Adams’s 1776 model already contained the full separation-of-powers architecture

Evidence

To ensure “strict justice at all times,” Adams offered a system of checks on the exercise of state power. He would have the Representative Assembly elect an upper house, or “Council,” with a “voice” in lawmaking and an advisory role in executive action. Further, Adams proposed conferring power to execute laws on an independent, term-limited “Governor” elected either “by joint Ballot, of both Houses” or “by elections of the people at large.” Civil and military officials, including court officers, “should be nominated and appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of Council,” he urged. Justices and judges should serve for life (or “during good behaviour”), Adams added, and possess judicial power “distinct from both the legislative and executive, and independent upon both, that so it may be a check on both, and both should be checks upon that.” — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 175

Categorization

• XREF: Directly connects to Federalist essays and later constitutional doctrine on checks and balances the reader studies in a legal systems course. — connects to: Separation of powers doctrine originated from Montesquieu’s reading of England and shaped modern constitutions; Separation of powers doctrine derived from observation of English bourgeois government.; Montesquieu’s separation of powers shaped the American Constitution

Broader Connections

• Separation of powers doctrine originated from Montesquieu’s reading of England and shaped modern constitutions #qualifies (0.85)
• Montesquieu’s separation of powers shaped the American Constitution #qualifies (0.85)
• Separation of powers doctrine derived from observation of English bourgeois government. #qualifies (0.80)