Separation of powers is a
political doctrine originating in the writings of
Montesquieu in
The Spirit of the Laws where he urged for a constitutional government with three separate branches of government. Each of the three branches would have defined abilities to check the powers of the other branches. This idea was called separation of powers. This philosophy heavily influenced the writing of the United States Constitution, according to which the
Legislative,
Executive, and
Judicial branches of the United States
government are kept distinct in order to prevent abuse of power. This United States form of
separation of powers is associated with a system of
checks and balances.