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Essay on freedom of the french revolution
Essay on freedom of the french revolution
Monarchy in the french revolution
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While Robespierre and Napoleon violated the French Revolution’s ideal of liberty, both rulers preserved the ideal of equality. Neither Robespierre nor Napoleon led with freedom from absolutism, but both spread the nationalist zeal during or after the Reign of Terror. There are also other ideals of the revolution preserved and undermined by the two rulers, including will for a limited government, religious toleration, and protection of individual rights. Specifically, Robespierre preserved the ideal of equality during the Reign of Terror. A common goal of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the constitution was to secure equality between citizens. Robespierre contributes to this by ruling without the ancien regime, a social hierarchy that placed the nobility and clergy above the common people. Instead, he called for a republic and eliminated all potential opposition, preserving equality. He also changed the titles of monsieur and madame to simply, “citizen”. These were …show more content…
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. While this saw Catholicism as the religion of the majority of French people, it tolerated Jews and Protestants. It also abolished the revolutionary calendar, indicating the return of Sunday. Napoleon preserved nationalism as well. He was seen as the perfect “Son of the Revolution” because his power was self-made by rising through the ranks of the military. He led major victories throughout Europe, and his troops were loyal to him and
In this essay I shall try to find whether the Terror was inherent from the French revolutions outset or was it the product of exceptional circumstances. The French revolution is the dividing line between the Ancien Regime and the modern world. After France the hierarchy that societies of the time had been founded on began to change and they began to sweep away the intricate political structures of absolute monarchy, but however to achieve this was the Terror absolutely necessary? And was it planned/ or was it just the extraordinary circumstances, which the French had lead themselves into once they had deposed of Louis the sixteenth. Whatever way it is looked at, the political ideology of the rest of the world was going to change after the French revolution. The conflicting ideology's of the French revolution from socialism to nationalism would now be mainstream words and spearhead many political parties in years to come. The French revolution had been in high hopes that a peaceful transition could be made from absolutist to parliamentary monarchy, but what went wrong? Surely the terror could not have been in their minds at this time? Surely it was not inherent from the start.
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
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.
Clearly there never was just one French Revolution, but rather a series of revolutions. These occurred while the French struggled to create a new political and social system – one that would follow principles radically different to that of the ‘ancient’ regime. There were five regimes during the French Revolution between 1787 and 1800. However, despite this fragmented revolution, the same fundamental principles guided most of the revolutionaries involved. These principles included equality under law, centralisation of government, elimination of feudal rights, religious freedom and careers open to talent, not birth.
Maximilien Robespierre became obsessed with this passion to create equality within France and to abolish the segregation that he began to be worshiped by others and seen as a beacon of hope. They both hoped that the Tribunal would bring peace to France. It would crush the Royalists and quiet mob by reassuring that the enemies of the revolution would be punished.” (DiConsiglio).
In other ways Napoleon was also the savior of the French Revolution: he fought wars and won most as an attempt to try and unite Europe under one French Empire. Even though this eventually failed, French nationalism and pride emerged in its aftermath. Napoleons also regulated the economy to control prices, encouraged new industry and build roads and canals, built schools, and abolished privilege, leading towards benefaction towards centralizing the state. In his entirety as a ruler, Napoleon did more to help the French people than to hurt them. For these reasons Napoleon was the savior of the French Revolution: he transformed his power and strength into benefits towards his people, creating and bringing the change France needed during and after the Revolution to help its people.
Over a period of time Napoleon's party overthrew Robespierre's party. Soon enough, Napoleon was the dictator of France. The French soldiers who fought in the American Revolution came back from the war with new ideas and reasons for revolution. These ideas included the right to take up arms against tyranny, all men should have liberal freedoms, and a republic superior to a monarchy.
Napoleon maintained the Revolutionary system of conscription and encouraged promotion based on ability.... ... middle of paper ... ... Broers, Michael.
French Revolution brought a great number of great ideas, but ideas are not beneficial unless they are realized and stabilized. The man to stabilize the concepts of French Revolution was Napoleon Bonaparte. He started out as an Italian general and ended up being one of the greatest historical figures. First, Directors requested Napoleon's support while organizing a coup d'etat. Then, Bonaparte fought Britain in order to benefit France. Lastly, he was called to help creating a new constitution and ended up as the First Consul of France. At home, he ruled using flattery, but also he strongly resisted the opposition. Napoleon is a pro-revolutionist because he denied all the privileges of the aristocracy, created a new constitution, and also established the Napoleonic Code.
But, most importantly, Napoleon did what he thought would make his country stronger. 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 while under the control of the monarchy. He also created an army of government officials. He had the entire country linked under a rational administration.
Liberty, equality, and freedom are all essential parts to avoiding anarchy and maintaining tranquility even through the most treacherous of times. The Reign of Terror is well known as the eighteen month long French Revolution (1793-1794). In this period of time, a chief executive Maximilien Robespierre and a new French government executed gigantic numbers of people they thought to be enemies of the revolution; inside and outside of the country. The question is; were these acts of the new French government justified? Not only are the acts that occurred in the Reign of Terror not justified, they were barbaric and inhumane.
These achievement help portray him as a hero in the eyes of many people. When Napoleon became emperor, France was in a time of chaos . He was able to restore order and stability to the country in ruins. He developed the Napoleonic code as a way to provide order to Frances society, and economy. “Each state was granted a constitution, providing for universal male equality and a parliament containing a bill of rights.
Third Topic: Maximilien Frencios Marie Isidore de Robespirre was born May of 1758 and is considered by many the most authoritative developer and influential figure of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. The positions he had helped him immensely in his efforts to establish a French Republic. He was a French lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Estates General, the Constituent Assembly, and the Jacobin Club. Since he believed that the plebeians should have the same rights as the Nobles, he went to the extremes to accomplish his “noble cause.” and that the Nobles should be exucted Robespierre.
Napoleon Bonaparte is often seen as a tyrant, however; through Napoleon’s strong tactics and military leadership he led France through a time of great turmoil and provided the stability and guidance France so desperately needed. During his reign, Napoleon was able to bring an end to the French Revolution, a series of wars that had fractured the French at their core. After the resolution of the revolution, Napoleon developed the Civil Code or Napoleonic code to unite all of France under one governing law. The Civil Code blended the governing laws of the Roman law practiced in the South with the customary law practiced in the North. Through the Code, Napoleon brought unity to France, improved the rights and lives of citizens, and allowed for France’s own growth and development. The Civil Code is considered one of Napoleon’s
Being a lawyer and supposed ‘defender’ of laws and civil liberties, Robespierre saw order through the creation of a constitution. Robespierre initially sought to defend the many rights presented in The Declaration Of Rights Of Man. Being a man who was experienced with law he seemed to be the right leader; a man who was “ incorruptible”. Despite Robespierre's initial intentions as tensions rose in post revolutionary France, Robespierre became desperate to sustain his own power. Robespierre’s ‘desperate’ actions are evidenced by “ The Reign of Terror”, an event in which France's own citizens were executed for not completely supporting the Jacobin ideology.