John Adams (1735-1826) was also a leading classicist of his time. He criticized school teachers for having read some masterpieces of Latin literature. To amend this gap in his knowledge, he imposed upon himself a new course of classical study in his mid-20s. At the age of twenty-nine he formed the Sodalitas Club of like-minded readers in Boston. Adams turned to classical history when drafting a significant piece of research on the nature of constitutional government in his ‘Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America’. James Madison (1751-1836) was another pioneer in the independence of America with an exceptional grounding in Classics. Madison’s primary education was so strong that upon arriving at the College of New Jersey in 1769, he managed to pass exams in Greek, Latin, New Testament, English and Mathematics with little more than two weeks of preparation. He was one of the most talented students at Princeton of his time and was undoubtedly influenced by John Witherspoon’s lectures on rhetoric and moral philosophy. Madison is unlike many others in that he relied heavily on his classical knowledge for reaching his opinions about forms of American government. Just before the meeting at Annapolis and Philadelphia in late 1785 and mid-1786, Madison retired to his home in Montpelier and immersed himself in researching ancient and modern histories of confederacies. The knowledge that Madison acquired from his extensive research compiled the main raw material for the interventions he made at Philadelphia. These were later reprinted, in a somewhat altered form, in selected numbers of ‘The Federalist’. It is apparent that the framers of the constitution were all deeply invested in classics, many spending time publishing extensive work on various classical topics. In discussions about the formation of the constitution. Members of the Convention constantly referenced classical authors and texts. Therefore we can see how heavily the framers, and thereby the constitution itself, were influenced by classics. The ideas presented in the constitution were very much ideological, the colonists wanted to turn away from the English government and create their own better republic. To look for guidance and affirm their ideas, the framers of the constitution naturally looked towards philosophy for how to formulate their constitution. One of the main sources of inspiration was the French philosopher Montesquieu. Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brede et da Montesquieu (1689-1755) was a French political philosopher during the Age of Enlightenment. The framers considered his ideas on the foundations of government for guidance. One idea, which Montesquieu is most famous for and the framers employed in the American constitution (as well as many other constitutions around the world), was the theory of Separation of Powers. This theory suggested that government ought to have a tripartite system, meaning it be equally divided into three areas of power: a legislature, an executive and a judiciary. We see this system still in place today in the United State of America, with the President, Congress and the Supreme Court. Another important element of the theory was to keep the power of each of these branches equal. Montesquieu thought that if a single area of government had significantly more power than another, the government would fail to thrive due to lack of cooperation. To try avoid this potential problem, Montesquieu devised a system of ‘checks and balances’. This would mean that each branch of power could keep a check on each other to ensure than power was balances evenly and to limit one another if there was any inequality. This system of power balance as theorized by Montesquieu was very appealing to the Americans as they felt the English Government had been imbalanced and unfair when they were under colonial rule. England’s legislature was dominant over the other two areas of government. For example, the House of Commons practically had the power to control the Prime Minister and his cabinet by ousting them immediately if it were to lose confidence in them. This is just one area where the Americans learned from the perceived flaws in the English style of government, as they provided the President with a veto and set the length of his term of office to make him more independent. This redistribution of power illustrates the direct influence of Montesquieu and his philosophy on the American Constitution. In 1748, Montesquieu published ‘The Spirit of Laws’. At the time, this was the most complete handbook on the science and history of government available to the framing generation. They would
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