In the Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu advocates for a constitutional style of government. In this constitutional government, there would be separation of powers between different branches of the central government. Giving specific powers to each branch would ensure that no one portion of the government became too powerful. This idea is known today as the system of checks and balances.
These ideas introduced by Montesquieu inspired different forms of government all over the world, including the United States. Our US Constitution is based on many of these concepts, as we have separation of powers and a system of checks and balances between the judicial, legislative, and executive branches.
As the first Roman emperor (though he never claimed the title for himself), Augustus led Rome’s transformation from republic to empire during the tumultuous years following the assassination of his great-uncle and adoptive father Julius Caesar. He shrewdly combined military might, institution-building and lawmaking to become Rome’s sole ruler, laying the foundations of the 200-year Pax Romana (Roman Peace) and an empire that lasted, in various forms, for nearly 1,500 years.
