In the early 19th century a man by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte led a Coup D’etat that created a new government in France. This new government started out with a tribunal leadership, which Napoleon was first consul, and later changed to an empire with Napoleon as emperor. Some people believe that he made the revolution better and expanded the revolution but this is not true. The facts, when closely looked at, prove that Napoleon effectively destroyed the revolution by telling the people of his country one thing while he was actually planning on doing something totally different. He deceived people so well that he is still convincing people today that he was a defender of the revolution. With this pack of deception Napoleon set the people of France back into the 18th century by killing off a great number of the young population in his wars. He led the people of France to believe that he was spreading the revolution throughout Europe but the truth is that he believed that in order to be a great leader he would have to invade and conquer many foreign lands. He controlled what the people wrote and read through the media. It all started with a coup against the government that he was fighting for. The Coup D’etat, led by Napoleon, took place at the perfect time because the Jacobins were losing power and there were many people being executed for allegedly being monarchists. In the courts a person was not able to speak in their defense so if the prosecutor made a good enough argument the charged would be executed by the guillotine. There were many innocent people who were executed, and many more who were afraid. After the coup a referendum was held in 1802 that made Napoleon First Consul for life. This was his first step in turning France back into a monarchy. The next step was in 1804 when a second referendum was held that made him Emperor. The people really had no choice. They could have an Emperor and essentially turn back into a monarchy or return to the governmental insatiability that they had been living in for about 10 years before Napoleon came into the spotlight. The electorate, whom were the people that owned land and were the only citizens who were allowed to vote, overwhelmingly voted in favor of making Napoleon Emperor. Napoleon after all was the lesser of the two evils. After the vote Napoleon granted general... ... middle of paper ... ...rong. With the whole of Europe joining coalitions to fight against this emperor, they must have known what Napoleon was really fighting for. He wanted to take over Europe and when he won a number of victories he thought that he could take over the world. He thought too big too fast and underestimated things like harsh winters and the ability of his opponents to get stronger. The setting up a fake legislature to make the people think that he was working in their interests was a good way of getting people on his side. In some countries peasant and working classes relished the thought of Napoleon leading their country. After he took power the people started to feel oppressed and became unhappy when relatives of Napoleon’s became their Kings. The thing that topped it off was the fact that the Code Napoleon did not allow changes for the different countries. These facts prove without a doubt that Napoleon lied to his people so they would support him. While he was doing this lying he managed to kill off most of a generation of French, which left France behind in the Industrial Revolution, and turn the Republic that the revolution had fought for back into a Monarchy. V
During his rule, Napoleon called himself an emperor, but he acted like the kings before him. The French Revolution stood against the idea of one leader with all authority over one country and promoted liberty, equality, and fraternity. The French citizens did not glorify Napoleon as a king because he gave his people sovereignty over political situations. He used plebiscites or voting to spread equality, however, the majority was always in favor of Napoleon. This happened due to fear because he was the strongest man in Europe at the time. He idolized himself as a hero, saving the French people from the
Amid his ascent to power, Napoleon stuck to the goals obediently. In his discourse to his troops, Napoleon said, "We are taking up arms as liberal foes, and we wish just to squash the despots who subjugate [the Italian people]" (Document 1). He instructs them to be deferential of different nations, to give them rights they have the privilege to appreciate. This takes after Locke's illumination thoughts, that everybody has natural rights that can't be taken away. Being a supporter of equivalent rights, he picked up notoriety with the French individuals.
When one looks at France after Napoleon’s reign, it is clear that he had brought much longed for order and stability. He had also established institutions that embodied the main principles of the revolution. However, it is also evident that many of his policies directly contradict those same principles. Was Napoleon betraying the same revolution that gave him power, or was he merely a pragmatist, who recognised that to consolidate the achievements of the revolution he needed to sacrifice some of those principles? Firstly, in order to determine whether Bonaparte betrayed the revolution, it is necessary to define what one means by “the revolution”.
After the Reign of Terror, Napoleon Bonaparte rose to authority. When he was in power, Napoleon only kept some of the ideas that were used in the French Revolution. For example he was for equality, but disregarded liberty. Napoleon started many wars for France, in hopes of gaining land. France did win some land, but more times than not France lost the wars, putting them into extreme war debt.
A rather ominous name for the unaware; “The Reign of Terror”. An oblivious person could completely bypass the horrifying events related to the French Revolution, had it been named differently. The title for these events is appropriate from my perspective. Those four words could easily interest a curious, ordinary person, and so the history can survive, along with the information transferring to yet another carrier. Of course, everyone can benefit from knowing a few terms that can increase your understanding of the topic. An absolute monarch is a person that has absolute power among his or her people. The Estates General is a representative body drawn from the three ‘estates’ into which society had been theoretically divided. A fraternity is a group of people sharing a common profession or interests. A radical person is a person who advocates thorough or complete political or social reform. The device used to execute most people was the guillotine: a machine with a heavy blade sliding vertically in grooves, used for beheading people. The Reign of Terror is generally defined as a period of remorseless repression or bloodshed, but in particular, it is the period of the Terror during the French Revolution. Conservatives are people that hold to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation. Now that we can speak of our topic with more knowledge of terms typically used for this subject, we can address the pending question. Was The Reign of Terror justified? An outstanding amount of people died for good and bad reasons. Every system was corrupt, there was practically no right and wrong; no order, just rebellion. Several conflicting arguments can be made, but there is a definite decision to make in this situatio...
Napoleon was a military general that participated in multiple war victories. His interests included history, law, and mathematics. His strengths as a leader benefitted in planning financial, legal, and military plans. His aspiring attitude made him believe he was destined to be the savior of France (Coffin & Stacey, 494). He favored a republic over a constitutional monarchy. When Napoleon came to power, he immediately consolidated personal power by overthrowing the five-man Directory and created a Republic. Napoleon used his status and power during the Revolution to bring out and surface Revolution ideals and help his people. Napoleon’s role in European history was the savior of the French Revolution due to the fact he accomplished most objectives that the people hoped for. Goals of the French Revolution included overthrowing the old regime of an absolute monarch, write a basic and worthy constitution, and give more rights to the third estate and limit the first and second estates power in the Estates-General.
One of Napoleon’s first areas of concern was in the strengthening of the French government. He created a strong centralized government and pretty much got rid of the hundreds of localized law codes that had existed during under the control of the monarchy. He also created an army of government officials. He had the entire country linked under a rational administration. He also was able to get an easy supply of taxes and soldiers under his new and improved French government. Before he could get very far, however, he had to gain public favor and shape the public opinion. To do this he used reforms of propaganda and thus caused people to think that they were getting the better end of the deal, but were actually, subconsciously giving Napoleon their approval for his actions. Among some of the methods he used for propaganda included getting all of the printers and book sellers to swear an oath to Napoleon and all newspapers fell under state control, so Napoleon gained access to almost everything that the citizens of France were able to read. Many of the gains from the French Revolution were kept, such as equality before the law, and careers open to talent. Some anti-revolution actions that Napoleon took included repressing liberty, restoring absolutism, and ending political liberty. He believed that allowing political freedom would end with a state of anarchy. He believed that he could solve these problems by acting in favor of the people’s interests as an enlightened desp...
Napoleon was a great soldier that graduated from military school at the age of sixteen and quickly worked his way through the ranks. Napoleon was a brilliant leader in battle and consistently defeated armies larger than his own; including when he forced the Austrians to make peace after defeating four of their generals. In 1799 Napoleon and his colleagues overtook the French government and established power. He revised the constitution in 1802 to make himself consul for life, and then again in 1804 to make himself Emperor of France. Soon after Napoleon came to power he restructured the administration, simplified the court system, and began monitoring the schooling system; French law was also put in the Napoleon Code which guaranteed the rights and liberties that were gained through the revolution. Napoleons violent behavior caused war with Britain to break out, who allied with Russia and Austria. Prussia later allied themselves with Russia; creating a huge alliances against France and Napoleon. Napoleon successfully extended his reign over large parts of Europe and put each state under the Napoleon Code, which gave citizens new rights and privileges. In 1812 all of Europe turned against Napoleon, which lead to his exile in 1814. He regained power in 1815 just to loose it later that year. He died in exile in Saint Helena in 1821.
French citizens did not dare question his authority, as they respected him more than their former absolute monarch, King Louis XVI. During Napoleon’s reign, France participated in many gruesome battles, building a reputation as one of the most powerful countries in Europe. Napoleon’s armed forces carried the nationalistic ideologies of the French revolution. Soon, nationalism would be regarded a political epidemic poisoning neighbouring kingdoms and empires, many of which were multi-nation states. Collective groups who were forced to co-exist with one another were outraged, as they believed that they all deserved their own territory and sovereignty. If the revolution was able to transform France into the most powerful nation on the continent, why wouldn’t it work out for everyone else? Soon enough, nationalism would be dividing nation-states rather than unifying
Napoleon’s “coup d’etat of 18 brumaire was an insurance against both the Jacobin revolution and the Royalist restoration.” The French people expected Napoleon to bring back peace, order and to consolidate the political and social conquests of the Revolution. Napoleon considered these conquests to be “the sacred rights of property, equality and liberty.” If Napoleon gained power with the promise of upholding the principles of the French Revolution, how did he betray the revolution? Many historians argue that Napoleon was an effective but ambitious leader.
Napoleon's entire reign started with the constitution. After all the economic trouble in France there was a need for a new constitution, so Abbe Sieyes asked Napoleon to secure the success of the new constitution that was based on a principle of "confidence from below, power from above." Bonaparte was a very decisive individual, so he did not pay much attention to Sieyes and established his own Constitution of the Year VIII. This constitution made him the First Consul and had an overwhelming success. After convincing his subjects that the establishment of the dynasty was unavoidable, Bonaparte created another constitution, which made him an Emperor of the French. During the French Revolution, constitution was an important idea. In fact, all the revolutionary ideas were summarized in the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen. Napoleon pursued this concept.
Napoleon returned to home to France with only about 10% of his Army still alive. He lost most of his soldiers during the Great White Death, which is one of the largest French disasters to date. Since all the coalition allies knew he was in trouble, they decided to follow him and take him out while he was down and burned out. This is when he decided to give himself up and be exiled to Elba with 1000 guards. Before he left though, he promised his men that he, “… would return when the flowers bloomed.” And that was a promise that Napoleon kept.
Napoleon Bonaparte was an interesting ruler in that he was compromised of attributes of both a tyrant and a hero. Napoleon had a strong following throughout his reign and even during his two exiles. He was the emperor of France between 1799 and 1815, following the fall of the Directory. Despite the efforts of the French Revolution to rid the country of an autocratic ruler, Bonaparte came to power as Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte I in 1804. He claimed that he preserved the goals of the Revolution, which can be easily argued as his rule became more dictatorial as it progressed. Despite his departure from some of the gains of the Revolution, he overall was a hero for the French people. Through his military ventures, political changes and social reform, Napoleon proved himself as a hero. This is not to say that there were aspects of his reign that were tyrannical, but he was overall beneficial for France.
...s on who should have power. Rebellions broke out across France and turned the nation against itself. The major revolutionary revolt was The Storming of Bastille. The third estate demanded for a republic. King Louis was killed, along with his wife Marie Antoinette to pursue the ideas of changing society. Maximilien Robespierre ordered their deaths by the violent and horrific machine, the guillotine. He was also killed shortly after, but provided the Jacobins a leader in his efforts to overthrow the monarchy. Napoleon was the last to save the revolution as it came to a close. The French Revolution has changed history and the lives of everyone in France up to today. Many people sacrificed themselves to change the country for others today. This revolution was life changing and inspired many others around the world to stand up for their beliefs and fight for a democracy.
With all the glory and the splendour that some countries may have experienced, never has history seen how only only one man, Napoleon, brought up his country, France, from its most tormented status, to the very pinnacle of its height in just a few years time. He was a military hero who won splendid land-based battles, which allowed him to dominate most of the European continent. He was a man with ambition, great self-control and calculation, a great strategist, a genius; whatever it was, he was simply the best. But, even though how great this person was, something about how he governed France still floats among people's minds. Did he abuse his power? Did Napoleon defeat the purpose of the ideals of the French Revolution? After all of his success in his military campaigns, did he gratify the people's needs regarding their ideals on the French Revolution? This is one of the many controversies that we have to deal with when studying Napoleon and the French Revolution. In this essay, I will discuss my opinion on whether or not was he a destroyer of the ideals of the French Revolution.