Was Napoleon A Hero Or Villain Dbq Essay

When people think of dictators, names like Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and Mao Zedong come to mind. One name that too often joins this list, despite most definitely belonging on it, is Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon was a kind and just leader, and always attempted to do what was right. He was by no means unconstrained and tyrannical, as the word dictator suggests. Napoleon fought for what was best for his people, even when doing so wasn’t the easiest way, and he was never cruel or murderous. Napoleon Bonaparte I would not be considered a dictator to the people of France because he gained power to protect and improve France, he was elected for his position as emperor, and he tried to remove King Henry XVIII.

In this unit, you examined the American and French Revolutions. The American Revolution, sparked by conflict over British rule and influenced by Enlightenment ideas, broke colonial ties with a monarchy and yielded a new nation. The French Revolution, inspired by the American Revolution as well as the Enlightenment, freed French citizens from an absolute monarchy and secured equality before the law for all male citizens.

In September 1793 to July 1794, the Reign of Terror killed over 40,000 people in France using the guillotine a machine that made it a simple way to execute a mass amount of people. The Reign of Terror was led by no other than , Robespierre. He was trying to form a new government but instead caused thousands of people to be massacred. Ultimately, The Reign of Terror in France was not justified because the threats did not require it, the methods were too extreme and It did not support the ideals of the revolution.

Napoleon Bonaparte is a controversial figure in history, while some argue that he was a tyrant, others would say that he was a saviour of the French people, and a spreader of secular values. Regardless of one’s opinion, we mustn't neglect the many accomplishments he achieved throughout his reign as Emperor of France. As a young man, Napoleon joined a military academy, where he grew fascinated by famous figures like Julius Caesar, Hannibal Barca, and especially Alexander the Great. With the eruption of the French Revolution, Napoleon was quickly able to rise up through the ranks, eventually leading the French people to a victory over the monarchy, and later, the tyrants of the Reign of Terror. During his reign, he maintained his belief in the ideals of the revolution, which form the current national motto

From the 16th to 18th century, countries in Europe were experiencing new ideas and reforms.

Napoleon Bonaparte greatest work was the creation of the Napoleonic Code. The Napoleonic Code gave revelation the country a uniform set of laws and eliminated many injustices. However, because the Napoleonic Code promoted order and authority over individual rights, it limited freedom of speech and the press. These rights were all important components that were established during the French Revolution. Not only did the Napoleonic Code take away many rights from the citizens, this code also restored slavery in the French Colonies in the Caribbean. This shows Napoleon didn’t believe in the freedom of an individual person, and how Napoleon wants to be in control and have all the power. Napoleon Bonaparte went against the goal of Liberty in the French Revolution by reviving slavery, taking away the freedom of the people, and promoting order and authority over individual rights striving to acquire full control which lead to his citizens thinking of rights that they believe they deserve and how equality was strongly

Napoleon’s Imperial Decree at Madrid stated that “from the publication of the present decree, feudal rights are abolished...all feudal monopolies of ovens, mills, and inns are suppressed” (Document 8). By abolishing feudalism, Napoleon promoted liberty and freed people from their duties to their lords. Individuals no longer had to conform to their social status and were able to pursue their own success by having access to previously exclusive resources. Napoleon believed that the privileges of the upper class should be abolished (Pagano “Napoleon Domestic Program Good”). He created the Code Napoleon, which guaranteed equality under the law, regulation of the economy, absolute security of wealth and private property, and the end of feudalism (Pagano “Napoleon Domestic Program Good”). The Code Napoleon showed his desire for lower class citizens, such as poor farmers, to have an equal opportunity to succeed. His actions to regulate the economy alleviated the issues with taxing the Third Estate faced. Napoleon extended liberty even to those he conquered. In a speech to troops, Napoleon said that “there is one condition you must swear to fulfill - to respect the people whom you liberate...your property, your religion, and your customs will be respected” (Document 1). By placing emphasis on respecting, and not oppressing, Napoleon aimed to create stability. Respecting their rights to own property and practice their own religion was an effort to maintain the liberty of the people. In other words, he did not want them to feel inferior and threatened, believing that they should also have an opportunity to thrive in society. Thus by promoting individual choice and freedom, Napoleon was able to ensure stability in

Firstly, Napoleon believed that a declaration of rights would weaken his authority. As a result, he violated the Declaration of the Rights of Man by making a secret police force to spy on those who opposed him. This violates the freedoms of speech and thought, of which the Declaration of the Rights of Man guaranteed and thus violates one of the main goals of the French Revolution. In addition, all newspapers, artistic works, plays, and operas that were considered “offensive” were banned by government censors under Napoleon. This also shows how he violated not only freedom of speech and thought, but the freedom

The late 1700’s was a time of great discontent in France. The people of France revolted against their government in an attempt to gain power in political decision making. In this time, France experienced many forms of governments as the people fought for change. It was during the 1790’s that Napoleon Bonaparte became known to the people as a strong military leader. Taking advantage of his rising popularity, Napoleon became the ruler of France and eventually the ruler of an empire. Napoleon Bonaparte had a positive impact on France and Europe due to the military, political and economic stability he restored to France, the laws he put in place, the reforms he introduced to the European countries he conquered and his improvement of the education system.

Napoleon spread enlightenment ideas that benefited the people in France. He created the Napoleonic code, which was basically the first written document of laws. That meant that the judge could not change anything, but the laws applied to all citizens equally and protected their rights. He gave people religious tolerance, which means people had religious freedom. He also created a system of meritocracy, giving positions based on people's talents and not to the ones that are higher classes. People that were more poor, got a chance to earn more money. Another enlightenment idea that he supported was education and art, and he built free public schools so all children were able to get educated. Some might argue that he crowned himself king and his brother King of Spain, which means that he did not get rid of the monarchy even though that was one of the main ideas during Enlightenment. But Napoleon had plebiscites, people that were allowed to vote, and

The French Revolution was a major failure and a minor success. After all of the blood shed, the laws, civil rights, and codes did not get instituted effectively and did not represent the values that the citizens had fought for. Examples of this were the Napoleonic Code and Declaration of Rights of Man. Another reason it was a failure was because during the revolts and reforms more than 40,000 men and women died. This enormous massacre of people went against Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, all of which the national assembly declared were every man 's right. Much of the killing can be blamed on Robespierre and King Louis XVI. Although it was mostly a failure, some achievements can be seen through the Revolution. The French Revolution helped the French people become a more equal and socialist state. This showed Europe that the French were capable of revolting and they were not afraid to stand up for what they believed. They demonstrated pure democracy by abolishing the 3 estates and assuming power for the people. These two points are miniscule compared to death, destruction, and economic failures that the Revolution brought. The French Revolution was mostly a failure because of the ineffective execution of reforms and unnecessary massacre of lives. However it was a minor success because of the socialistic ideologies that were given birth to during the Revolution, which helped reform France into what it is today.

There were two Revolutions that are connected, The French Revolution and the American Revolution. The American Revolution came first, and the French Revolution was inspired by the American Revolution. George Washington was one of the main leaders in the American revolution. He led the colonies and future United States to a victory over the British government. The leader of the French Revolution was Napoleon Bonaparte. He was a great leader and has a good strategy when it comes to war.

In the early months of the war a jacobin leader Maximillien Robespierre slowly gained power. He had many supporters who helped him set out to build “republic of virtue” by wiping out all of Frances past. They then changed the way the calendar was, dividing it into 12 months of 30 days and renaming each month. Since the radicles considered religion old-fashioned and dangerous they didn't include Sundays on the calendar. They closed all the churches in Paris and cities and towns in France soon followed and did the same thing. In July of 1793 he became the leader of the Committee of Public Safety. He ruled as a dictator for about the next year and this ruling became known as the Reign of Terror. The whole point of the Committee of Public Safety was to protect the revolution from its enemies but with Robespierre as leader the people often had these enemies. He said that this use of terror enabled french citizens to remain true to the ideas of the revolution. The people who challenged his leadership the most where radicals. In 1793 and 1794 many of them received death sentences. On July 28, 1795 Robespierre was sent to

Everybody knows Julius Caesar, the person Rome made dictator for life, then was killed two years later. And arguably, made a lot of changes to Rome. But was he a hero, or a villain? I believe Julius Caesar was a hero because he improved Rome for the better, that is, for the short time he was dictating.

The French ruler’s reforms benefited the average French citizen greatly both economically and socially. PhD holder Ben Weider highlights some of these benefits in his article about Napoleon. He mentions that “the income of the French peasants skyrocketed” due to the establishment of the Bank of France and the French stock exchange. He also mentions the Code Napoleon, which put equality before law.