Napoleon Bonaparte Aims

The three main focuses of the French Revolution were liberté, égalité, and fraternité. Napoleon’s action show that he supported liberté and égalité, and therefore Napoleon supported the revolution.

Napoleon betrayed his people by denying them liberty in the Napoleonic Code. The Napoleonic Code “gave the country a uniform set of laws and eliminated many injustices” (Beck 664). “However, it actually limited liberty and promoted order and authority over individual rights” (Beck 664). Freedom of speech and press were restricted under this code (Beck 664). This code also restore slavery in the French

The longest lasting effect of Napoleon Bonaparte's rule over France was his overseeing the implementation of a series of national laws collectively known as the Civil Code, or Code Napoleon. Code Napoleon was the successor to the idea’s stated in The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, While at first, Napoleon generally adhered to the philosophies of the French Revolutionist as created in The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, as time progressed, his absolute power allowed for corruption at the expense of the French people. Napoleon violated almost every principle in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen in order to benefit his own

On the other hand, Napoleon provided the people of France with the Napoleonic Code and therefore freedom and justice; as he wasn’t particularly religious people could not confuse this act for selfishness it was obviously to make the people of France truly happy.

In France in 1789, A revolution began. The people of France were fighting for their inalienable rights such as freedom from serfdom , equality between the classes. Within this chaos in France, Napoleon, a new thinker, came about and changed France in many ways. Napoleon's policies can be seen as preserving the legacy of the French Revolution by giving equality to the lower classes and creating a governmental system that helped to put the people in charge of their sovereignty, however it can be seen as hurting the legacy by protecting the ideas of absolutism.

The Code Napoleon, originally entitled the Code civil des Français, is the French civil code established by Napoleon in 1804. This code forbids any special treatment based on wealth and nobility and allowed freedom of religion and stated that government jobs will go to the most qualified and not just those who are wealthy. This law also focused on equality before the law and in taxation, protection of private property, abolition of serfdom and the secularization of the state. The Napoleon Code “unified the laws of France into a single code of law.” 3 People will not be treated differently for their wealth or social standing and will face all the same consequences as every other person in the country. It acknowledged the equal rights of all people and

Both the rule of Napoleon and the French Revolution caused great chaos for the European countries. Despite his epic defeat, many of the Napoleonic codes are still the basis of law in France in modern day. The Modern French government would not have been developed without the actions of the French revolution nor the rule of

In 1804, the Napoleonic Codes were implemented, in which reformed laws. These codes were used to maintain Napoleon's views on order, security, and efficiency. Likewise, the codes maintained Enlightenment principles, which includes the people’s right of religion, equality, and advancements based on the values (Ellis 486). The Napoleonic Codes, however, undid most of the reforms that had been created during the French Revolution - mainly, the women’s rights of citizenship. Also, considering how Napoleon was considered to value authority over the people's rights, it is concluded that to a medium extent, men had gained more rights, whereas for women, to a low extent did the Napoleonic Codes advance the rights of women.

Beginning in 1789, the French Revolution was a time of rebellion, passion, betrayal, death, violence, and perseverance. Before 1789, King Louis XVI was taxing his poorest people heavily, whilst the rich were hardly taxed at all. The socioeconomic system in place at the time, known as the ancien regime, ruthlessly upheld the status quo. When the tension in France rose to a boiling point, fiery, young rebels to rose up against the Monarchy, the Ancien Regime, and the Clergy. These revolutionaries desperately wanted change, and they had three main principles around which their movement centered: Liberté, Égalité, and Fraternité. Liberty is the freedom to do as one pleases so long as one’s actions do not unjustifiably harm others. Equality is being considered the same. Fraternity is a sense of brotherhood and companionship. The goals of the French Revolution were initially achieved with alacrity, however they were abandoned with relative quickness as malcontented leaders quested for, and abused, power and authority.

Napoleon continued in the Revolutionary tradition of liberating and introducing revolutionary ideals to the territories he claimed for France. In the areas he conquered Napoleon granted constitutions, introduced law codes, abolished feudalism, created efficient governments and fostered education, science, literature and the arts. However these reforms always failed as Napoleon was always attempting the politically impossible. This did not stop Napoleon from continuing his conquests. Napoleons battles were fought in order to consolidate his dictatorship. His Military success initially consolidated the revolution, but once he turned France into a military dictatorship he betrayed the revolution.

After Robespierre and the Directory, Napoleon came to power. Though he is criticized for being a militaristic dictator, Napoleon was able to spread Enlightenment ideals, in the form of the Napoleonic Code, throughout Europe. This shows the progression of ideas throughout Europe, and also that France succeeded in using the ideals that the revolution was based on. In this way, the French Revolution was extremely successful.

"All the citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally admissible to all public dignities, places, and employments, according to their capacity and without distinction other than that of their virtues and of their talents" – a quote from the Declaration of Rights of Man. Napoleon often declared his belief in ‘equal opportunities for all’ but as far as education was concerned,

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.

Napoleons’ rise to emperor in France was indisputable mostly because of his overthrow of the Directory. His success’s as commander of the French army in Italy, only led to his aspiring status change to “Emperor” of France after overthrowing the Directory in November of 1799. His undying ambition for expansion of the empire he was creating however would be his undoing. Napoleons rule as emperor of France was quit spectacular actually and many admired and adored him as ruler. His ways were very appealing, and as a speaker he was very persuasive and admired by most of his people until his later years in his fall and demise. However, Napoleon did not seriously adhere to the ideals of the French Revolution, he did that of the Enlightenment but his undying ambition and character as “Emperor” undermined the true need of the French Revolution.

The French Revolution began as an expression of rebellion against centuries of absolute rule in France. After an interim of experimental liberalism under the rule of Jacobins and Girondins and then the infamous reign of terror, the people of French were drawn to a man who promised them a return to stability, and  honor through the expansion of empire. France and it’s people had long yearned for this sens eof honour, it had seemed, and could finally sens eit in a lasting rpesence under the rule of their prodigious, unbeatable general, Napoleon Bonaparte. He would soon take the reigns of civil government as well and become yet another Absolutist ruler, yet this