Napoleon’s enlightened thoughts helped him create the idea that people in a society should be able to move up the social class hierarchy by talent rather than birth or status. 3. Relationship to theme: Napoleon brought back reason to France, and created a more just political system. THE FORMATION OF THE FRENCH IMPERIAL SYSTEM 1. Identification: Napoleon began to advance and spread French influence.
Napoleon Bonaparte was the emperor of France after the French revolution. He was a great leader, but also might be considered a dictator of sorts. After the revolution Napoleon was said to have brought peace to the people of France in a time of distress. When Napoleon was leader he ended up both upholding and undermining the ideals and goals of the French revolution. Napoleon upheld the revolution by creating equality for all men, and by making a meritocracy, but he also undermined it by taking away most if not all of the women's rights, and taking away freedom of the press.
Document C explains that Napoleon believed in better education for France and thought better education would help create a stronger military. Napoleon Bonaparte was a hero for France because he believed in better education for the people of France, he wanted to get rid of the tyrants of other countries to better the lives of people under their rule, and people had civil rights, which they didn’t have prior to his reign as
Firstly, he created a new government called the consulate which gave absolute power to three individuals (he was one of them). Later on, in 1804, Napoleon declared himself emperor of France. This act directly opposed the revolution’s idea of a constitutional government. During this time, he created a new bureaucracy based on ability and not social class. Anyone had the opportunity to be a noble, one had to only be qualified based on their skill.
Voltaire supported reforms and found a lot of supporters in people that were going to be executed by the church and perhaps some Protestants. His ideas were also
As Thomson Gale puts it “The two men responsible for the Concordat of 1801 were motivated by practical and religious considerations”. The concordat was not just beneficial for napoleon but also extremely beneficial for the pope. The pope at the time was preaching about revolutionary acts and the monarchy was extremely upset and so the pope went to France looking for someone on his side. The pope is what really allowed the people of France to trust Napoleon.
Back in 1796, Napoleon was given command of the French armies in Italy. After a victory in Italy, he issued a proclamation stating, "Your property, your religion, and your customs will be respected. " This part of the proclamation reflects some Enlightenment ideals, specifically the right of property, freedom of religion, and culture. During the same year, Napoleon declared religious tolerance in France. Later on in 1805, after Napoleon became Emperor of France, he sent a letter to the Minister of Police to explain his plans on how to control people who would publicly criticize him.
After the French Revolution, a Corsican artillery officer, named Napoleon Bonaparte, became the emperor of France in 1804. After playing a significant role in trying retake the French port of Toulon, occupied by the British, he was appointed general at the age of 26 in 1793. This marked the beginning of the Napoleonic Era, which would change the course of European history for centuries. However, despite claiming to be a strong supporter of the French Revolution, Napoleon mostly undermined the goals of the Revolution by violating the Declaration of the Rights of Man, insisting on returning to principles of the Old Regime in regards to women, the imposition of taxes and the re-establishment of the social elite. Nonetheless, Napoleon still supported the main goals of the Revolution by establishing the Civil Code and supporting the peasantry by lowering bread prices.
He created the Code Napoleon, which guaranteed equality under the law, regulation of the economy, absolute security of wealth and private property, and the end of feudalism (Pagano “Napoleon Domestic Program Good”). The Code Napoleon showed his desire for lower class citizens, such as poor farmers, to have an equal opportunity to succeed. His actions to regulate the economy alleviated the issues with taxing the Third Estate faced. Napoleon extended liberty even to those he conquered. In a speech to troops, Napoleon said that “there is one condition you must swear to fulfill - to respect the people whom you liberate...your property, your religion, and your customs will be respected” (Document 1).
Taking advantage of his rising popularity, Napoleon became the ruler of France and eventually the ruler of an empire. Napoleon Bonaparte had a positive impact on France and Europe due to the military, political and economic stability he restored to France, the laws he put in place, the reforms he introduced to the European countries he conquered and his improvement of the education system. After a time of uncertainty in France brought about by the French Revolution, Napoleon restored the stability of France through the military. France had experienced a time of military failure during the 1790’s when other European nations declared war on France. Napoleon emerged in this time as a skilled soldier and tactician.
Napoleon Bonaparte’s coup d'état in 1799 led to the unification of an entire continent under the Revolutionary motto of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”. After seeing the shortcomings of the unpopular Directory, established after the fall of Maximilien Robespierre, the young general stepped up with the support of the French people and crowned himself dictator after a mere two years. He then went on to conquer much of Europe and established the Napoleonic Empire. Yet, he was lenient with the conquered nations and confirmed himself as not only an adept military leader but a shrewd and powerful leader. Many of Napoleon’s ideas originated from the enlightened philosophes of the seventeenth century, including John Locke, Voltaire, and Cesare Beccaria.
Before Napoleon became emperor, France was in a post-revolutionary state after a series of civil wars. Napoleon Bonaparte’s accomplishments were achieved inside and outside of France. Napoleon’s political feats were achieved by having superior military leadership. Napoleons leadership of France ended up turning tables in many different areas from gaining economic stability to establishing an agreement with Pope Pius VII of the Roman Catholic Church. The greatest achievements that made the years 1801-1805 the height of Napoleons political career were the Concordat, the Napoleonic Code, and the reformation of French economy.
Negative stereotypes are damaging because it fits minority groups in a box and deceives people that roles are predetermined and absolute. Negative stereotypes work in two ways. First, it works according to language. There are the words and phrases used to perpetuate negative stereotype, but then, as we can see in the museum’s collection, there is the infiltration of material culture, objects bought and sold, that further communicated anti-black slogans. In effect, what we can see by looking at these images is a mass economy dedicated to keeping alive a very dangerous myth.
Napoleon spread enlightenment ideas that benefited the people in France. He created the Napoleonic code, which was basically the first written document of laws. That meant that the judge could not change anything, but the laws applied to all citizens equally and protected their rights. He gave people religious tolerance, which means people had religious freedom. He also created a system of meritocracy, giving positions based on people's talents and not to the ones that are higher classes.
Did he, at all, maintain or develop some of the fundamental ideals? Napoleon indirectly influenced and spread ideals of the French revolution throughout Europe, his government and social hierarchy were an embodiment of these ideals.
