Question

How is Montesquieu's concept of the separation of powers incorporated into the U.S constitution?

Answer 1

Montesquieu believed that there should be three branches in a US Government and that each of the three branches would have their own powers. This relates to the constitution because we have our government separated into three different powers: legislative, executive, and judicial. There really isn't much that comes from our constitution that is original. In fact, almost everything in our constitution came from other documents or philosophers. Such as the english bill of rights, the magna carta, john locke's writings, etc.

Answer 2

The division of the US government into three coequal branches -- executive, legislative, and judicial -- comes from Montesquieu.

The "Separation of Powers" principle was introduced by Charles-Louis de Secondat, the Baron of Montesquieu.  (Usually he's referred to as just "Montesquieu.")  He wrote an important work of political theory called The Spirit of the Laws, published in 1748.  Within his treatment of how governments will function best, Montesquieu argued that executive, legislative, and judicial functions of government ought to be divided between parts of the government, so that no one person or division of the government can infringe on the overall rights of others in the government or of the members of the society overall.