In the early 19th century a man by the name of Napoleon
Bonaparte led a Coup D’etat that created a new government
in France. This new government started out with a tribunal
leadership, which Napoleon was first consul, and later
changed to an empire with Napoleon as emperor. Some
people believe that he made the revolution better and
expanded the revolution but this is not true. The facts, when
closely looked at, prove that Napoleon effectively destroyed
the revolution by telling the people of his country one thing
while he was actually planning on doing something totally
different. He deceived people so well that he is still
convincing people today that he was a defender of the
revolution. With this pack of deception Napoleon set the
people of France back into the 18th century by killing off a
great number of the young population in his wars. He led the
people of France to believe that he was spreading the
revolution throughout Europe but the truth is that he believed
that in order to be a great leader he would have to invade
and conquer many foreign lands. He controlled what the
people wrote and read through the media. It all started with
a coup against the government that he was fighting for. The
Coup D’etat, led by Napoleon, took place at the perfect
time because the Jacobins were losing power and there were
many people being executed for allegedly being monarchists.
In the courts a person was not able to speak in their defense
so if the prosecutor made a good enough argument the
charged would be executed by the guillotine. There were
many innocent people who were executed, and many more
who were afraid. After the coup a referendum was held in
1802 that made Napoleon First Consul for life. This was his
first step in turning France back into a monarchy. The next
step was in 1804 when a second referendum was held that
made him Emperor. The people really had no choice. They
could have an Emperor and essentially turn back into a
monarchy or return to the governmental insatiability that they
had been living in for about 10 years before Napoleon came
into the spotlight. The electorate, whom were the people that
owned land and were the only citizens who were allowed to
vote, overwhelmingly voted in favor of making Napoleon
Emperor. Napoleon after all was the lesser of the two evils.
After the vote Napoleon granted general...
... middle of paper ...
...rong. With the whole of Europe joining
coalitions to fight against this emperor, they must have
known what Napoleon was really fighting for. He wanted to
take over Europe and when he won a number of victories he
thought that he could take over the world. He thought too
big too fast and underestimated things like harsh winters and
the ability of his opponents to get stronger. The setting up a
fake legislature to make the people think that he was
working in their interests was a good way of getting people
on his side. In some countries peasant and working classes
relished the thought of Napoleon leading their country. After
he took power the people started to feel oppressed and
became unhappy when relatives of Napoleon’s became their
Kings. The thing that topped it off was the fact that the Code
Napoleon did not allow changes for the different countries.
These facts prove without a doubt that Napoleon lied to his
people so they would support him. While he was doing this
lying he managed to kill off most of a generation of French,
which left France behind in the Industrial Revolution, and
turn the Republic that the revolution had fought for back into
a Monarchy. V
The French Revolution, beginning in 1789, was a lengthy process in which the people of France took over the government and instituted a Republic (Chambers). The overarching goal of the Revolution was to place the power of government in the hands of the people. For two years, whilst France was facing internal disorganization and external wartime threats, the government was run by a war dictatorship under Maximilien Robespierre, the head of the Committee of Public Safety (“Reign of Terror”). Amid much internal suspicion and fear, the Reign of Terror began. Much of France was politically divided, and Robespierre’s method for keeping the government stable in a time of crisis involved severe penalties for any suspected of plotting against the new government (Chambers). Soon the accusations began to fly and a handful of people convicted and killed for treason became thousands. Many of the cases turned into the accuser’s word versus the accused, and a government preoccupied with bigger issues often did not care to look into these cases, simply convicting the accused, supposedly to promote a sense of unity and control to the citizens of France, and to forewarn anyone who did attempt treasonous deeds (Chambers). Eventually, Marie Antoinette, guilty of no crime other than marrying the former king, was executed on the grounds of treason (“French Revolution: The Reign of Terror”). Many thought this was taking a step too far. The former Queen was well-respec...
A rather ominous name for the unaware; “The Reign of Terror”. An oblivious person could completely bypass the horrifying events related to the French Revolution, had it been named differently. The title for these events is appropriate from my perspective. Those four words could easily interest a curious, ordinary person, and so the history can survive, along with the information transferring to yet another carrier. Of course, everyone can benefit from knowing a few terms that can increase your understanding of the topic. An absolute monarch is a person that has absolute power among his or her people. The Estates General is a representative body drawn from the three ‘estates’ into which society had been theoretically divided. A fraternity is a group of people sharing a common profession or interests. A radical person is a person who advocates thorough or complete political or social reform. The device used to execute most people was the guillotine: a machine with a heavy blade sliding vertically in grooves, used for beheading people. The Reign of Terror is generally defined as a period of remorseless repression or bloodshed, but in particular, it is the period of the Terror during the French Revolution. Conservatives are people that hold to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation. Now that we can speak of our topic with more knowledge of terms typically used for this subject, we can address the pending question. Was The Reign of Terror justified? An outstanding amount of people died for good and bad reasons. Every system was corrupt, there was practically no right and wrong; no order, just rebellion. Several conflicting arguments can be made, but there is a definite decision to make in this situatio...
The French Revolution was full of bloodshed and hurt. Even though many think that the French Revolution did nothing, there are many important events that took place. Much of what we have today is in place, because of how the French Revolution ended. As a new empire was rising up, a leader was called forth to unify the rebellious parties of the dissipating French Revolution. Many will argue that the acts of this man were at first of great benefit to his country, but then were made to feed his yearn for power and total dominance of Europe. This man was named Napoleon Bonaparte; however, he will later be known as Napoleon I Emperor of France. Napoleon; however, was not the first to be leader of the revolution, he was one of
As the revolution calmed, the National Assembly attempted to maintain power however, Napoleon Bonaparte, an outstanding national general, ousted the newly set republic in a coup d 'etat in 1799, imposing himself dictator of France and leading the country to new militaristic heights that prompted French nationalism and the spread of Enlightenment ideas. Even though Bonaparte’s title as a dictator, emperor in 1804, connotates a restricted freedom, he actually made great lengths to enact policies that reflected Enlightenment ideals such as freedom of religion. Bonaparte centralized France’s government and moved to consolidate all of Europe under one nation. Touting Enlightenment ideals where his soldier traveled, Napoleon 's conquest set the foundation
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.
Enlightened despotism is when there is an absolute ruler, in some cases a tyrant, who follows the principles of the Enlightenment through reforms. Permitting religious toleration, allowing freedom of the press and speech, and expanding education are a few main guidelines to being and enlightened despot. Napoleon I is often referred to as one of the greatest enlightened despots. Although, he did not follow the ideas of the enlightenment entirely, he managed his country in a way that he maintained complete authority as well as many of the gains of the French Revolution. Yes, Napoleon did want to do a few things for himself, but he also ruled for the majority in most cases, promote government-funded education, and supported many other enlightened ideas. But, most importantly, Napoleon did what he thought would make his country stronger.
Maximilien Robespierre did not do more to further France as a nation that Napoleon Bonaparte. Robespierre only got the ball rolling. He only took down the governments and caused the deaths of countless numbers of people as a way to control them. He was then caught fleeing and tried to commit suicide and failed. Shortly afterwards he was beheaded. Napoleon had to be taken down by armies of twelve different countries before he gave up rule on France. He then ended up coming back ten months later to retake France. Napoleon had done more to further France as a nation by ending the French Revolution, expanding France and France's power, and seeking peace with France's enemy countries.
n 1789, France was ruled by an absolute monarch named King Louis XVI. King Louis XVI failed to be the king of France because he did not really care about his people and he only cared about himself and his money. Group of men vowed to make a new constitution. Meanwhile, the French Revolution begun. During the time of the French Revolution, 20,000 people are killed and France was a disaster because Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity was what the people wanted but it turned into a riot and did not really get what they wanted. Does the French Revolution sounds justified to you? Maximilien Robespierre became the leader of the revolutionary government. The new government proceeded to execute large numbers of individuals whom it considered to be enemies of the an assembly revolution. This was called the reign of terror, which lasted two years. The new government had to do battle both inside and outside the country. The reign of Terror was not justified. This claim can be supported by the internal conflicts, external conflicts, and deaths occurred in French Revolution.
Napoleon returned to home to France with only about 10% of his Army still alive. He lost most of his soldiers during the Great White Death, which is one of the largest French disasters to date. Since all the coalition allies knew he was in trouble, they decided to follow him and take him out while he was down and burned out. This is when he decided to give himself up and be exiled to Elba with 1000 guards. Before he left though, he promised his men that he, “… would return when the flowers bloomed.” And that was a promise that Napoleon kept.
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.
After years of distrust in the government and hatred towards the nobility, the French people rose up and started a revolution (The French Revolution). The Declaration of the Rights of Man, made in 1789, put the ideas of the French Revolution onto paper. They stated that all men are born equal and that they have the right to liberty and property, and security (Rogers, 2011). After the removal of the monarchy and the beheading of Louis XVI, the French entered the Reign of Terror. Being that there was no peace and the demands of the Declaration were still unmet, the French people at a very vulnerable state. Comtesse de Remusat proposed the very plausible theory that the French people only allowed Napoleon to rise to power because of their weakness. The idea of a republic caused fear in the people and they needed some sort of leader to take control and help France (Rogers, 2011). The sole reason for a revolution was to bring equality to all and the French still had not found that
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.
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.