Separation of powers is a political doctrine originating in the writings of Montesquieu in The Spirit of the Laws where he urged for a constitutional government with three separate branches of government. Each of the three branches would have defined abilities to check the powers of the other branches. This idea was called separation of powers. This philosophy heavily influenced the writing of the United States Constitution, according to which the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches of the United States government are kept distinct in order to prevent abuse of power. This United States form of separation of powers is associated with a system of checks and balances. COUNT 5
QSN1 Which political practice did Montesquieu originate? ANS1 Separation of powers QSN2 How many divisions of the government did Montesquieu call for? ANS2 three QSN3 What document was greatly informed by the idea of separation of powers? ANS3 United States Constitution QSN4 What kind of oversight does the separation of powers help to promote? ANS4 checks and balances QSN5 What was the doctrine called that allowed the three branches of government to check the powers of each other? ANS5 separation of powers