully applied to the U.S. government when it was constructed. His belief of the checks and balance system is the one we still use today.
Montesquieu (1689-1755) was a French philosopher that believed in the separation of powers and a system in which each branch of government was allowed to check the other branches and make sure they didn't get too powerful.
Montesquieu's views on the way government heavily influenced our Founding Fathers. His opinions were basically fully applied to the U.S. government when it was constructed. His belief of the checks and balance system is the one we still use today.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau (1712-1778) was an Enlightenment Philosopher that believed that people were essentially good, but that the rules of society that people put in place corrupted them. Thus they needed a government that could be strong enough to rule, but could not gain too much power.
Rousseau's beliefs influenced our founding fathers when they drafted our constitution. His beliefs and ideas were mostly applied to the idea of the checks and balance system, which is all about protecting people from a government, by splitting the power between branches, so one does not get too much power. This represents his ideas that a government can be powerful enough to govern people, but is not strong enough to become tyrannical.
Rousseau (1712-1778) was an Enlightenment Philosopher that believed that people were essentially good, but that the rules of society that people put in place corrupted them. Thus they needed a government that could be strong enough to rule, but could not gain too much power.
Rousseau's beliefs influenced our founding fathers when they drafted our constitution. His beliefs and ideas were mostly applied to the idea of the checks and balance system, which is all about protecting people from a government, by splitting the power between branches, so one does not get too much power. This represents his ideas that a government can be powerful enough to govern people, but is not strong enough to become tyrannical.