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In the 18th century there came a...

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heavy-hitting Enlightenment thinker... [a baseball player hitting the ball]

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named Montesquieu.

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We like to call him "The Slugger." [ball going out of the stadium]

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But noboby else does,

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so we don't recommend repeating that. [a baseball player blowing a chewing gum]

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Montesquieu's biggest hit was a book called...

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The Spirit of Laws.

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It was published in 1748, right before...

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the American Revolution. [a group of men riding horse]

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Well, Montesquieu's writings had a big influence on...

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the founders of the United States...

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as they tried to brainstorm a system of government... [Jefferson and his men at the court]

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that could promote freedom.

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It helped them keep on track when Thomas Jefferson...

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said stuff like, "Let's call it Jeffyland."

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Eh, would've been cool. [picture of a circus tent and a giant wheel]

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One of Montesquieu's big things was examining...

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how different kinds of government go... [a lab with microscope, funnels and test tubes for experiment]

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bad. How talks about how monarchs can...

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become big, bad tyrants if they stop.. .[Montesquieu examining sample in the microscope]

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following the law. You know,

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absolute power corrupts absolutely.

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Yeah, we're looking at you King George. [image of King George]

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Montesquieu also talked about how democracies can...

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stop being democratic if, for example, [Montesquieu examining another sample in the microscope]

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one group takes advantage of another.

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Yeah, read Animal Farm, if you're wondering about this.

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Unfortunately, the Founding Fathers... [an animal farm with pigs, hen and a cow]

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didn't quite take the idea to heart when they kept...

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slavery legal in the newly minted Land of the Free. [a maid serving beverage to guests]

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The free white men.

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Anyway, one solution Montesquieu came up with to keep...

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the government from goin' rotten was... [Montesquieu performing another experiment]

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to create a separation of powers.

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His big idea was that government's ought...

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to split up political authority between legislative,

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executive and judiciary branches. [images split into 3 parts as legislative, judicial and executive]

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That way each branch could,

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you know, keep the other honest-ish.

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If the government were sliced up like a...

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pie, the whole thing would be less likely to be ruined by one... [man throwing a slice of pie in the trash bin]

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bad slice. Sound familiar?

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It should. This is exactly how...

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the U.S. is set up, with Congress...

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as the legislative branch, the office of the president is the... [Obama giving a speech]

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executive, and the Supreme Court...

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as the judicial. Well,[ judge slamming the hammer]

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seems like the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution...

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with Montesquieu crib notes scribbled on their hands. [some information written on a person's palm]

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Good thing they didn't have sweaty palms.

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Of course, Montesquieu didn't think there was only... [image of crown]

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one good form of government. He recognized[

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that people around the world were different,

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and he thought that each group of people should pick whatever form of... [image of flags of different countries]

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government best fit their culture, religion,

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and climate, you know, whatevs.

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The importance thing wasn't democracy vs. monarchy. [Uncle Sam and Queen Elizabeth in a boxing ring]

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It was that people felt protected from...

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harm, both from other citizens...

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and from their own government. [man hiding under his blanket]

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So how does Montesquieu weigh in on the whole state of nature debate?

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Well, it's kind of complicated, but mostly he emphasized...

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the importance of balance.

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Montesquieu said that in most situations... [man offering cookies to Obama]

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people are pretty selfish.

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But with the right mix of patriotism,

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personal liberty, and respect for chosen leaders, people are...

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able to think about the greater good. [crowd clapping after speech]

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In other words, people in democracies have the right...

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to pick their leaders and replace those leaders... [man pointing at Obama]

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if they do a bad job.

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But they don't get to make every decision ever.

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That's like another form of self-interest. [man pointing at the woman and laughing]

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This balance is very delicate.

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It's like the country is a tightrope walkers at a circus. [image of American Flag with wheels balancing on a rope]

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One misstep in either direction, and...

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...yeah.

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Our peaceful democracy is transformed into...

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a gory pancake.

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And when the clown comes to clean up the mess, [a clown entering the stage]

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well they aren't gonna laugh, and...

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ugh what a mess. Where are the clowns? C'mon.

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Send in the clowns. [some more people entering the stage]

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Oh, don't bother. They're here.

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