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Napoleon as a leader
Napoleon's reforms in France
Napoleons leadership skills
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Napoleon: A Leader or Dictator.
There are never ending inquiries on the nature of Napoleonic power. But reason can prove to one that the Age of Napoleon was infact a time of democratic rule. Through Political, Social, and Economical reforms, Napoleon Bonaparte did not only transcend France, but he changed the course of history for Europe and the World today.
To begin, Napoleon proved himself a democratic leader thorough many Political reforms. In 1798-99, Napoleon, with the directory's blessing, he launched his Egyptian Expedition. It was a military disaster, but Napoleon came to France a hero and saved France from the second coalition. In 1799, he staged his "Coup D'etat," and setting up the Consulate, government body representing a country in another host country, with himself as First Consul. At first this does not seem just, but Napoleon then submitted his new constitution to a Plebiscite, a vote of the people, and it was approved by a vast majority. Although the constitution gave almost complete power to the First Consul, it was the people of France who voted , as a democratic society would, to enforce this new structure of government. In 1802, Napoleon again held a Plebiscite, and was named to be First Consul for life. Also, in 1804, he submitted to Plebiscite a new constitution, ending the consulate and establishing the First French Empire. Also showing Democratic Political advancement, Napoleon signed The Concordat of 1801 with the Catholic Church. He t...
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
Through the Napoleonic Code, a unitary legal system for all of France, private property was protected and equality was preserved before the law. During his reign, France was a meritocracy in that positions were awarded to people with the most talent and ability, preserving equality. He also allowed the people to vote through the plebiscite, a yes or no vote for the leader of France. Napoleon also preserved the ideal of religious toleration. He did this by agreeing to the Concordat of 1801.
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?
I guess you could say that when Napoleon is not on a horse, he’s Napoleoff it! In November 1799, the overthrowing of the French Directory caused its replacement with a three-member Consulate, and Napoleon became first consul, making him France’s leading political figure. Napoleon used his power to restore stability to post-revolutionary France and produced successful results. Two years after the making of the constitutional amendment that made him consul for life, Napoleon crowned himself as emperor of France. This raises the question, “Was Napoleon a Democratic Reformer?” Now, a Democratic Reformer is a person who changes the views and ways of the government for the good of the people. Concerning how he understands equality, how the people
He was a big supporter of the revolution and the Directory and served them well. According to the Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia of January, 2013: “Napoleon’s remarkable early success was in part a matter of good fortune and in part the product of an unconquerable will and energy that took the maximum advantage of every political and military opportunity” (Rollyson). He was a brigadier general for the revolution, but was imprisoned when Jacobins were taken out of power and Thermidorean was sent into it. He however was soon released. With many great victories in Egypt and a powerful marriage, he was a very known and liked man. Napoleon was able to overthrow the Directory in 1799. Napoleon was a great leader and settled the chaos of the revolution down. He was able to restore France’s relationship with the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope in 1801. He proclaimed himself supreme Emperor of France in 1804. He also gave religious freedom to Protestants and Jews. He also published the Napoleonic Code/Civil Code of 1804. This code established political and legal equality for all adult men; therefore, religion no longer had a prejudice in court or people of authorities. With this code; however, he restricted the freedom of speech and freedom of the media. Throughout his career, he expanded France’s borders to the size of an empire. The only reason Napoleon was not able to take all of Europe
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.
Though a modern thinker may say the only thing that keeps Napoleon from being enlightened is lack of democracy, the writer sitting in this chair thinks that the only thing that keeps democracy from being Napoleon is enlightenment. Had Napoleon been born merely fifty years earlier, he may have been a trendsetter of the enlightenment. Or he might have been a fisherman. Regardless, Napoleon was a child of the enlightenment and not a parent. He followed the ideas presented by that period with such strategy and genius, people are still writing papers about it.
Napoleon Bonaparte should be considered a “benevolent despot” to a near-full extent because while some may argue that Napoleon’s political actions were solely based on self-empowerment due to him limiting the voice of the people, it is important to note that Napoleon’s regime was designed for the purpose of benefiting French society as a whole by implementing various French Revolutionary ideals such as the promise of equal rights amongst all citizens. Hence, through incorporating such ideals, Napoleon was able to gain the support of his subjects, and therefore was able to further expand his empire.
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.
... It is important to understand that since France had just exited a revolution, it was pretty fragile; one big mistake and France might have ended up in another one. Napoleon was not only a child of both the French Revolution and the Enlightenment, he was also a very intelligent person. His cunning and wits led him to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, enlightened despots of all time. Works Consulted (none of the above).
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.
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.
When we think of Napoleon, we think of massive military conquest comparable to the Roman Empire. However, there are also the numerous reforms he made to domestic policy during his reign of 1799 to 1815. There are three main viewpoints relating to his domestic policy. The first is by Godechot who believed Napoleon "changed the history of France and the world". He thought that Napoleon's policies truly benefited France. However, a contrary viewpoint is made by Seward who thought Napoleon was a demagogue who had an "obsession with power". A third median of the two extremes was proposed by Soboul. Soboul thought that Napoleon advantaged France in some ways but hindered in others.