He believed in the power of the people and anything should be the wishes of the
Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “I never was truly my own master but was always ruled by circumstance.” Perhaps his self evaluation was correct, but what he did with his circumstance was nothing less than genius for the man who would be Emperor. From his fighting tactics, his insight of people in general and his abilities to motivate the masses and his soldiers to conquer the world, he had the words and skills and the willingness to stand side by side with those from whom he expected so much. Napoleon was born August 15 1769 in Corsica to a family of Italian ancestry from the minor nobility.
Secondly, he was heavily influenced by the Enlightenment, and he questioned the legitimacy of monarchy. In 1776, Philadelphia, he published ‘Common Sense’ to support the Patriot, it became one of the most influential pamphlet. It was a 48 pages pamphlet arguing about the American Independence and articulate in writing the reason why American Revolution and Independence is the only way for the colonists to pursue it as a
Although the Jeffersonian Administration was defined by the political ideal of republicanism, which encompassed the changing ideas, values, and assumptions within the late 1790s and early nineteenth century, Jefferson still captured and applied ideas that were retained from the American Revolution. Jefferson was able to maintain three key positions throughout his administration. The enlightenment ideal that men, of strong will and intelligence, could govern themselves within the right organization was maintained by the administration through the shrinkage of the federal bureaucracy. By shrinking the federal government, Jefferson believed that the government would have more respect of the individual states and cut debts. British customs of entitled
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.
The Enlightenment was a way of thinking about certain topics, and also a specific attitude towards man and how they interacted with the world. It was not so much a movement to gather people to join in but as a group of thinkers who based their ideas and beliefs on reason. The Enlightenment philosophy mainly stressed the idea that liberty and equality were natural human rights. John Locke had a major influence in the manifesting of the Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson. In the document as a whole, the English colonies are stating their reasons as to why they want to separate from Britain under the ruler of King George III.
He believed people should think with an open mind and wished for civilians to be independent and think for themselves. He was also a promoter of enlightened
The Enlightenment was a movement focused on equality, freedom of speech, press, and religion. The movement helped shape the philosophical basis of the American Revolution and was crucial in determining the politics, religion, and government of colonial America. All aspects of life were affected by the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment popularized self- improvement and societal change. Many figureheads and philosophers such as Thomas Jefferson and John Locke helped shape these ideas.
Napoleon Bonaparte greatest work was the creation of the Napoleonic Code. The Napoleonic Code gave revelation the country a uniform set of laws and eliminated many injustices. However, because the Napoleonic Code promoted order and authority over individual rights, it limited freedom of speech and the press. These rights were all important components that were established during the French Revolution. Not only did the Napoleonic Code take away many rights from the citizens, this code also restored slavery in the French Colonies in the Caribbean.
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).
The American Revolution and the French Revolution were both products of the Enlightenment ideals. These ideals emphasized on natural rights and equality. Both revolutions had their similarities and differences. American Revolution was similar to the French Revolution because people started to grow dissent to the monarchy and the upper classes and because of this, the economy for each nation started to weaken. These people felt the need to revolt so that they can be free against the oppressive rule of the absolute monarchs.
How long did it take for the human race to start realizing things around them? The Enlightenment was a time period where people began to question absolute monarchy and that’s where reason and scientific methods were applied to all aspects of life during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Enlightenment thinkers called philosophes were scholars who flaunted the ideas of the Enlightenment. The American Revolution (1775-1783) and the French Revolution (1789-1815) were direct causes of the Enlightenment. The ideas of John Locke, Voltaire, Adam Smith, and Mary Wollstonecraft all played important roles in the revolutions.
Napoleons educational policies shaped the nation as a whole and changed the way the French were. The schools made all children educated and did not exclude people. If you were the son of a farmer, farming wouldn’t be the only choice with education. Napoleon gave the men of France a chance to succeed in life even if they were born into the middle-class. He was man who believe that this was the most important to shape the nation, by molding the young into great professions.
The Enlightenment was a period of time that stressed the importance of reason and individual ideas. Many philosophers published works criticizing a country’s monarch or divulging the flaws they saw in a system within the government, such as the justice system. The Enlightenment also stressed the importance of education, and as a result of this, literacy rates experienced a major upward trend. Now able to read the philosopher’s works, a larger sum of people now were educated on the corruptions within their government. This caused a questioning of traditional practices, and people began to believe they could revise their government.
In conclusion, the Enlightenment was vital to the American Revolution and the creation of American Government. The Enlightenment beliefs that influenced the American Revolution were natural rights, the social contract, and the right to overthrow the government if the social contract was violated. The Enlightenment beliefs that aided to the creation of the American government were separation of powers, checks and balances, and limited government. As stated before, without the Enlightenment there would not have been a revolution, resulting in no American Government. The Enlightenment’s influence on the creation of America is irrefutable.
