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Napoleon By The Late Eighteenth Essay

The Enlightenment ideals that Napoleon clung to also underwrote many of the despot's policies including the liberation of the Jews from the ghettos. Napoleon established the Civil Code that obliterated feudal law while welcoming social equity. The Civil Code was part proof that Napoleon did subscribe to some of the core ideals upon which the Revolution was built. Although Napoleon's government was strong, centralized, and bureaucratic, it was nevertheless a civil government at first. Napoleon helped stimulate the French infrastructure with programs of modernization that the monarchy before him had never feigned interest in at all. A national banking system, roads, canals, and bridges all become symbols of Napoleon's earnest desire to help the French people.

Napoleon held strong to the idea that France required strong centralized leadership: just not the traditionally monarchic kind. His government would nevertheless become tyrannical and undemocratic. Napoleon's military campaigns bolstered his power and popularity in France, even if his...

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Ultimately, Napoleon broke from the Enlightenment ideals when he amended the Constitution to name himself ruler for life. He became "a king in all but name," before calling himself Emperor (PBS).
Napoleon both perpetuated and repudiated the revolutionary ideals. In politics, Napoleon saw both an opportunity for self-aggrandizement but also a chance to restore stability and power to his country. Napoleon's heavy-handed rule may even have initially staved off an attempt of the Bourbons to regain power (Holmberg). However, Napoleon ironically believed that tyranny was an acceptable method of securing the Republic and the championing the values of the Revolution.

Works Cited

Holmberg, Tom. "Napoleon and the French Revolution." Retrieved April 5, 2009 from http://www.napoleonbonaparte.nl/html/body_nap_and_revolution.html

PBS. Napoleon: Politics in Napoleon's Time. Retrieved April 5, 2009 from http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/n_politic/frenchrev/page_1.html

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Works Cited

Holmberg, Tom. "Napoleon and the French Revolution." Retrieved April 5, 2009 from http://www.napoleonbonaparte.nl/html/body_nap_and_revolution.html

PBS. Napoleon: Politics in Napoleon's Time. Retrieved April 5, 2009 from http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/n_politic/frenchrev/page_1.html
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