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Difficulty: HardEnlightenment Thought and Social Contract Theories

“Political liberty is to be found only in moderate governments; and even in these, it is not always found. It is there only when there is no abuse of power. But constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it, and to carry his authority as far as it will go. To prevent this abuse, it is necessary from the very nature of things that power should be a check to power. When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical manner.”

— Baron de Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws, 1748

The political arguments expressed in the passage most directly influenced which of the following historical developments during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries?

  1. A
    The joint effort of American and French revolutionaries to implement identical programs of radical social restructuring and land redistribution.
  2. The creation of systems of checks and balances in post-revolutionary constitutions to prevent the concentration of executive authority.Answer
  3. C
    The defense of mercantilist economic regulations that consolidated state authority over national commercial monopolies.
  4. D
    The formulation of Marxist theory advocating for state-run assemblies to implement moderate legislative protections for industrial workers.

Answer

The creation of systems of checks and balances in post-revolutionary constitutions to prevent the concentration of executive authority.
The correct answer is correct because Montesquieu's argument that power must check power to preserve liberty directly influenced the framing of late-eighteenth-century constitutions, such as the United States Constitution, which established distinct legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent authoritarian rule.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the provided text to identify the core argument of the author.
The author argues that to protect political liberty, power must be divided so that different branches of government check each other, preventing the consolidation of executive and legislative power.
Understanding the core concept of separation of powers is necessary to connect it to historical outcomes.
2
Examine the historical developments of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to find where this political theory was applied.
The era of Atlantic Revolutions saw the drafting of written constitutions (such as in the United States and France) that sought to establish stable, non-tyrannical governments.
Constitutional design is the primary historical vehicle through which Enlightenment political theory was implemented.
3
Evaluate the choices to determine which one represents a correct application of the author's separation of powers theory.
The creation of separate government branches with mutual checks and balances directly matches the author's prescription.
This links the intellectual cause to its direct constitutional consequence.

Key Concept

The influence of Enlightenment political philosophy on the creation of revolutionary constitutional governments.
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Enlightenment Thought and Social Contract Theories

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