The Power Of Napoleon

During his time as a leader of France, Napoleon appeared in some respects to be an enlightened ruler, but many of actions contradicted that appearance.

His goal was to make the the citizens of France believe he was doing everything in his power to help them, and he was successful. That allowed him to increase his popularity throughout France. The people believed he was doing everything he could to improve their living conditions. His motto was “order, security, and efficiency,” and that motto determined the way he managed warfare, politics, and economic problems. Napoleon was a brilliant, successful general who took care of his soldiers and personally led them in battle.

The Enlightenment began in the 1700’s, in the latter part of the Absolute

Of course it was also a philosophical movement, and thinkers like Hobbes and Locke were important political thinkers who had an impact on the conflicting ideologies during the French Revolution and Napoleon 's rise to power. Napoleon had many views that reflected Enlightenment ideas and values. In 1802, however, Napoleon issued a plebiscite which essentially gave him indefinite sovereign power. Napoleon issued the plebiscite to increase his legitimacy and gain approval from the people in France. The people supported it overwhelmingly, and Napoleon became known as the “Consul for Life.” In 1804, he became known as the emperor, and he created the first French

Voltaire battled corruption, injustice and inequality and strongly defended freedom of speech. But Napoleon shut down 60 of the 75 domestic newspapers because he did not agree with what they were saying about him. He also helped relations achieve positions of power in Europe, ignoring the principles of the meritocracy which he had earlier championed. He disagreed with Adam smith and the policy of Laissez Faire. He controlled prices which contradicted many principles of economics that came out of the Enlightenment. Despite seeking popular approval, he ultimately agreed with Hobbes ' endorsement of absolute sovereignty as against the more democratic and enlightened principles advanced by John Locke. Locke had an optimistic view of human nature while Hobbes had a very pessimistic view. Hobbes thought that humans are are naturally cruel, greedy, and selfish.

Early in Napoleons’ campaign he stated that he supported the equality of citizens in France, but in 1802 he created the Legion of Honor. It was a new status in society which granted members special privileges. The legion was a "superior" group, similar to nobility, but Napoleon of course never called it that because he wanted to convince the general public that the idea of