International Programs

Over the past 200 years, the United States of America has been governed by one Constitution, adopted in 1789. The strength of this constitution resides in its flexibility of interpretation and ability to be amended. The Constitution of the United States is said to be a living document, written by the founding fathers to withstand the evolution of this country from infancy to adulthood. The basic outline for the governmental structure found in our constitution came from the writings of French philosopher and statesman Baron Charles de Montesquieu. According to Montesquieu, a government without a determined separation of powers could not be governed by a constitution. It was Montesquieu's view that this division should be equal among three distinctly unique branches-- executive, judicial, and legislative—to ensure that one branch did not become too powerful and create a dictatorship (e.g. as Napoleon I later did by ignoring the two other branches, declaring himself Emperor of France). Other philosophers that influenced the final draft of the United States Constitution included Rousseau, who believed that the general will of the people should dictate the form and function of government; and Hobbes (The Leviathan) and Locke ("An Essay Concerning the True Original, Extent and End of Civil Government”) for their writings on the purpose of government, and the responsibility of government to be run by the people to protect their interests.