The Legacy Of Napoleon

These historians have done a phenomenal job of keeping the topics portrayed in their theses as well as about a comparatively unbiased view on Napoleon and bring about a deeper and hidden meaning behind why Napoleon is considered a hero or a villain. Paul Stock brings about the idea that there was a “romantic appropriation” of Napoleon, especially by the British in the early nineteenth century.

This document speaks to how in many ways they put Napoleon on a pedestal and how he took this view in order to gain more power. The purpose of this document is to show Napoleon as a more godly figure and to move him into the view of an absolute ruler. This helps to show how Napoleon betrayed the legacy of the French revolution by taking on an absolute

Although Napoleon’s military conquests started off based on the ideals of the French Revolution, Napoleons relentless quest for personal glory lead to a dictatorship. “In Napoleons hands the state had become the instrument of dictatorship.” The Ultimate betrayal was the institution of a hereditary monarchy. This hereditary monarchy began in Napoleons action of crowing himself Emperor and Culminated in his marriage to an Austrian Hapsburg princess “the moment his power became hereditary it cut itself off

Napoleon Bonaparte, an influential leader of France, was a man of many facets. On one the one hand, Napoleon was a strong leader who created durable institutions and strengthened France, but on the other, there is a more pitiful view of Napoleon. The view of Napoleon was initially very positive: he viewed himself as a protector of the people, and the people saw this too; however, over time, this image was greatly worsened, due to military hardship.

Napoleon Bonaparte is seen by historians in a variety of lights. Some judge him for his lack of mercy for those in his warpath along with his unmatched air of confidence. Others choose to see him for the leadership abilities and keen mind that fueled his remarkable triumphs as a general, commander, First Consul of France, and even emperor. Owen Connelly uses his work, The Epoch of Napoleon, to bridge the gap that other historians and authors have skimmed over, giving the reader an inside look at not only Napoleon’s military life, but also his political and personal life. Furthermore, Connelly achieves this by showing both the ruthless and heroic sides of Napoleon, including non-military details from the life of Napoleon, and lastly, including quotes from Napoleon and those that interacted with him.

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.

Napoleon Bonaparte will remain in the heart of many French nationals as one of the greatest military leaders that the nation has had when it comes to warfare history. In 1799, Napoleon launched a series of wars, which historian call, “Napoleonic wars” in a bid to extend the territory of France in Europe. Many historians argue that the Napoleonic wars were a continuation of the earlier war under the tag, French revolution in 1789. The French revolution in itself had so many influences in Europe, especially with the armies who felt the greatest impact of the revolution. The revolution brought with it many changes, especially in the production of modern mass weapons with the conscription in place. The new improvements in weaponry made Napoleon seek hegemony in the entire Europe sparking his quest to expand and increase the revolutionary and territorial borders of France. Napoleon, Corsican aristocrat, who was a minor, rose to the position of emperor in France because of the revolution and his idea was to sweep the entire Europe with the reforms brought about by the revolution (Dwyer 32). The idea was to liberate the continent so that all citizens had a chance to take the helm of leadership and do away with the issue of kinship rule. Napoleon was a symbol of change, and although at some point, he comes out as a dictator, he was progressive and created rationalization of governance and all the social

The long term impacts of Napoleon’s reign stem from his short term impacts, the ideas and policies he upheld, the institutions he created and destroyed all contribute to his significant legacy to western civilization. Napoleon’s public image as the people’s monarch contributed to the phenomena where leaders regardless of ideology and government type cling to the notion that they possess the will of the people. That ruling though the general will is the legitimate purpose of a government. Napoleon’s religious policies extended beyond his reign, he further ingrained the policy of secularism and religious equality into France and Europe, as he legalized Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism across his empire (“Napoleon was”). Two centuries later,

“Napoleon practiced extreme centralization of authority. The Emperor was his own operations officer and made all decisions” (Rothenberg, 66-67). Clausewitz pronounced Napoleon as the ‘god of war’ and his tactical and operational successes, particularly between 1805-1807, are described as that of a military genius (Clausewitz, 583, 648). The command and control system he had in place was adequate when he was present, but “when his armies operated in widely separated theaters of war, or over an extended front, his attempts to maintain strategic control failed” (Rothenberg, 67). The strategic overreach of the Grand Army coupled with an increasing inability to trust his senior army and naval flag officers during decisive battles exploited the weakness of his system of centralized command and control. This manifested itself in 1812 when the Grand Army was fighting on two fronts at opposite ends of the continent, as evidenced by unsuccessful operational outcomes and significant battlefield

Everyone knows that Napoleon was a great leader and commander but it is not as cut and dry as popular history makes it out to be. His great victory at Austerlitz cemented him as one of the greatest commanders in history. This battle is was a tactical masterpiece up there with Gaugamela and Cannae. However, there is more to analyze here than just the battle itself. Many aspects of war include mobilization, supply, training, moral, army structure etc. and all play a part in Napoleon’s victories and the creation of the French Empire. Another variable to consider is the quality of the armies led by Tsar Alexander I of Russia and the Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II of Austria. The focus here is to look at how these aspects played a role in

“If you want something done well, do it yourself” Napoleon Bonaparte. To me this means that you want something a certain way it is best to do it yourself because you never know how another person will do it. In the essay I will talk about the events Napoleon was in. I will also talk about how his rule went. I will also discuss his early and late life. Finally, I will compare and contrast Napoleon to George Washington.

An evaluation of the first source will be on John C. Davenport’s The French Revolution and the Rise of Napoleon, published in 2011. The origin of this source is an American historian and member of the American Historical Society, Society for History Education, and the National council for the Social Studies. Although there are few works dating back to the late 1700s, Davenport gives an accurate insight from a historian’s perspective regarding events that occurred during and after the French Revolution as well as Napoleon Bonaparte’s reign. The purpose of this source is to study the cause and effect of an important figure, in this case, Napoleon, that changed the French society as well as its government. The source also explores the changes he made that affected the countries abroad. The value of the source is a fair study of Napoleon’s role in the French Revolution and how that affected his reputation as a military leader. Even though this source is neither a primary source nor a firsthand account, it is still a valuable source for historians looking for

Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the most powerful person of the French Revolution. Today, many countries world-wide still remember his name because observing his legacy; his name will be forever in the human history. “Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769, in Ajaccio, Corsica, France. He died in 1821, on the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. Napoleon was the most distinguished leaders in the history of the West” (“Napoleon”). According to the article, Napoleon’s dreams were to organize France by creating new reforms to make France more organized with self-regulations. One of the most admirable concepts that he had was his perseverance to reach his achievements to make the changes in France, which were in education, law, and finance.

The years 1799-1804 in France were forever marked by Napoleon's ascension to power and subsequent rule. Napoleon and his actions became essentially the driving force of France whenever he was in power. Everything that happened went through him, and nothing was without his oversight. The mark Napoleon left still lasts to this day, and he is a vital part of world history. But overall, the major marks that Napoleon left from 1799-1804 can be simplified to two main points: Napoleon's civil reforms and his consolidation of power.

Napoleon Bonaparte made a huge impact on history. It started when he became the hero of the hour in 1795. He defended the delegates which caused the attackers to flee. Ever since then he continued to make more and more impacts on the world. Napoleon thought that his greatest accomplishment was his complete system of laws. He called these laws the Napoleonic code. What the Napoleonic code did was it gave the country a new set of laws and got rid of many injustices. The bad thing was that the laws didn't promote our individual rights and some of our rights were actually restricted under these laws. The code ended up restoring slavery in the French colonies. The Napoleonic code was approved in March 1804. The reason Napoleon made the code was to make the French Law more modern. This change was so great that most of the laws are still being enforced today.