Spirit of Laws

In the 1700's Montesquieu was highly regarded in the British colonies in North America as a champion of liberty (though not of American independence). According to one political scientist, he was the most frequently quoted authority on government and politics in colonial pre-revolutionary British America, cited more by the American founders than any source except for the Bible. His master work, The Spirit of Laws: https://oll.libertyfund.org/.../montesquieu-complete...

Following the American Revolution, Montesquieu's work remained a powerful influence on many of the American founders, most notably James Madison of Virginia, the "Father of the Constitution."