How Did Napoleon Bonaparte Betray The French Revolution

There is no question in the fact that Napoleon Bonaparte was a significant character in France. However, there have been debates among historians for years around the central question: “Was Napoleon Bonaparte a hero or a villain?” The answer here relies on how one looks upon the situation. Was Napoleon Bonaparte a savior to the French, or was he a tyrant to the French? Although many historians’ answers do rely deeply onto perspective, their answers also lie within which stage of life Napoleon Bonaparte was in, as well as the shift in opinions that come as time changes. Paul Stock and Phillip Dwyer analyze Napoleon Bonaparte’s influence and through the analysis, debate on whether Napoleon Bonaparte should be considered a hero or a villain,

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

Ultimately, the French Revolution led to a law system that was very much against the established principles of the Enlightenment thinkers. Napoleon Bonaparte became the first strong leader of the new France republic in 1799. He was a leader that often gave off the appearance of inclusion of the people in governmental decisions but placed the most importance on his own authority. Though universal suffrage had been established for white males, democratic principles were not exactly used for Bonaparte’s reign. He tampered with voting until he had himself elected as consul for life in 1802. In 1804, he established the Napoleonic Code which took away many rights women had gained during the Revolution, such as the equality they had in marriage. It

Napoleon did not always follow through with his theories and ideas about the well being of France with actions, making him very hypocritical; there are however some contrasting points to suggest that not all his choices were insincere. Therefore his initial claims and theories were not completed, his actions contradicted his preliminary ideas. Consequently, Napoleon betrayed the ideas of the French Revolution: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

Napoleon Bonaparte is sometimes viewed as a democratic reformer, the views he expressed to give people this image was a complete lie. In a letter Napoleon sent to his brother after defeating the Prussians, Bonaparte says that he believes in public trials along with liberty, equality, and prosperity. These statements are the ideas of the French Revolution and what he told the citizens of France that he believed in. These ideas are what a democratic reformer would believe in and what made him popular during the revolution among the people. These viewpoints he expressed in this letter are not those of which he gave to the people of France. In December of 1812 Bonaparte said to other European monarchs, “Since I have worn a crown I have shown clearly enough that I mean to close the door on revolution. The sovereigns of Europe are indebted to me for stopping the revolutionary storm that threatened their thrones.” With these words he proves that he has no intention of giving the people of France a democracy and that he plans to stop the revolution. The belief that Napoleon Bonaparte is a democratic reformer is based solely on his words and not his action, making them lies to his people.

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.

In order to investigate the claim that ‘Napoleon betrayed the revolution’, it has to be determined what is the French revolution? And what are the revolutionary ideals that Napoleon allegedly betrayed? If Napoleon betrayed the Revolution then he betrayed the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. However if Napoleon did not betray the revolution, he consolidated the revolutionary ideals. The only way of determining whether Napoleon consolidated or betrayed the revolution is to explore his actions such as his military success, Dictatorship and social reforms. The difficulty of this analysis is that Napoleons motives for his actions determine whether he consolidated or betrayed the Revolution.

Napoleon made these promises seeming like the perfect democratic reformer, but many promises he did not intend to keep and ended up keeping France in the absolute ruling they started in. Some were not pleased with Napoleon’s actions regarding his promises. Moreau, a political prisoner wrote a letter once to Napoleon from the prison expressing his thoughts on the matter. “You swore to establish a government, not depending upon the life of one individual, not tyrannical but firm, stable and liberal... how have you respected these fulfilled these promises” (Document #13). Instead of establishing this democratic reforming government, Napoleon kept France in an absolute ruling. Napoleon made many promises to the people that tied into the idea of the revolution. Little did the people of France know that Napoleon would go against the Revolution in many ways. According to Document 14, in December of 1812, Napoleon shared a few words about the revolution. “Since I have worn a crown I have shown clearly enough that I mean to close the door on revolution” (Document 14). When Napoleon says “close the door” he means he wants to stop the revolutions in Europe. He wants everyone to be under absolute rule, and may the monarchies live on. He also shares in Document 4 that other kings should be thankful for him because he is stopping all of these present and future revolutions. Napoleon is yet again breaking all promises of being a revolutionary leader, and instead keeping France where it has been since before the French Revolution. Napoleon Bonaparte made many promises to France, but unfortunately he did not intend on keeping most of

Imagine back to the French Revolution. It was a time of hardship and suffering for the common person. This revolution was built on the ideals of the Enlightenment and had the mantra of liberty, equality, and fraternity. These ideals were never truly put into effect throughout this bloody revolution, nor after it with the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. Quite the opposite, as Napoleon betrayed the ideals of the French Revolution by being a selfish dictator, manipulating the people of Europe, and being a cruel leader.

Although it is often debated, the character of Napoleon was neither strictly tyrannical or heroic. Connelly understood this and displayed both sides of Napoleon throughout the book. For example, Napoleon made a great impact on the education system in France that is still evident today. He founded lycèes, collèges, and the Imperial University that allowed those that wanted an education to receive it, sometimes with the help of scholarships (Connelly, 49). However, he did have an ulterior motive driving his work in education: as Napoleon put it, the “means of directing political and moral opinion” (Connelly, 51). Connelly points out that Napoleon was upfront about his motives, and says, “In education, Napoleon’s influence is often decried, but he left a lasting legacy” (Connelly, 49). Fortunately, the same can be said for many of Napoleon’s other endeavors, including his impact on culture. Napoleon enjoyed the arts and had a great influence on what the French people accepted. He reorganized France’s National Library, shaped the Louvre into the phenomenal museum it is today, patronized famous artists, and supported many scientists during that time (Connelly, 52-53). “Repression of political expression there was. But those who say Napoleon created an intellectual desert in France and Europe are wrong” (Connelly, 54). Misconceptions about Napoleon’s work in France have run rampant for years. While some truth lies in

Napoleon managed to maintain the lesser ideals of the French Revolution. However, he managed to do this by giving all of the former ideals a ‘twist’ of his own if he was displeased by them. This included the fact that he re-wrote the constitution that had previously been written; he partially reversed the relationship with the Church, turning France into a Catholic country. It can also be stated that the way he gained power was against the French Revolution’s ideals: and this was the very beginning! On the other hand, Napoleon managed to maintain equal taxation, which had previously been a big issue, especially for the poor. Distinction was removed and there were no privileges for any parties neither was there a way to ‘sneak out’ of

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.

Not only did Napoleon take control of neighboring countries to France, but he forced his administration, specifically the Napoleonic code, on them as well. When instituting the Napoleonic code, many people rejoiced over the enlightened ideas it spread and freedom it promoted. However, most, if not all of Napoleon’s positive reforms were done so with negative intentions or a counter force in mind. For instance, Napoleon restricted all information in and out of France that viewed him negatively or could potentially obstruct the submissive society he built. In fact, plays, newspapers, and books were censored, which kept his citizens in the dark. The deceit continued when Napoleon promised freedom for all people, but went back on his word once it was no longer convenient for him. For example, Napoleon was facing many

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

Napoleon Bonaparte established an authoritarian empire, and declared himself emperor. While this seems as far from a republic as possible, Bonaparte asserted many of the recent, liberal socioeconomic ideals of France into his policies. When the Code was published in 1804, it outlined the rights to freedom of religion, equality before law, rights of ownership, and abolition of feudalism. It writes, “Private persons have the free disposition of the property belonging to them, subject to the modifications established by the laws” (The Civil Code), and this absolute right to property benefitted peasant landowners greatly. Under the Civil Code, peasants reclaimed land and property that were under the possession of clergymen and nobility. Another principal idea of the Code was that all people would be equal before the law. All had a chance to improve their social status and gain wealth. As it stated in the first book, “Every Frenchman shall enjoy civil rights” (The Civil Code). These reforms concerning equality before the law were enjoyed tremendously by those living in lower classes during the Napoleonic era. However, despite these improved qualities in the Civil Code, there were elements that contrasted the ideals of the French Revolution as well. For example, the rights of women took a step back under Bonaparte’s policies. Under the chapter of marriage, it states that the wife owes “obedience to her husband” under Article 213 (The Civil Code). Generally, women would need the authorization and guidance of a husband or father in order to participate in the economy with trade or property care. During the Reign of Terror, discrimination against women had begun again, and was established firmly under the Civil Code (Bulliet, et al. 557). Freedom of press was