Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Reforms of Napoleon
Reforms of Napoleon
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Reforms of Napoleon
Napoleon just maintains the goals of the French Revolution since he needed to secure and reinforce his own energy. 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. After some time, Napoleon utilized these standards to increment and set his energy. …show more content…
On December 4 1808 Napoleon announced in the Madrid Imperial Decree, that "primitive rights are nullified in Spain" (Document 8). By conveying to a conclusion to benefits of the respectability and the Inquisition, and letting each well behaved subject to utilize them, he endeavors to pick up the Spanish laborers' support. Napoleon tries to give all of Europe equivalent rights. Notwithstanding, a year prior, in a letter to his sibling and King of Westphilia, Jerome Napoleon, Napoleon composes that he needs his sibling's "subjects to appreciate a higher level of freedom, correspondence, and flourishing until now obscure to the German individuals" (Document 7). While this makes Napoleon an equivalent rights advocate for everybody, he likewise states in the same letter, "I need this liberal administration to reinforce your government" (Document 7). From this announcement, Napoleon competes for equivalent rights to keep the general population cheerful and not revolt. He instructs strategies to a solid tenet to his sibling. Napoleon, himself more likely than not utilized these strategies effectively before showing them to his sibling. Depicting him as force hungry is
Napoleon Bonaparte’s attitude towards the French Revolution is one that has often raised questions. That the revolution had an influence on Bonaparte’s regime cannot be denied – but to what extent? 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?
Napoleon had been influenced and guided by the revolution, but he was able to use it to his ends. One of Napoleons greatest strengths was being able to take advantage of a situation, and he certainly was able to utilize the chaos and fear of the revolution. He is forever intertwined with the French Revolution, and it with him.
As the revolution calmed, the National Assembly attempted to maintain power; however, Napoleon Bonaparte, an outstanding national general, ousted the newly set republic in a coup d'etat in 1799, imposing himself dictator of France and leading the country to new militaristic heights that prompted French nationalism and the spread of Enlightenment ideas. Even though Bonaparte’s title as a dictator, emperor in 1804, connotates a restricted freedom, he actually took great lengths to enact policies that reflected Enlightenment ideals such as freedom of religion. Bonaparte centralized France’s government and moved to consolidate all of Europe under one nation. Touting Enlightenment ideals where his soldier traveled, Napoleon's conquest set the foundation for the republics of the future.
We can see how Napoleon Bonaparte repeatedly opposed himself in each one of the French Revolutionist areas. Napoleon claimed to stand for Liberty, to free the people of France and provide them with justice. He planned to do this by standing for the reform the French people needed the most, political and social justice, freedom of religion, wars and alliances. It is thought that when Napoleon created the Napoleonic Code, stating the freedom of religion, he actually wanted Jews to come to France as they are rich and if they thought they could enjoy more freedom and privileges in France than in any other nation, they would come in large numbers....
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.
Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “Nothing has been simpler than my elevation…It is owing to the peculiarities of the time.” Coming to power at a time of instability and disorder in France immediately following the French Revolution, Napoleon quickly established himself as the political leader and military power behind France. Easily and efficiently overthrowing the poorly managed Directory, Napoleon established a three man governing body referred to as the Consulate. Naming himself Consul for Life in 1802, and crowning himself emperor in 1804, Napoleon made it clear that is was a time of dramatic change in France. Although establishing himself as an absolute ruler, Napoleon did it all with the support of the people, through the use of a plebiscite. Obviously a man that held immense power, Napoleon has been credited with many great successes. To the people of France, Napoleon was a savior, a man who could, despite being an autocrat, implement the ideals of the French Revolution. Establishing order, giving the French people a sense of security, and running his government smoothly became Napoleon’s priorities. Through a variety of reforms including, centralizing the government, establishing public education, instituting religious tolerance specifically signing the Concordat of 1801, and stimulating the economy, Napoleon won the support of French people across the classes, including the peasantry who in years previous had suffered greatly under absolute rulers. One of Napoleon’s most lasting reforms was his installment of the Napoleonic Code, a set of laws that reflected the idea of equality so evidently bannered throughout the French Revolution. Napoleon was able to capture the attention of the French people through every facet except absolutism.
Napoleon to the French Nation, 15 Dec 1799, Howard, John Letters and Documents of Napoleon (London, 1961) p.428.
During his life, Napoleon Bonaparte was a fantastic strategist and military leader. However, he made quite a few mistakes that led him to his fall from power. Through his catastrophic blunders, Napoleon brought about his own downfall. These mistakes included ostracizing France from the rest of Europe through his foreign policies, war mistakes, and oversights that occurred in his final years in power. Because of Napoleon’s errors, he exhausted France’s resources and reduced his allies. Because his political views destroyed France’s relationship with Europe, Napoleon had to over expand his forces to maintain control of Europe. At the end of his reign, Napoleon was left without support from anyone outside of France. However, he was still trying to claw back the power that he once had. “Believing as he did that what was good for Napoleon was good for France, and in turn good for conquered Europe as a whole, his wider Imperial vision became a natural extension of his personal dynastic ambition” (Napoleon Profiles in Power p.81). Because Napoleon thought that he was doing what was best for every single person, he ended up crippling his own empire while pursuing his own aspirations.
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's military strength and commanding authority led to numerous victories in battles, such as Napoleon's success with defending the National Convention on October 5, 1795 against the royalists. The French people needed his strong leadership because the French Revolution and Maximilien Robespierre's Reign of Terror made France extremely unstable. In addition to Napoleon's wise military strategies, he had his charismatic speeches. He could rally France and instill courage and nationalism into his soldiers so they fought harder. Napoleon made the French people want to do their parts in civilization so that they could make France the superior power in Europe. Despite Napoleon's reputation on the battlefield, he had a soft spot for his wife, Josephine. He wrote love letters and he later proposed in January 1796. He truly loved her, but Josephine could not bear children because of her age and Napoleon needed an heir to continue his legacy. Napoleon later divorced Josephine and married Marie-Louise of Austria in 1809. Most prominent of Napoleon's attributes is his ambition and persistence. He still held onto his dream of ruling over a united Europe even after the European powers exiled him to Elba on April 11, 1814. He escaped and returned to France, and Napoleon once again ruled which is
After Napoleons big loss against Britain in the Battle of Trafalgar he had an itch to defeat and ruin Britain. This would eventually play into a reason he invaded Russia. This whole time Napoleons main idea was to create an empire and conquer Europe. He had tried to create land and property in the New Americas, he even tried controlling the main sugar-producing colonies of St. Domingue. Due to civil war, battles with rebels and disease, Napoleon decide to give up on those territories which focused him back on conquering the rest of Europe. Area in Europe, he didn't control were Great Britain, Russia, Austria, and Sweden. At the same time Britain was trying to convince Russia, Austria, and Sweden to join Britain in the fight against France.
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.