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Montesquieu concluded that the best form of government was one in which the legislative, executive, and judicial powers were separate and kept each other in check to prevent any branch from becoming too powerful. He believed that uniting these powers, as in the monarchy of Louis XIV, would lead to despotism.

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Therefore, no branch of the government could threaten the freedom of the people. His ideas about separation of powers became the basis for the United States Constitution. Despite Montesquieu's belief in the principles of a democracy, he did not feel that all people were equal. Montesquieu approved of slavery.

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Montesquieu believed that all things were made up of rules or laws that never changed. ... Montesquieu called the idea of dividing government power into three branches the "separation of powers." He thought it most important to create separate branches of government with equal but different powers

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"There is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice."

"Success in the majority of circumstances depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed."

"The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy."

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He was a jurist, social philosopher and satirist and became the first great French man associated with the Enlightenment.

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"The Spirit of Laws" is a treatise on political theory, as well as a pioneering work in comparative law, published in 1748 by Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu.