“Persian Letters”

1. MONTESQUI
EU
BY: KATYA CHIRINOS PAZ
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2. WHO IS
MONTESQUIEU?
▸ Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brède and de Montesquieu.
▸ Born in Aquitaine, region of France.
▸ Birthdate- January 18, 1689.
▸ Born into a wealthy family, with maternal connections to the barony.
Solider father also had noble lineage.
▸ Mom died when he was 7 years old, and at age 11 sent to the Oratorian
Collège de Juilly near Paris to study literature, the sciences and other
precepts of a classical education.
▸ Took up law at the University of Bordeaux and began working in Paris
after graduation.
▸ Father died in 1713 and in 1714 he became councilor to the Bordeaux
parliament.
▸ Uncle died in 1716, leaving him with lands and titles as the Baron de la
Brède and de Montesquieu.
▸ Since he was finically and socially secured he could presume his
passions including, Roman law, history, biology, geography and physics.
▸ Died- February 10, 1755 of a fever in Paris.
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3. WHAT DOCUMENTS IS MONTESQUIEU
KNOWN FOR?
▸“Persian Letters” - In 1721, this made him gain fame, it was a politically
biting satire of religions, monarchies and the rich French under the guise
of an epistolary novel, although he disdained calling it that. He moved to
Paris, traveled extensively, and continued to publish, switching to political
treatises such as a consideration of the fall of Rome.
▸“The Spirit of Law” - published in 1748, had enormous influence on how
governments should work, eschewing classical definitions of government
for new delineations.
▸<——-“The Spirit of Law”
▸“Persian Letters” ——>
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4. HOW DID MONTESQUIEU INFLUENCE
AMERICAN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY?
▸He established the idea of a separation of powers—legislative, executive and
judicial—to more effectively propagate liberty.
▸Although the Catholic Church put Spirit on its list of banned books, the work
influenced France's Declaration of the Rights of Man (Declaration des Droits de
l’Homme et du Citoyen) and the U.S. Constitution.
▸The Founding Fathers, most especially James Madison, drew upon
Montesquieu’s theory of the separation of powers when drafting the
Constitution. Madison and the Founding Fathers took heed of Montesquieu’s
warning by establishing an independent executive (the President), legislative
(the Congress), and judiciary (the Supreme Court) in the federal Constitution.
<—— James Madison
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5. IS MONTESQUIEU STILL HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL IN
AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY?
▸Yes, we still use his idea of the three branches, “Separation
of Power.
▸executive (the President), legislative (the Congress), and
judiciary (the Supreme Court) in the federal Constitution.
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6. WORKS CITED
▸https://www.biography.com/people/charles-louis-de-
secondat-21292453
▸http://www.americassurvivalguide.com/montesquieu.php
▸https://www.biography.com/people/james-madison-9394965
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