For this assignment you are urged to compare life in France during the French Revolution with life during the Napoleonic era.
Please write a one page report on how Napoleon filfilled the ideals of the French Revolution and on how he betrayed the ideals of the French Revolution.
Students might consider comparing two documents: A Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789) with the Napoleonic Code(1804) to help with this assignment.
This assignment needs to be posted by 8:00 Monday 25 October
Smith 1
ReplyDeleteJake Smith
Mr. Webber Period 6
10/22/10
Napoleon Bonaparte Exercise
From 1799-1815 France was strongly dominated by the government. As the Revolution ended and ideas of peace were intended on being acted upon, a new man came into power and converted the country to a new idea. This man not only took over and created order in France but intended on taking control over the world. While the love of his people coursed through his veins he moved his army along with his elite Imperial Guard he strove to meet his goal, this man was Napoleon Bonaparte.
Napoleon came to power over all of France in 1799 and established new laws and new customs. Taking away what the French people had worked so hard for, “The Declaration of the Rights of Man.” While Napoleon kept some of the laws from the Declaration he also took some away and added some of his own. The laws he kept were, equality for all before law and he made more jobs open to the common Frenchman. With these new laws though, men gained more land and power, while women were thrown in the gutter even harder than before. They were forced to
do anything their husbands told them to do which made them virtually powerless. Another law Napoleon attacked silently was Liberty of press. He had 60 of the 73
ReplyDeleteSmith 2
Newspapers in France banned, attempting to stop too much freedom of speech, leading to yet another revolt. In a way it was genius but in another it was taking away the rights of man. There is a reason why Napoleon ruled France for a long period of time, he knew how to control and manipulate the people. Keeping the loud silent and keeping the smart stupid, he made France into his own world that was, for the time, incorruptible.
Works Cited
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. .
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKevin Xu
ReplyDelete10/23/10
Modern World History 6
The French Revolution was one of the most violent, aggressive, and fearful revolutions in History. It all started on the idea of overthrowing King Louis the XVI, and establishing a more people controlled government with fair treatment to the citizens of France, as highlighted by the Declaration for the Rights of Man. This document demonstrates the real desires of the common man; equal representation for all men. However, the revolution was propelled by a key component: the incompetence of a leader. The revolution appeared to fight for democracy; rather, it was a fight for a better leader.
The revolution had seemed to succeed. They established a better, well-run democratic-like government led by what is called the National Assembly. However, as France grasped the fragile peace it hadn’t seen for years, a new man slyly emerged disguised behind the chaos. Napoleon Bonaparte had started off as a basic military lieutenant; however, soon he had declared himself as emperor. He had set down rules now known as “Napoleonic Codes,” 7 different codes that were based on the combination of France’s previous 300 legal systems and the Roman Legal System.
His set of laws were a direct breach on the Declaration of the Rights of Man. It had called for a democratic state - freedom for all; instead, we see one Emperor who is writing the law for France. In this sense Napoleon had betrayed the ideals of the French Revolution. In fact, he had even limited given rights. As emperor, Napoleon had silenced many public newspapers. With his new set of Napoleonic Codes, this emperor had also demoted the status of the females in society even further. By forcing them to listen to their husbands, Napoleon had taken a step further from leaving them out of equality demands; rather, he claimed them to be less important than their male counterparts.
However, he had agreed with some of the ideals of the French Revolution. As I had mentioned previously, Napoleon was not the leader the Revolutionaries hated: indecisive, inefficient, and clueless. In fact, Napoleon was the contrary. Quick to think and very efficient in the way he ruled, Napoleon kept a firm grip on his country. His laws contained traces of the ideology of The Declaration of the Rights of Man. In his widely-known codes, Napoleon called for “all Frenchmen [to] enjoy civil rights.”
The reason why Napoleon was so successful with keeping his position as a self-declared emperor is a true reflection on this man’s genius. By not opposing the revolution’s major ideals, and compromising with all the people, Napoleon ruled strategically to solidify is role as “emperor.” He had completely thrown aside a widely-desired democratic state, yet had the qualities of a leader that the people wanted. He was brave, and a great military leader. He helped preserve France as a world power. Who knew that such a little guy could pack such a big punch?
Works Cited
"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. .
"The Civil Code Index." The Napoleon Series. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. .
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. .
Niraj Madhani
ReplyDeleteMr. Webber
World History(H)Period 4
Oct. 23 2010
After the revolution, France plummeted into a state of peril. The people began to distrust the National Convention and it could have been overthrown. However, an unlikely hero (in terms of physical properties) swiftly saved the Convention. He was a man of great intelligence, confidence, ambition and experience (in military strategy). Thus he soared in the ranks and soon became the most powerful man in France. He was Napoleon Bonaparte. While in power, one of the greatest tasks Napoleon accomplished was rewriting the confusing French law. His new law is known as the Napoleonic Code.
These laws were instigated throughout all of France. While rewriting the law, Napoleon had to think about the revolution. The people fought valiantly against Louis to obtain these rights thus Napoleon felt it was necessary to keep some of the rights. Furthermore, he changed many of those rights. The real question of the matter is how did Napoleon fulfill and/or betray the ideals of the French Revolution (which is essentially The Declaration of Rights of Man) with the Napoleonic Code.
Napoleon preserved the rights from the revolution in several different ways. For example, in the Declaration of the Rights of Man, it states that every (French) man is equal before the law and is free. This is also seen in the Napoleonic Code. This was the essential right that caused the French Revolution. Thus, to please the people Napoleon kept civil rights and abolished the social discrimination. This included allowing the French to obtain jobs without discrimination on their wealth or social status. Another way the Napoleonic code stayed loyal to the revolution was by ensuring that qualification was necessary when applying for a government job. This was another major law in the Declaration of the Rights of Man. The idea of hiring based upon merit allows for a government that can function well because of the qualified officials. This is why the French required it after the revolution and it was smart of Napoleon to uphold this law. For example, they would not want another king such as Louis XVI ruling France. In these ways Napoleon upheld what the French fought for. On the contrary, Napoleon established some laws that contradicted the ideals of the French Revolution.
Justified or not, Napoleon decided to form new laws that, when juxtaposed with the laws of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, are contradictory. For example, after the revolution the French received more freedom to the press. Obviously, people such as Marat used this to their advantage. During that time, news was spreading all over France. However, in fear of another Marat (that could sway the perspectives of people to a negative view) Napoleon limited the press. His laws called for more regulation and even shut down sixty of France’s seventy-three newspapers (though maybe not directly stated in the Napoleonic Code). Another example concerns the rights of women. Though in the Declaration of the Rights of Man there are not stated rights for women, they received some liberty. It is considered an ideal of the French revolution because to the women their liberty was important. Although the men did not really consider it, the women demanded their rights. Nonetheless, the women did have some form of liberty. This means that women were not completely restricted and had some freedom. On the other hand, Napoleon stripped women of most their liberty and essentially made them inferior to men. One example of this is that women were not allowed to plead in her own name without the consent of her husband. The laws concerning women in the Napoleonic Code are somewhat similar to the previously stated law in that the women are dependent on (and are inferior to) their husbands. Thus Napoleon betrayed the ideals of the French Revolution.
ReplyDeleteNapoleon was a great leader. His characteristics (such as determination, self-confidence and intelligence) allowed for a prosperous reign of France. During his reign, he did many important things. One such task was rewriting the French laws. He rewrote the laws to mirror the Roman Empire. Though he may have undermined some of the values gained through the revolution, the new Napoleonic Code was useful. This new code along with many other tasks that Napoleon accomplished made him a great ruler. Thus, the vertically challenged Napoleon took the horse by the reins and charged forward.
"Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen" (August 1789)." The History Guide -- Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (August 1789). Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- The Code Napoleon. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte became ruler when he placed the crown on his own head. Prior to his reign, the Revolution had been in effect while the Jacobins controlled France with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Bonaparte quickly rose through the military to become ruler and to reinvigorate the government with the Napoleonic Code. Bonaparte once said, “I intend to keep the Revolution’s good changes, but not to abandon the good institutions it mistakenly destroyed.”
ReplyDeleteDuring the revolution, ideas of equality spread throughout the people of France and so did the importance of civil rights. When the Napoleonic Code was adapted many of those ideas were preserved. In the new code, Napoleon stressed that all Frenchmen should be able to enjoy their civil rights; for instance, career opportunities should be open to all Frenchmen. Also, the law that only competent Frenchmen should be allowed to be government officials was maintained. This law was essential to Napoleon Bonaparte because of how he himself had come to power by his own means instead of by status from birth. The Napoleonic Code was able to bring the stability to France that the French people needed after such a long period of strife.
Although civil rights for men were preserved in the Napoleonic Code, the rights of women were trampled on. Women had absolutely no authority and were completely controlled by their husbands. For instance, a wife could not plead in her own name without the consent of her husband and held no ownership over her very own children, instead the husband did. Every aspect of a women’s life needed permission from one’s husband and of course obedience was expected. Also, children faced a lack of civil rights as well, even though they supposedly gained more educational rights with the Napoleonic code. Children were banned from inheritance and imprisoned if necessary because fathers obtained greater power. Because Napoleon stressed literacy, he opened up many new private schools, but on the other hand, they were not available for the majority of children. Napoleon made the divorce laws stricter, which was a large contributor to the lack of rights for women and children. The Catholic Church was welcomed again into the lives of the French people as another significant change after the Revolution. Essentially most of the changes resulted in greater superiority for men as women and children became insignificant.
Works Cited
ReplyDelete"The Civil Code Index." The Napoleon Series. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. .
"Code Napoleon : Civil Code : Napoleon Bonaparte : Napoleonic Wars : Generals." Napoleon Bonaparte. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. .
""Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen" (August 1789)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. .
Much like the American Revolution, the French Revolution was based on the ideal that all men were created equal. The National convention of France drafted a constitution called the Declaration of the Rights of Man. This set out certain unalienable rights for men, including “the natural rights of man” to “liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression”. It restricted, and then eventually abolished, the monarchy, and the Estates system of the old regime. The tone it takes is more free and unrestricted than that of the Napoleonic code. In the Declaration of the Rights of Man, all men are allowed to pursue their goals to their own end, as long as it doesn’t hurt another man. The Napoleonic code is significantly more restrictive. It limited the liberty of citizens in an attempt to bring stability to France.
ReplyDeleteIn theory, the Napoleonic Code upheld the principal belief of the Revolution: that all men were held as equals before the law. One change was that it appeased both the peasants and the Catholic Church. Napoleon realized that the church had been treated badly during the Revolution, and saw that they could be a powerful ally, if treated well. However, Napoleon also knew he could not enrage the farmers and peasants for which the Revolution had been fought. Being a tactical genius, Napoleon knew he had to please both sides; he let landowners keep land they had seized during the Revolution while making Christianity the principal religion of France.
One thing that differed between the Napoleonic code and the Declaration was the view on inheritance of land. The Declaration said that once a person died, his children could not inherit the land, and the land went to the government. Napoleon immediately saw that this was unfair, and change that law so that all the (male) children would get equal shares of their father’s land. This helped ensure that France stayed a country of small peasant farms, rather than tracts of large landowners. Another change was the rights of women. During the rule of the Executive Directory, although they were not allowed to vote, women were allowed to take part in petitions to make their voices heard. After Napoleon came to power, women weren’t even allowed to testify as witnesses in courtrooms. The Napoleonic code was a step backwards for the rights of women. It was not until a couple hundred more years that women finally made their voices heard.
In conclusion, the Napoleonic code preached the ideals of the Revolution, if not completely following them itself. He maintained the idea that all men were treated equally, however limited some of their liberties. In a sense, the idea that all men were created equal was upheld. The freedom aspect of the revolution, however, wasn’t maintained.
In writing the Napoleonic Codes, Napoleon fulfilled parts of the revolution, while betraying the rest. The whole goal of the French Revolution had been to provide liberty and equality for all men, and it shows in the Declaration of the Rights of Man. The first clause of the Declaration of the rights of man even states “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.” The Napoleonic Code still maintains this one clause just in a different form. It states ”Every Frenchman shall enjoy civil rights.” However, Napoleons Code also has some major differences with the Declaration of the Rights of Man. For an example, in the Declaration of the Rights of Man it state that laws are are made by the people for the benefit of the people. However, in the Napoleonic Code laws are solely made by the First Consul, Napoleon. This is a large shift away from the ideas of the French Revolution as it takes power away from the people and gives it solely to one person, which is very similar to the monarchy before the French Revolution. Also in the Declaration of Rights of Man, it states that citizens have the right to express themselves in any way. However, in the Napoleonic Code it does not give the citizen that right, for Napoleon was smart and knew how much power the press could have. He limited the number of newspapers in Paris, which numbered 70 before his rule and were reduced to 13 during his rule. This was a complete reversal of the French Revolution’s ideas, where Marat was glorified to the extent of a martyr for writing in his news paper “The Friend of the People.” Also the Revolution had turned the Catholic Church into an enemy of the people. This was reversed under Napoleon as he made Catholicism the official religion of France. Another change Napoleon made that was not in line with the ideas of the revolution was limiting of the rights of women. Women had played an important part in overthrowing the monarchy but had been given the short end of the stick in the Declaration of the Rights of Man. However, Napoleon gave them even less rights by making it harder for them to divorce, inherit property, and own property. Overall, Napoleon did not maintain the ideal of the revolution.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWorld History Honors per. 6
ReplyDeleteNapoleon Report
Maddie Sparber
10/24/10
When Napoleon Bonaparte declared himself Emperor of France, he soon realized the Committee of Public Safety's toll on the distraught nation. He thought that by establishing a code of laws, France would regain stability and order. While writing the Napoleonic Code, Napoleon felt that it was necessary to fulfill some ideas of the French Revolution because of their importance to the French people. He incorporated laws from the Declaration of Man, a constitution written based upon the Third Estate's grievances prior to the French Revolutionary, into his Napoleonic Codes. In his code of laws, he preserves the concept that all men are equal before the law and that all careers are available to every single French Citizen regardless of his social status. In the Napoleonic Code, he writes, “ The exercise of civil rights is independent of the quality of citizen, which is only acquired and preserved comfortably to the constitutional law...Every Frenchman shall enjoy civil rights” ( The Napoleon Series). He also included that government officials must have adequate qualities in order to be elected into the French government rather than being elected based on wealth and bribery.
However, Napoleon purposely avoided fulfilling some ideas of the French Revolution such as freedom of press. Napoleon fretted that writers such as Marat would jeopardize his status and new government by publishing criticizing articles about Napoleon. In order to shape a positive public opinion of himself, he shut down 6o out of the 73 newspaper in France to avoid any opposition. Napoleon also degraded females in French society and by law declared them inferior to man. Napoleon's Codes made inheritance and divorce much more difficult for women than men. He may have done this because of his past experience with his lover, Josephine. He was emotionally wounded by Josephine's apathy towards him and felt that by excluding women from the Napoleonic Code, he would be punishing all women. Thus, by repressing the freedom of speech and degrading women, Napoleon does not fulfill all ideas of the French Revolution in the Napoleonic Code.
Works Cited
ReplyDelete"The Civil Code." The Napoleon Series. The Napoleon Series. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Kris, Steven. "Lecture 15: Europe and the Superior Being: Napoleon."
The History Guide -- Main. The History Guide, 2000. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Reill, Peter H., and Ellen J. Wilson. "Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and Enlightenment." Facts on File Online Databases. Facts on File Inc., 2004. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Noury Fekini
ReplyDeleteHistory Per.4
October 24, 2010
Within the first twenty years of the French revolutions end, there were many changes in governmental control and power. From the grim rule of Louis XVI to the infamous Napoleonic Era, France made and abolished various laws. From complete turmoil during the Revolution to set-in-stone laws that made every French commoner believe that Napoleon could and would lead France to better foundations.
During the revolution, life for 3rd estate members was difficult. There was famine and a dire need for change in society. After much work and rebellion from the 3rd estate, the revolution was almost over. Though this was great, still most of the French were still in their terrible living conditions. There was a true need of metamorphosis in living standard.
This all happened when a young man took initiative with his drive, intelligence, great self-confidence, and military strategy became general. This was Napoleon Bonaparte, a short, but strong-hearted man who led France in a completely new direction. Napoleon was completely engulfed with ideas of military strategy, which allowed him to soar through the ranks in the French military and then to make France itself a world power once again.
The Napoleonic code was a set of seven laws the instilled the basic stature of which France would obey under. Prior to this, the legal system during the revolution had over 300 different laws. Napoleon narrowed them down to a simple seven. They were very basic and kept some ideals from the revolution such as: all citizens are equal before the law, careers were open to all types of French people, and competent government officials. The code also destroyed some ideals such as: the liberty of press – Napoleon shut down 60 of the 73 newspapers in France, and that women had close to zero rights.
Napoleon was a truly fantastic leader compared to Louis XVI. They were almost complete opposites. Louis had no connection with his people; Napoleon was able to communicate with everyone and tried to hear everyone’s hardships; Louis had no military background, when Napoleon was one of the most fantastic strategists of all time. These simple differences were was set the time of peril during the time under Louis XVI for the glorious times under Napoleon.
"Code Napoleon : Civil Code : Napoleon Bonaparte : Napoleonic Wars : Generals." Napoleon Bonaparte : Napoleonic : Napoleon : Bonaparte : Wars : Napoleon I : Napoleonic History : Military : Napoleonic Era : Battles : Naval : Armies : Uniforms :. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Briana Silva
ReplyDeleteOctober 24, 2010
Napoleonic Code
Napoleon Bonaparte became emperor of France during one of the most hectic times in history- the French Revolution. After killing the pervious king, Louis XVI, France was running wild. A lot had changed in France, but nothing that helped France get back on its feet. Through all of the chaos, another man quickly came into power. Napoleon was a military genius and was quickly moved up in rankings in France. Born on the island of Corsica, Napoleon’s family was not very wealthy. He won a scholarship to a famous military school, where he was sometimes teased for his accent. However, Napoleon was a violent child. At age sixteen he was appointed lieutenant, and after defending the National Convention from rebels, was appointed captain.
In 1804, he placed the crown on his head naming himself emperor. Very few opposed him, as France was willing to have just about anyone take over as long as they were not like Louis XVI.
Prior to Napoleon’s reign, there were some three hundred different legal systems, which caused a lot of confusion within the society. In order to end the confusion, Napoleon enforced a set of seven codes, overwriting the other three hundred. These were called the Napoleonic Code.
While writing the code, Napoleon was careful to incorporate most of the rights the citizens gained by overturning the previous government. The code kept every citizen equal before the law, making sure that no one got special treatment because of their social stature or government ranking. The code also left careers open to all French men, including government jobs. This would ensure that even if someone was born into a middle to lower- class family, they could still rise up, as Napoleon himself did. While the Napoleonic code kept many rights, it also abolished many, one being the liberty of the press. Napoleon shut down 82 percent of the newspapers in France. Napoleon saw how much the press hurt Louis’ reputation, and how much power the people, such as Marat, had among the third estate.
The codes also minimized the rights of women even more than they had been. “The wife cannot plead in her own name, without the authority of her husband, even though she should be a public trader, or noncommunicant, or separate in property.” These laws within the code made it very similar to The Declaration Of The Rights Of Man. Some could argue that it was even worse for women than previously with the Declaration.
Works Cited
• "Code Napoleon : Civil Code : Napoleon Bonaparte : Napoleonic Wars : Generals." Napoleon Bonaparte. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
• "The Civil Code Index." The Napoleon Series. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Emily Leposky
ReplyDelete6th period
Mr. Webber
The French Revolution began in 1789 and lasted for several years. It was started by the 3rd Estate and ended in thousands of deaths at the guillotine. It began with the 3rd Estate trying to overthrow the monarchy of King Louie XVI and Marie Antoinette. The 3rd Estate was attempting to establish a fair treatment for all three estates. The Declaration of Rights of Man was created for equality, and stated that “All men are free and equal before the law”. Soon after the document was created, Louie XVI and Marie Antoinette were overthrown, and the country was led by Robespierre, until he was executed due to his part in continuing the Reign of Terror. The most valuable lesson the people of France learned during the revolution was that they would rather be controlled by a democracy rather than a monarchy. This was accomplished by establishing the National Assembly, but soon after, it was derailed by a military general named Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon Bonaparte was a general in the military and overthrew the National Assembly and took control of the country, naming himself Emperor of France. To establish order in his new kingdom Napoleon developed his own set of laws called the Napoleonic Codes. The Napoleonic Codes consisted of seven different laws or codes, which was more positive for men than women. For women and children it was a step backwards in what they had just gained during the Revolution. Napoleon’s Codes kept all citizens before the law free and equal, kept all careers open to all French people except women, and kept competent government officials. His codes fulfilled some of the liberties gained during the French Revolution but also abolished many liberties that prevented a democratic process. For example, his codes took away sixty newspapers in France, and the few rights that were given to women which were gained by the revolution. Even though he took away many of the liberties gained during the revolution that the people of France desired, he was still respected by most of the people in France because he was trying to move France forward as a powerful nation. This was totally different from King Louie the XVI who was quite clueless in how to rule or lead a country; a result of little to no training since he was put on the thrown right after his grandfather died. Also, it seems as if Napoleon shocked the people when continuing some of the laws that were created during the French Revolution. In doing this, Napoleon garnered support from the people of France which helped them feel as if they had moved forward since the Revolution began. Napoleon’s leadership enabled him to win the people of France and to transform France into a powerful nation.
Works Cited
"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Literature, English. "The Civil Code Index." The Napoleon Series. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Isaac Ahn
ReplyDeletePeriod 7/ Webber
In 1804, the French people allowed Napoleon Bonaparte to declare himself the Emperor of France. This occurred only eleven years after King Louis XVI was executed for being the King of France himself. This event showed a remarkable change in the attitude of the French toward the society they established during the French Revolution. The lives they had lived in fear and disorder under the leadership of Maximillian Robespierre and his Committee of Public Safety combined with the charisma and competence in the new Napoleon Bonaparte led to the people’s replacement of the National Assembly and the Declaration of the Rights of Man with Napoleon Bonaparte his Napoleonic Code. This change in government entailed different laws for the French to live by, and as we will see, the new rules in the Napoleonic Code went along and against the rules established in the Declaration of the Rights of Man.
Having worked carefully to make sure much of the rights gained from the French Revolution stayed intact, Napoleon tried to appease the French populace as well as advance his own goals for the country. His Napoleonic Code was created for just this reason, and it was a set of seven different codes that simplified the legal system in France. To show his support for the revolutionaries, the Napoleonic Code made sure to preserve all rights relating to equality. All French citizens remained equal in representation before the law, and all careers remained open to French males regardless of background. Napoleon also created a system of freedom and equality in conquered lands, spreading revolutionary values outside France, while continuing to demolish the ideals of the Old Regime and its social classes. These were all ways in which Napoleon showed his support for the gains made in the French Revolution.
However, at the same time, Napoleon shut down much of the press and took away the few rights women enjoyed. From 1799 to 1814, the number of newspapers in France dropped from 60 to four under Napoleon’s rule. Women were restricted from owning immovable property and had to receive their husband’s permission before donating money, pleading in court, and doing many other things. A network of spies was created in France under Napoleon to ensure loyalty. Divorce and inheritance were made more difficult to achieve. All these things were examples of how Napoleon restricted the rights of the French people and therefore went against the ideals established in the French Revolution.
When Napoleon’s rose to emperor, he created a France with more order and security than ever before. From the downtrodden, chaotic, and fearful lives the French endured during King Louis XVI’s reign, the French Revolution, and the Reign of Terror came a new leader and society led by Napoleon Bonaparte. Although he claimed to have preserved the rights of the Revolution, Napoleon was ultimately not being faithful to revolutionary values. However, in doing this, he established a more secure country for the people he led.
Joanna Gonda
ReplyDeleteMr. Webber
World History H/Period 7
24 October 2010
In 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte became “council for life” and the emperor of France. He was the most powerful man in France and the society was willing to deal with another monarchy even though they fought for their freedom and equality during French Revolution. He was hardworking and intelligent. Bonaparte changed citizen’s freedoms gained during the French Revolution.
During the French Revolution, the National Convention created a new government and new rights. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen detailed the specifics of citizens’ new rights. Men were born equal and free, only merit government officials could hold office, freedom of speech and religion, and innocent until proven guilty. All of these newly acclaimed rights were exactly what the public wanted. The French Revolution began in the 3rd estate, the lowest and least privileged people, which made these countrymen very pleased and encouraged to have a say in the government’s choices. Women, however, did not have a voice and were not included in society. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen gave rights to all men living in France.
During Napoleonic Era, Napoleon took over the government with his charismatic nature and reinvented France and its declaration. Every competent decision he made supported his governing and kept him in power, because his plans reserved the rights many people fought to gain. Napoleon created seven codes France citizens should live by. He reserved equality for all, minus women, but had many other codes to restrict a citizen. He converted France’s religion to Catholicism and converted back to the original calendar. However, to keep citizens happy and supporting his control, he said the Catholic Church cannot regain their lost land. Countrymen were very pleased by his governing because he saved their newly gained land. Napoleon controlled families and relationships. He didn’t allow women to divorce, because they were to remain obedient to their husbands. Wives did not automatically receive inheritance after their husband’s death because it must have been clearly stated in his will or directly giving it to her. Children also didn’t automatically receive inheritance. For women to do anything, her husband must first authorize her actions. Women were not free to make their own choices.
Napoleon kept the most substantial right; equality of men, but did not include any of the previously gained freedoms. France under Napoleon’s power regained its authority in France because France became a militia government conquering many battles. The society felt secure and trusted their leader during Napoleon’s leadership because he had a charismatic personality, self-confidence, and competency.
Works Cited
Kreis, Steven. "Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (August 1789)." The History Guide -- Main. 13 May 2004. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Kreis, Steven. "The Code Napoleon (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. 13 May 2004. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
After the French Revolution, France was becoming weaker by the day with no stable government. Other countries noticed their lack of leadership and decided to take French territory. Luckily the French had a man named Napoleon. Napoleon was a short, confident, driven man who wanted respect and power. Napoleon was a confident military leader with a personal connection with his people. Napoleon had many important feats as a French leader but his most important was the Napoleonic Code. The Napoleonic Code rewrote French law. The Napoleonic Code focused on three key aspects; the law of persons, law of property, and acquisition of property.
ReplyDeleteSome differences between the Napoleonic Code and the old French laws were that the French laws had more freedom of speech than the Napoleonic Code, Women were treated as if they were children, and when a family member dies and leaves land behind it goes to the offspring of the man who died. A big difference between the Napoleonic Code and the French laws were that there were three hundred French laws and only seven Napoleonic Codes to follow. Although these codes were different, they were relatively simple and easy to live by.
For the huge role that women played in the French revolution it is surprising that women did not revolt or make a scene out of the part of the Napoleonic Code that said that women were not to be treated as equals to men. Another surprising thing that Napoleon did was that his ideas appealed to both the Catholic Church and the third estate. This is very different than what was happening during the French Revolution. During the French Revolution the Catholic Church almost hid in the background while there was atrocities on the streets of France. What Napoleon did was understand both sides of the equation, and not because he necessarily wanted to, but he had to if he wanted to stay in power. If both the powerful Catholic Church and the heavy-hearted third estate liked him, then he would have little problems as emperor of France. A historical boom that took place during the French Revolution was the newspaper. Inspired, mad, and persuasive writers would talk about the negativities of the current government. For this to not affect him as ruler, he had 60 of the 73 newspapers banned in France. Napoleon’s ingenious military tactics and political tactics is what made him a powerful leader.
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.
ReplyDeleteLiterature, English. "The Civil Code Index." The Napoleon Series. 2008. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Napoleonic Code and the Declaration of the Rights of Man
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of the Rights of Man, perhaps the most important document produced during the French Revolution, was created on August 26, 1789. The government hoped that they could placate the 3rd estate by granting them more human rights.
During the political turmoil in France following Robespierre’s execution, Napoleon Bonaparte, a popular and powerful commander of the French army, staged a coup d’état and declared himself the emperor of France. Under his rule, the Napoleonic Code was written in place of the Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1804. It simplified the 300 legal systems of France into seven codes and destroyed many rights that the Declaration of the Rights of Man had previously included.
Napoleon fulfilled many ideals of the French Revolution when he wrote segments of the Napoleonic Code that were similar to the Declaration of the Rights of Man. For example, both the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Napoleonic Code include sections in which all French people are declared equal. The Declaration of the Rights of Man states, “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.” The Napoleonic Code also declares that “Every Frenchman shall enjoy civil rights.” These two quotations represent the same principle and show that Napoleon believed in freedom for all citizens, something that the French Revolution was so focused on achieving. The Napoleonic Code was also in agreement with the statement, “All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents,” found in the Declaration of the Rights of Man. This depicts Napoleon’s concurrence that government official positions should be based upon merit, not social class.
Although Napoleon showed his accord with views of the French Revolution, his Napoleonic Code defies many of them, too. The Declaration of the Rights of Man pronounced that “The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious rights of man,” but Napoleon did not agree with the idea of liberty of the press. Instead, he shut down 60 of 73 newspaper companies. Moreover, the Napoleonic Code significantly restricted the rights of women. During Napoleon’s rule, a married woman had very few property rights. A married woman’s “husband alone administers the property of the community. He may sell it, alienate and pledge it without the concurrence of his wife.” Also, “the husband has the management of all the personal property of the wife.” These sections of the Napoleonic Code demonstrate how little control women had over their own lives.
Napoleon preserved many of the important values that had come out of the French Revolution. This allowed Napoleon to be accepted by the French people because he did not radically change what had been accomplished shortly prior to his rule. His military background also helped with his acceptance as the emperor because he knew how to defend France and expand its borders. Even though his Napoleonic Code took away rights of French people, he was not persecuted because he was well-liked throughout France.
Works Cited
"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Ciara Corbeil
ReplyDeleteMr. Webber
Honors World History, Period 7
24 Oct. 2010
In his 1799 “Proclamation to the French People,” Napoleon Bonaparte declared, “Liberal, beneficent, and traditional ideas have returned to their rightful place through the dispersal of the odious and despicable factions” (Kreis). Whether or not his policies were “beneficent” or “traditional” they represented Napoleon’s exquisite sense of balance between the Enlightenment ideas that fueled the Revolution—exemplified by the Declaration of the Rights of Man—and his own views. Although he overthrew the National Assembly and following Directory, Napoleon respected the power of the revolution and gained public favor by incorporating some—but certainly not all—of the ideas behind it into his new government.
For example, Napoleon built his new government around a nation-wide network of civil servants and bureaucrats. The revolutionaries were pleased because the government officials were chosen for their abilities, not bloodline, judged everyone equally, and were not above the laws they enforced (Kreis). This Enlightenment-theory based system appeased the revolutionaries to the point that they were willing to overlook the fact that Bonaparte had discarded one of their most fundamental beliefs; that the power should rest with the people. The very first article of the Declaration of the Rights of Man states that “No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation” (National). Instead, the revolutionaries were being ruled by an emperor, who they certainly did not elect, who was implementing policies that they did not necessarily approve of. Thus, Bonaparte deftly molded his government to appeal to those who might have opposed it while still implementing his own policies.
However, Bonaparte’s policies were not always such a subtle blend of revolutionary beliefs and his personal views. For example, he cemented his new power by revoking the people’s freedom of speech, an action that completely opposed the ideals of the Declaration which stated that “every citizen may...speak, write, and print with freedom,” (National). Turning the revolutionaries’ ideas on their ears, Napoleon forced printers and booksellers to swear their allegiance to him and silenced dissident voices with executions and arbitrary arrests (Kreis). The mandatory oaths show that Bonaparte also disregarded the revolutionary idea that “no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law,” and the arbitrary arrests run contrary to article seven of the Declaration: “no person shall be accused, arrested or imprisoned except in the cases and according to law” (National).
ReplyDeleteNapoleon’s policies also differed from the Declaration of the Rights of Man on the subject of property rights. According to the Declaration, “Since property is an inviolable and sacred right, no one shall be deprived thereof” (National). However, under Napoleon’s rule, one might be punished by being put to “civil death,” meaning that he or she would be deprived of all earthly possessions and have no say over their distribution.“Civil death” further contradicted the revolutionaries’ ideals because one “dead” was barred from the courts or any other involvement in politics and was denied his or her civil rights ("Of the Privation"). The Declaration, on the other hand, states that the rights of man—including rights to property and court representation—are “natural, unalienable, and sacred,” (National).
Napoleon was clearly a wily politician. He attained supreme and absolute power by blending some of the opposition’s ideas with his own. The result was a populace that thought it was being governed by Enlightenment philosophy despite the fact that it was ruled by an emperor.
Works Cited
ReplyDeleteKreis, Steven. “Europe and the Superior Being: Napoleon.” The History Guide. N.p., 2000. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
National Assembly of France. Declaration of the Rights of Man. The Avalon Project. Yale Law School, 2008. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
“Of the Privation of Civil Rights in consequence of Judicial Proceedings.” Code Napoleon. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Research Subjects:Government and Politics. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMichaela Fisher
ReplyDeleteHistory, Period 7
Oct. 24, 2010
After the French Revolution and Reign of Terror, France was left in a state of disarray. The French felt the burden of political unrest, financial disaster, and wars with different parts of Europe. France was in need of a savior. Napoleon Bonaparte, an intelligent, charismatic military leader and genius decided he was to be that savior. On November 19, 1799 he overthrew the Directory with a coup d’état. Napoleon became the new leader of France. He organized a new government controlled by three Consuls. Napoleon named himself the First Consul. With his new title, one of Napoleon’s great acts was to put into action a new set of rules. Previously, the Jacobins had been controlling France by a series of confusing laws, all coinciding with The Declaration of the Rights of Man. Napoleon wanted to end the confusion of these laws by publishing the Napoleonic Code in 1804. This code was a reformation and codification of the French civil laws. This code brought changes, but Napoleon’s goal was to keep the basic revolutionary rights.
The Napoleonic code included revolutionary gains such as equality before the law, freedom of religion, abolition of feudalism, property laws, and appointment to public office based on qualifications. During the revolution, these ideas were also expressed in the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and passion for these ideas became part of the driving force for the revolution. For example, the Declaration of the Rights of Man stated, “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.” The Napoleonic code reiterated this in the lines “The exercise of civil rights is independent of the quality of citizen, which is only acquired and preserved conformably to the constitutional law,” and “Every Frenchman shall enjoy civil rights.” As well, the law regarding the merit of those in public office was of great importance during both the revolution and Napoleon’s rule. During the revolution, the Declaration of the Rights of Man showed that any public office position or occupation was free to any citizen “without distinction except that of their virtues and talents.” This was a huge distinction separating the revolutionary France from the old monarchy, where the ruler was chosen solely through royal family lines. This rule was also important in Napoleon’s laws because it legitimized his authority to control France, assuming that he held the assets needed to rule the country.
A major difference that came with the Napoleonic codes was the lessening of the rights given to women and children. During the revolution women were not given many rights, but Napoleon’s codes cut women’s rights even further. Under the Napoleonic codes, husbands were the rulers of the household. Women could not testify for themselves in a courtroom or buy or sell property without their husband’s approval. Divorce was also more difficult to obtain, an act also used by Napoleon to appease the Catholic Church. With his codes, Napoleon brought the Catholic Church back into the lives of the French, without making it mandatory. Also, children’s inheritance rights were restricted. As well, private schools were opened, since Napoleon strived for community-wide literacy, although the majority of children could not attend these schools. Last, after the Napoleonic codes were created, Napoleon did not react well to criticism and censored or closed down many newspapers. This conflicted with the freedom of the press that was promised during the revolution.
ReplyDeleteOverall, while the Napoleonic codes solidified many of the revolutionary rights that thousands fought so hard for, it also diminished certain civil liberties. A patriarchal society was created where women and children were under almost complete control of men.
Works Cited
"The Civil Code." The Napoleon Series. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
"Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Yale Law School. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Kreis, Steven. "Lecture 15: Europe and the Superior Being: Napoleon." The History Guide. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Moore, Richard. "Civil Code or Code Napoleon." Napoleonic Guide. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAlex Ryan
ReplyDeleteMr. Webber
Modern World History Period 6
24 October 20
Napoleon was an enigmatic man, at once supremely confident and insecure, a dictator and a supporter of the people’s rights, commanding and small in stature. During the final stages of his first rise to power, he was careful to keep a pretense of maintaining the rights of the revolution, but at the same time gradually eroded some of the less prominent ones. At this moment, he was both the fulfillment of the Revolution’s goals and their destroyer.
Prior to the creation of what would later come to be known as the Napoleonic Code, France’s laws and legal system were fragmented at best, and hopelessly scattered at worst. In the north of France, a feudal-influenced system of common law prevailed, while in the south Roman law was the norm. To make things worse, the Revolution had added approximately 14,000 new laws, and attempted (and failed) to codify the existing laws no less than five times. Recognizing this problem, and seeing it as an opportunity, Napoleon assembled a commission of experts to create a new Civil Code, the system of laws which we now know as the Napoleonic Code. Although he was not directly involved in the creation of the laws within it, they conformed to his general standards and he attended roughly half of the meetings of the commission.
After their completion, they were enacted throughout France (bringing the various provinces further under central control) and all of its colonies and territories. In addition, most countries under the French sphere of influence closely mimicked the format, and eventually most other European countries adopted a similar system. In this way, it became a defining part of the world’s legal history. Even today, it is still in force in France (albeit in a heavily modified state), and many of France’s former colonies, including modern-day Louisiana, maintain some derivative of it.
ReplyDeleteNapoleon made what was arguably his largest impact on France and the world through this code. It would remain relevant for centuries, and in it can be found his greatest effect on the rights granted by the revolution. On one hand, he validated and codified most of the rights given by the revolution (specifically by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen), but on the other hand he surreptitiously removed some of the guarantees of freedom, especially for the press, from the new code. The Code specifically mentions a number of the rights outlined in the Declaration (for example, the idea that all men are born with certain rights, and that public office shall be gained on merit), and with few exceptions truly embodies the spirit of the Declaration and its general purpose to ensure maximum freedom and rights for all Frenchmen. In this way, it is possible to say that Napoleon single-handedly ensured that the Declaration would become a sacred part of French law, and in doing so became its most important advocate. In contrast, however, he also quietly eliminated some of the rights granted in the Declaration from the Code, most notable being freedom of speech and print. Since the Declaration and all other law was replaced by the Code, the simple omission of these rights in the Code essentially removed all assurance of their presence in the future. Indeed, Napoleon made good use of the absence of this right, reducing the number of newspapers in France from over 400 to only a few by the end of his reign.
Also important, the Code essentially relegated women to a very second-class status, as they were prohibited from entering into almost any activity without the express consent of their husbands. Despite the fact that the original Declaration didn’t make any particular mention of women’s rights (and its drafters outright ignored calls for women’s rights to be incorporated into it), this came as a surprise and was felt to be a reduction of rights already enjoyed by women since it was more restrictive than the general societal norms of the time. Thus, in this way, he also betrayed the ideals of maximum freedom and equality that he claimed to uphold.
ReplyDeleteNapoleon made a lasting impact on history with his Civil Code, which would be adopted by much of the world and last for centuries beyond its creation. In it, he both protected and eliminated some of the rights granted by the Revolution, codifying and preserving most of them, but eliminating the guarantee of freedom of the press and reducing the freedom of women. In doing this, he simultaneously became the greatest sponsor and most nonchalant detractor of the rights embodied in the revolution - an appropriate irony for an emperor that came to power in the wake of a popular revolution.
Works Cited
"The Civil Code Index." Research Subjects: Government and Politics. The Napoleon Series. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
France. National Convention. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Avalon Project. Yale Law School. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. .
Moore, Richard. "Civil Code or Code Napoleon." Napoleonic Guide. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
"Napoleonic Code." Britannica Concise. Print.
Madison Catchpole
ReplyDeleteMr. Webber
Period—6
10/24/10
Napoleon Bonaparte Exercise
Napoleon Bonaparte came into power in 1804 when he placed the crown onto his own head. He claimed that he preserved the rights of the Revolution, but he made many changes. The Napoleon Codes where created to minimize the confusion of having three hundred different legal systems in France. Napoleon “cut and pasted” all three hundred legal systems together, careful to include the revolutionary rights, to create the seven Napoleon Codes. The Napoleon Codes where a step backwards for women and children living in France during this time.
Napoleon took away the very few rights given to women. He made it very difficult for women to get divorced and to receive inheritance. He even stated the women should stick to knitting. The women where treated like children.
In the Declaration of the Rights of Man stated that there would be a liberty of press. Napoleon shut down sixty out of the seventy-three newspapers in France. He did this in order to stop another paper like that of Marat’s to begin starting rumors of him and causing another revolt. Napoleon established peace with the church (the long time enemy of the Revolution), making Catholicism the main religion in France again. But to make it seem fair to the citizens, the church could not have the land it lost during the revolution back.
What Napoleon did keep in his codes from the Declaration of the Rights of Man was that all citizens were equal before the law. He also kept that all careers are open to all French people no matter what their social status was.
Napoleon was seen as a much better ruler then King Louis XVI because he would take the time to sit, and speak with his soldiers, get to know them better. He was well loved and his soldiers would follow him not just for pay, but out of loyalty. Also Napoleon actually cared about what happened to the people and knew what was happening to the world. Napoleon was out helping his country instead of in his castle, stuffing his face as King Louis XVI was.
Works Cited
Kreis, Steven. ""Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen" (August 1789)." The History Guide -- Main. 13 May 2004. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Kreis, Steven. "The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. 13 May 2004. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Connor De Mill
ReplyDeleteMr. Webber
Period 6
10/24/10
Napoleonic Codes
When Napoleon introduced the Napoleon codes in 1804 he attempted to mold France into what he wanted, while still keeping some of the results of the revolution intact. He preserved some of the laws from the declaration of the rights of man, while adding his own and removing others. After the execution of Robespierre the people of France wanted a leader who would get things done, and Napoleon did just that.
The main laws that Napoleon kept included, all citizens being equal before the law, all careers open to the French public, and the election of government officials bases on merit. Napoleon wanted to preserve his people’s freedom, however he shut down free speech by banning newspapers and other publications. As he was alive during the time of the revolution he saw how much influence people such as Marat could have on the populous. This is a good strategy for any ruler as it prevents the spread of slander and malcontent relating to the government.
While Napoleon preserved almost all of the laws concerning the freedoms and liberties of men, he destroyed those of women. Some speculate Napoleons harsh take on women’s rights was because of his rocky relationship with his wife, Josephine de Beauharnais. Whatever the reason, Napoleon stripped women of all of their rights, causing them to have almost no free will. Napoleon revoked the right of divorce, and gave all of the power to the men. Women could not even plead their own name without the husbands consent. Before the Napoleonic codes, women had many of the same rights as men, due to the Declaration of the Rights of Women with the most important clause being “Women is born free and lives equal to man in her rights. Women had not become seconds class citizens so much as children, unable to make decisions on their own.
While the Napoleonic code had abolished the rights of women, the people were so desperate for a leader that was charismatic and willing to take action, that they accepted these laws. Because of his success as a general, he gained much respect from his troops and citizens alike, allowing him to make so great of a change to the laws of France so close to his overthrow of the French Directory.
Works Cited
"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
The French Revolution was a bloody mutiny, which led to the overthrowing of the royal family and the establishment of a new ruler, Maximilian Robespierre. While the people of France originally saw this as a miracle, it quickly turned into a horrific nightmare. Finally Robespierre was put to death after spreading fear and terror throughout France, leaving room for a new hero to take his place. This was Napoleon Bonaparte. After becoming a well-known military hero, he decided it was time for him to be promoted. Napoleon placed the crown on his own head, and declared himself “emperor” of France. This was not the only example of his obsession with the Roman era. He also spent years studying Roman battle tactics, which perhaps paid off making him one of the strongest military leaders in Europe.
ReplyDeleteHe was also very clever and knew that he would have to win over those who supported the revolution and not just change what he wanted to change. In a way, this plan was to actually trick them agreeing with his values. He claimed that the things he felt were important for society were competent government officials, careers open to all French people, and every citizen equal before the law. Bonaparte felt that he had to continue keeping the rights the people had acquired during the Revolution. However, he made some adjustments to the Declaration of the Rights of Man, making it the Napoleonic Code. This new code opened many new career opportunities to the people of France and it brought everyone back on track after years of hardship.
However, the Napoleonic Code did have few negative effects on the public. Probably the biggest would be the fact that women were considered inferior to men. Women were still at home taking care of the children and the house while men were the family heroes. Women at this time were probably very unhappy about this not just because of their lack of rights, but because they had just come out of the French Revolution. There were multiple instances that women played an enormous role in the course of history. Napoleon also shut down 60 of the 73 newspapers in France. This was a drastic change, which left many more French people knowing less about current events. This would probably be on purpose because it is known that Bonaparte was a smart man and he would have wanted to keep some things as secrets.
Over all, Napoleon Bonaparte was a breath of fresh air, introducing a code which incorporated the rights that are stated in the Declaration of the Rights of Man while actually changing the situation in France which past leaders such as King Louis XVI and Robespierre failed to do.
Works Cited
"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. 2008. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Kreis, Steven. "The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. 2001. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Sasha Bechtler-Levin
ReplyDeleteOctober 24, 2010
Webber- pd. 6
Napoleon Bonaparte’s mission was power. In order to gain this power, he needed to both insert his own ideas into French society and appease the revolutionaries by maintaining some of the ideals of the French Revolution. The Declaration of the Rights of Man stated that citizens may “speak, write, and print with freedom” (Avalon Project). In the Napoleonic Code, however, Napoleon took away these rights by shutting down 60 of the 73 existing newspapers in France. This decision shows an example of Napoleon betraying the ideas of the Revolution. On the other hand, he did offer some of the rights that were fought for in the Revolution. One of the main ideals of the French Revolution was that government jobs went to those best suited for them (as opposed to offering those jobs only to the higher class French). The Napoleonic Code upheld this ideal, agreeing with the revolutionaries that those who were working for the government were well-suited, no matter their social standing. Although during this time period in general, women did not have equal rights as men, the Napoleonic Code did give women the right to “receive annually, on her single acquaintance, a part of her revenues for her maintenance and personal wants” (Kreis).
The reason for Napoleon’s being able to be leader of France despite the drastic changes he had on society was that he eased France into his rule. Instead of coming in and immediately taking over, he kept some of the ideals the revolutionaries had just finished fighting so courageously for. In this way, he was able to lull the people of France into a false sense of security; they felt assured knowing he would protect and uphold their valuable ideals. Along with this trust, Napoleon was also installing his own rules. As detailed in the previous examples, Napoleon betrayed multiple of the principles of the Revolution in order to substitute in his own. Thus, Napoleon became an effective leader who had both the rules he wanted and the trust (if not lasting) of his people.
Works Cited:
Kreis, Steven. "The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide. 13 May 2004. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Yale Law School. "Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Yale Law School. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Napoleon Bonaparte BlogSpot
ReplyDeleteIt can be argued that a motivated writer, John-Paul Marat, fueled the French Revolution. Of course Robespierre influenced the Revolution by leading the people with speeches of terror and virtue, but recognition must be given to Marat for his writing. Through his newspaper L'Ami du people, (Friend Of The People) Marat criticized the King for his lack of knowledge in power as well as the queen for his over expenses. Marat, through the freedom of press, was able to start and power a revolution that overthrew the government.
Once Napoleon came to power he knew that King Louis XVI was overthrown by a revolution. Napoleon was loved by the people but still needed to be sure that a revolution could not start. He knew that Marat had used the freedom given to the press to sustain the revolution. Napoleon would not allow a revolution to start and thus, in his Napoleonic codes, restricted the freedom of the press. By closing down 60 out of 73 newspapers Napoleon made sure that no one could voice any complaints. Yet Napoleon did not believe that just shutting down the newspapers was enough change to the new government.
Even though Napoleon crowned himself and gave himself all power he still believed that there is change necessary. Napoleon decided that he needed to restrict the powers of women. It can be argued the Napoleon did this because of his troubles with his love Josephine but there is no substantial evidence for this. Restricting the rights of women was a different approach then what was done in the Declaration of Rights of Man. The Declaration of Rights of Man did not address the rights of women leaving them unanswered. These rights were later taken care of by Olympe De Gorges who addressed the rights of women through the Declaration of Rights of Women. On the contrary of the Declaration of Rights of Man Napoleon decided the rights of women must be restricted. Thus women became much more inferior to man and lost much power that they had acquired through the revolution.
It can be argued that this restriction of power to women would cause another uprising but Napoleon knew this and had to keep parts of the Declaration of Rights of Man in his codes. He kept that all officials must be competent which created a strong central government capable of ruling the people. He also opened careers to all French people allowing everyone to work and earn money. This created less tension for women since they were still able to work.
Napoleon’s Code tried to keep the things that work but also took out the things that didn’t. Everything was done with the revolution in mind and making sure another revolution did not start.
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 22 Oct. 2010.
""Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen" (August 1789)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. .
Keri McGlothlin
ReplyDeleteWorld History, Period 6
October 24, 2010
The Napoleonic Code and The Declaration of the Rights of Man
After the French Revolution, Napoleon soon took power of the French government. He did this by gaining the support of the French military through his military intelligence. He is considered a military genius. After he climbed up the military ladder of status, he decided it was time to take control of the government since he saw a weakness in the government they had at the time and made himself the most powerful man in France. After crowning himself and his wife, he created a whole new system of government for France that appeased both the Church and the people but not the women. He created the Code of Napoleon and made France live by it during his rule. The Code of Napoleon and the Declaration of the Rights of Man is in many ways different as well as the same.
In their similar sense, The Code of Napoleon preserves the civil rights for the Frenchman that were provided by the Declaration of the Rights of Man. This includes many things, seventeen different rights which Frenchmen did not have until the Declaration. These rights consist of freedom since birth to death, political fairness, no born authority, liberty that will not hurt any other, the law can take away rights as a punishment, the law can be the only thing to make accusations arrest and detain, the law can be the only thing to establish strict penalties, men are innocent until proven guilty, no one can be punished for being religious, free communication, public force needs to be kept up to enforce these rights, equal taxes to all, all people know where the taxes are going, any public agent may be administered, there is only no constitution where the rights are not secured, and no one can be deprived of their own land. All of these civil rights to Frenchmen have been kept, although there have been a few changes to modify it to the women.
Even though the rights are kept by men the women have not been able to keep their rights. Under the rule of Napoleon women are being treated as if they were children with men as their superiors. There is no evidence in history that provides a definite reason for Napoleon to do something like this to the woman, though there are a few theories. The most common and plausible answer is found within Napoleon and Josephine’s marriage. Josephine only married Napoleon because she knew that he was her ticket to power in France and did not truly love him. This caused her to sleep around with other men making Napoleon angry with her and giving him the impression that all women act like Josephine. This thought is reflected within the Napoleonic Code. It is clear that women are not given equal rights to men and are being treated as inferiors. From when the woman is a mere child the father has power ever the children and the wife, when she will get married all the rights are given to the man involving the marriage and the woman cannot divorce her husband.
Works Cited
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
"Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen" (August1789)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
Napoleon and the Ideas of the French Revolution
ReplyDeleteAfter King Louis kicked the 3rd estate out of the meeting of the General Estate, the representatives of the 3rd estate collected on a nearby tennis court. As a result of that meeting, the National Convention was born and along with it the Declaration of the Rights of Man. This Declaration called equal rights to all Frenchmen and a democratic type of government. When Napoleon Bonaparte came to power, he was a popular military man, not the democratic leader that the French had imagined. In fact, he was a dictator who literally crowned himself emperor of France. As a method of organizing his new empire, Bonaparte took the 300 plus legal codes (including the Declaration of the Rights of Man) that came into existence during the Revolution and condensed them into 7 codes called the Napoleonic codes. Amazingly, the French did not kick him out, largely due to the fact that he kept the most important part of the Declaration of the Rights of Man alive: the ability for a Frenchman to have civil rights.
The whole point of the Revolution in France was to create a society where everyone had equal rights. The writers of the Declaration were very adamant on driving home this point in the Declaration of the Rights of man. Napoleon made sure to keep this clause in his Napoleonic laws too in order to keep the revolutionaries happy. Although it is not worded the same in the Declaration of the Rights of Man, the Napoleonic code states that all “Frenchmen shall enjoy civil rights” (The “Code Napoleon”). It is interesting to note too that in both the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Napoleonic codes, only men explicitly gain rights, not women.
On the other hand, Napoleon violated the Rights of Man by naming himself emperor. A clause in the Declaration specifically says, “no body, not individual can [solely] exercise authority” (The “Code Napoleon”) over France; the people of France are in charge. Napoleon clearly goes against the wish for a democratic government here. Also, he takes away the freedom of the press in the attempt to protect his position. Obviously Napoleon did not want anyone to uproot his position, so he took away the freedom of the press, but again it is a directly opposes what the revolutionaries were after. In addition, he took away many of the few rights that women were previously allowed. Women were now placed under the complete control of their husbands. This was a huge blow to the women especially since they were revolutionaries just as much as any of the men were and they were fighting for their rights too. Finally, Bonaparte and a few of his fellows made up most of the laws by themselves. Again, this goes against the revolutionary idea of a democratic society. Although the codes were drawn up from a combination of laws originally written by revolutionaries, Napoleon certainly implemented his own ideas when the laws were written. So in other words, the only thing that the French really achieved as a result of the revolution was civil rights for themselves, not necessarily the new government that they were after.
Bibliography
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Steven Kreis, 13 May 2004. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. .
“"Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen" (August 1789)." The History Guide -- Main. Steven Kreis, 13 May 2004. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. .
Napoleon Report: Comparing life during the Revolution and during the Napoleonic era.
ReplyDeleteThe French Revolution is known for its bloodiness, evidenced by the use of the National Razor; and the revolutionary ideals that it brought to Europe. Possibly influenced by the American Revolution fifteen or so years before, the French Revolution, initially, was for political and economic equality, as seen in the events following the Meeting of the Estate General and the Tennis Court Oath. These ideals may have been virtuous, but as the revolution progressed, the preachers of these values, namely Robespierre, digressed from them, and revoked them altogether during the “Terror,” the period of mass executions facilitated by the Committee of Public Safety.
Despite the violence and bloodshed of the Revolution, French citizens were granted equal political rights, as well as equal economic opportunities resulting from the Revolution. Times did become rather difficult for the newly appointed National Directory, as the bread lines did not become any shorter than they were before the Revolution. In fact, Napoleon, at that time a lieutenant, organized the “crack-down” upon the rebels near one of the Directory’s buildings.
When comparing life during the Revolution to life during the Napoleonic era, one must consider the question: “What is better, well-being or freedom?” The Declaration of the Rights of Man was similar to the American Constitution in its statements concerning equality of all citizens and freedom of the press. While this guaranteed full rights to men and limited rights to women, it did not contribute to helping with the nullification of the food crisis. What France really needed was a strong, charismatic, and effective leader who would pull them out of their food crisis, and into acceptable living standards; regardless of their various rights given to them by the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and the constitution.
Napoleon, a brilliant military commander of the French army, facilitated a coup d’état with his army’s backing, and crowned himself Emperor of France a couple of years after the coup. With his coming into power, the breadlines slowly diminished, and his supporters’ grew as he racked up his military victories. An effective leader, Napoleon saw little to no resistance to his significant changes in government and society. Napoleon, in some cases, reversed what the Revolution had accomplished: reinstating Catholicism as the official religion, limiting freedom of the press, degrading women and children further with less rights given unto them, and instating an absolute monarchy. With these drastic changes came the Napoleonic Codes, a set of laws that simplified the French legal system, as well as basing all law upon the principal ideal of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights” (Avalon Project-Declaration of the Rights of Man). While Napoleon put into effect that “Every Frenchman shall enjoy his civil rights,” he did not continue to let his citizens enjoy the freedom of the press. Napoleon was a tactician first and foremost, and we can discern that he was basing most of his laws upon the results of the Revolution, and how to control his people while keeping them happy. The limitation upon the press was to prevent figures such as Marat from riling the population to revolt. Napoleon, however, made sure that social status or class did not play a role in acquiring a job, keeping in mind the revolutionaries’ ideals.
Napoleon did not entirely follow the statements of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, nor did he disregard them completely. He found a middle ground in which he kept a firm control upon his people, while providing them with some of the rights given to them because of the Revolution. He did betray the secular notions of the Revolution with the reinstatement of Catholicism as the official religion of France, but he did keep the population happy by letting them keep their acquired lands from the Church during the Revolution. Napoleon used his tactical diplomacy to carefully balance control over his people; having a firm grip upon them, while ensuring that a revolution would not occur again due to unhappiness.
ReplyDelete"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
Literature, English. "The Civil Code Index." The Napoleon Series. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
Cara Hoffman
ReplyDelete10/24/10
P.7, Webber
Just after the French revolution, a man named Napoleon Bonaparte quickly rose to power. Similarly to the rule of the Manchus, Napoleon eased his way into power and did not implement all of his policies simultaneously. One of the main advancements through the revolution was a document entitled “the declaration of the rights of man.” The gist of this document was to give equal rights to all men of the French. Completely neglecting the women it implored the government to treat the citizens, formally the members of the third estate- the workforce and commoners of society with the same basic human rights that the formerly first and second estates were treated with. For example, the way in which people were executed was altered. Pre-revolution, commoners were killed by very inhumane ways such as being dragged around by a horse and the nobles were executed in a much more humane way. Post-revolution however, everyone was executed by the guillotine, which was invented as an equalizer. When Napoleon came to power, he did keep a majority of these changes summarized in one clause of the declaration of the rights of man as, “all citizens are equal before the law.”
Something major that Bonaparte did instill was entitled the Napoleonic Code after himself. It was a very wise idea, because during the revolution there were some 300 different legal systems/codes floating around whereas the Napoleonic code attempted to end the confusion by containing seven simple codes. As stated earlier, Napoleon attempted to keep many of the regulations and policies put in place during the revolution to keep the citizens as happy as possible while simultaneously obtaining the power and control he was after. Along with keeping the clause about all citizens being equal under the law, he allowed all careers to remain open to all citizens. By doing this, it again eliminated the opportunity for citizens to do what they had recently done- rise up and protest to attempt to gain what they wanted. Another step that Napoleon took to ensure the happiness of the French was employing competent government officials so as not to have a repeat performance of Marie Antoinette.
Whilst keeping a large percentage of systems/laws/policies put into place by the revolution, Napoleon did also change a fair number of them. For instance, the Napoleonic Code was a very large step backwards for women and children. Although the original declaration of the rights of man did not include women, work done by Olymphe Du Gorge changed that fact with a document entitled The Declaration of the Rights of Women. However with this new code, it gave men almost complete control of women- making it very difficult for them to divorce, and giving them little to no control over the property and money in the family. A pre pox to the American revolution- the Napoleonic code eliminated freedom of speech- shutting down sixty out of seventy three newspapers in France and eliminating jobs and opportunities for people like Jean Paul Marat who made his living as a revolutionary writer during the revolution. This was a very interesting contrast to the American revolution because as one of the biggest inspirations to the French revolution, freedom of speech was one of the largest things that was fought for.
Although not keeping the entire document, Napoleon Bonaparte did do a fairly good job of not changing everything when he came to power as a completely different style of ruler from what the revolution had fought for.
Works Cited
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
""Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen" (August 1789)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
Tony Ibrahim
ReplyDeletePeriod 4
History, Mr. Webber
October 24, 2010
Napoleon Bonaparte Exercise
From the year 1789 to the year 1791, this period in history was commonly known as the French Revolution. To cut a long story short, the 3rd Estate was not too pleased with King Louis the 16th’s rule and they banded together to revolt against the crumbling monarchy. After 3 bloody years of fighting and warfare, the King’s authority was limited to a constitutional monarchy, and the people of France slowly started to bring equality for all into their government systems. As years passed, most of the royal family was executed and new governmental systems were implemented such as the Directory (constituted in 1795) which was then overthrown by the infamous Napoleon Bonaparte.
From the end of the Directory governmental system in France to 6 years later, a man by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte dominated French and European History. Napoleon’s achievements were rare; he rose out of his middle class family and soon became a commander of the French armies in Italy. He eventually succeeded to becoming the Emperor of France.
Napoleon established the Consulate in France. This governmental system was comprised of three directors; Napoleon was the military director. His power hungry journey soon led him to become first council which held almost all the authority. He then became the emperor in France and more arguably, the most powerful man in the world.
Napoleon’s most renowned act during his emperorship was the engenderment of the Napoleonic Codes. These codes both fulfilled and betrayed the ideas of the French Revolution. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Woman were the most important documents that were created out of the doings of rebelling against the monarchy. Napoleon acknowledges this and works upon them as well as disgraces the hard work and bloodshed that the people fought for.
In the Declaration of the Rights of Woman, it clearly states in Article 1: “Woman is born free and lives equal to man in her rights. Social distinctions can be based only on the common utility.” In the Napoleonic Codes, it is stated: “The wife cannot plead in her own name, without the authority of her husband” as well as “The wife is obliged to live with her husband, and to follow him to every place where he may judge it convenient to reside.” These quotations from the Napoleonic codes take about the wife’s duties to the husband and the husbands authority over the wife which entirely contradicts Olympe De Gouges’ work.
In the Declaration of the Rights of Man, it also clearly states in Article 1: “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.” In the Civil Code, it is disclosed, “Those condemned for contumacy shall, during five years, or until they shall make appearance, or until their arrest during that period, be deprived of the exercise of civil rights.” Napoleon’s Code calls for the termination of civil rights for a Frenchman while the Declaration of the Rights of man call for all men to have free and equal rights. These two documents oppose one of the fundamental rights that men desire when being a citizen of a country.
Works Cited
ReplyDelete"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. .
Grossman, Mark. "Napoléon I." World Military Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary . New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE53&iPin=WML0164&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 24, 2010).
Lavender, Catherine. ""Liberty Rhetoric" and Nineteenth-Century American Women." Declaration of the Rights of Woman, 1791. College of Staten Island. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. .
"Napoelon: Friend or Foe of the French Revolution?" Scribd. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
Roberts, William J. "Directory." France: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present, European Nations. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE53&iPin=FRA0564&SingleRecord=True (accessed October 24, 2010).
Tristan Saggese
ReplyDeleteMr. Webber, Period 6
Sept. 23
Napoleon Bonaparte’s Napoleonic Codes
Spanning from 1789- 1799, the French Revolution was at the simplest a fight for inalienable rights. King Louis’ old regime established 3 distinct social classes, the lowest of which was the mistreated and misrepresented third estate. Sustaining life at the bottom of the social hierarchy was nearly infeasible. So, with the enlightenment ideals of citizenship and equality in mind, the passionate French majority, the third estate revolutionaries, pushed for the abolishment of the absolute monarchy. In 1789, recognizing France’s problems, the French National Assembly approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Though, Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1804 would create a legal code of his own, called the Napoleonic Code, to replace the Declaration of the Rights of Man. The code was a simplified, edited version of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, preserving some major laws the declaration established and destroying others.
The National Council’s Declaration of the Rights of Man in theory was a perfect fulfillment of the ideals of France’s third estate, but in practice was rather unrewarding. The declaration stated: all men should “remain free and equal in rights. These rights are property, liberty, security, and resistance to oppression” (Avalon Project). Additionally, French citizens were entitled to freedom of speech, religion, belief, and of course freedom of the press. The press played a major role in the revolution in that newspapers helped to spread enlightenment ideas and attract Frenchmen to join the revolutionary cause. Still the declaration was close to useless because the Committee of Public Safety essentially replaced King Louis, ruling as a terror instilling oligarchy. Even after the revolution France was still utterly chaotic. The committee’s leader, Maximilien Robespierre, got caught up in the revolutionary fun and murdered anyone he suspected of not supporting the revolution. People were scared of him and scared that one false move could get them killed, even though French citizens had recently acquired some rights. In this sense the monarchy remained unchanged after the revolution.
A strategic genius, military leader and soon emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte furthered the fulfillment of revolutionary ideals and likewise betrayed others. Napoleon quickly rose through the ranks, eventually establishing the French Consulate and Napoleonic Code to replace the previous French government and simplify the 100’s of French legal systems and laws present in the country. Napoleon’s code consisted of 7 basic laws. Napoleon carefully constructed the code so as to preserve some essential revolutionary rights established by the Declaration of the Rights of Man. His code: made all citizens equal before the law, brought about career opportunities by widening the job market, and stated the importance of only bestowing governmental positions to competent individuals. Also the code allowed freedom of religion etc. The code did not, though, allow freedom of press and it lessened the rights of women, making them totally inferior to their husbands. Of course, as stated earlier in this essay, the general goal of the revolutionaries was to gain rights. By comparison to the declaration of the Rights of Man, the Napoleonic Code was very effective, not only because of the rights it granted the people but because Napoleon allowed the people to exercise their rights; the people felt comfortable with Napoleon as leader. The Committee of Public Safety on the other hand limited the rights of the people. Comparably to the Chinese citizens living under Chairman Mao, the Frenchmen were too fearful of the radical government to put their rights to use. The French people revered Napoleon, the hero, and that is why his codes worked. But to speak the truth, the Napoleonic Codes really were not a genuine fulfillment of the ideals of revolutionaries before and after the revolution because the general majority of France was still not represented. Napoleon declared himself emperor. He did not abolish the monarchy. In this way he betrayed the ideals of the French. As the essay says: he for the most part abolished the social classes and gave the people what they desired: civil rights. But the revolutionaries also desired a democratic government. Napoleon tricked the people into thinking that the government was in fact ruled by the people, but really it was he in control. He had a say. Napoleon banned Newspapers in fear that a working system of communication would result in the start a revolution against him. He wanted to rule stably and did not want the people of France to plot against him as they did for the monarch king Louis. He, in other words, was in the same position as Louis. He was an emperor with absolute control. In this respect Napoleon betrayed some of the ideals of the revolution. On top of that the Napoleonic Code took rights away from women. A large portion of French revolutionaries were women who desired, just the same as men, rights and proper treatment. Women played a huge role in the revolution, attacking the king’s palace in Versailles and adding to the mood of the revolution. With the Napoleonic Code the women’s ideals were not at all fulfilled. Napoleon removed the three estate social pyramid but replaced it with a new one. He was at the top, men in the middle, with their civil rights and women at the bottom with no liberty at all.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
"SparkNotes: Napoleonic Europe (1799-1815): The Consulate (1799-1804)." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
"Code Napoleon : Civil Code : Napoleon Bonaparte : Napoleonic Wars : Generals." Napoleon Bonaparte : Napoleonic : Napoleon : Bonaparte : Wars : Napoleon I : Napoleonic History : Military : Napoleonic Era : Battles : Naval : Armies : Uniforms :. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
Before the French Revolution the French were deprived for many of their natural rights by King Louis. Over time this lack of rights infuriated many for the French citizens until they finally had enough and decided to revolt against him. After a period of constant fighting and bloodshed the revolutionaries had finally overthrown King Louis changing the government system of France completely. Also out of this overthrow the Declaration of the Rights of Man was created to ensure that all French citizens received the rights that they fought for. The Declaration of the Rights of Man was very similar to the American Constitution. The major point of the declaration was to ensure that all men were treated equal. It made official jobs available to those who are best fit for the job. But it also gave many other changes such as the full rights to speech and the right to trial before being convicted of a crime. However not all of these new rights were kept for a very long period time because in 1804 a new dictator, Napoleon crowned himself the new emperor of France.
ReplyDeleteNapoleon was raised in a rough childhood being from the island of Corsica. However this made him a very strong and determined individual. This strength allowed Napoleon to rise very quickly through the military ranks. When he had reached the highest military rank he could he finally decided that he was going to take over France with his very loyal army and he succeeded. When Napoleon crowned himself the emperor of France it turned the newly formed Democracy that France had fought for back into a Dictatorship. This seemed like it would have angered all the citizens again and caused yet another revolution but instead the majority of France’s citizens were fine with him being in power. This is because of Napoleon’s strategy for changing the French government. Napoleon realized that this country had just been at war with itself because it was tired of a dictatorship so he took the necessary steps to keep the people happy with him. For this reason he kept many of the new ideas of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. A few of the ideas that he kept where that all citizens are equal before the law, careers are open to all French citizens, and that competent people could be appointed as government officials. However Napoleon still was power hungry and made the changes that he needed to in order to make sure that he was able to stay in power as emperor. For example Napoleon took out the right to liberty of the press. He destroyed approximately 60 of the 73 newspapers in France. He did this out of fear that another Marat would inspire the people to revolt against him. Another thing that he took away was the few rights that women had at this time. Women were now treated more like children and had to do everything that their husbands said to. Although Napoleon had made these major changes the citizens of France were happy that at least they still had some of the rights that they fought for and didn’t rebel against him like they did to king Louis.
Works Cited
"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. 2008. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. 13 May 2004. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
Napoleonic Codes vs. Declaration of Rights of Man
ReplyDeleteAs the French Revolution came to a close, Napoleon Bonaparte used his wit, military prowess, and immense popularity with the people of France to take over the country and crown himself Emperor over (at that time) the most powerful country in the world. Napoleon was a smart leader, unlike Louis the 16th, and so he knew that he needed to keep the citizens of his new Republic from beginning another revolution to displace him from the throne. Napoleon knew that to do this, he needed to leave the Declaration of Rights of Man alone - the entire reason why the French rebelled. Napoleon looked up to the Roman Empire, studying their military tactics and system of laws and government to create a basis for his own set of laws, which he titled the Napoleonic Codes. Due to the fact that Napoleon didn’t agree with certain sections of the Declaration, he rewrote it to better suit his ideals. By only rewriting some of the laws in the Declaration, Napoleon attempted to keep the citizens of France happy and content. One of the most important laws from the Declaration of the Rights of Man that was left untouched in Napoleon’s Codes stated that all Men are equal and no one is subject to a class system. Napoleon also kept one of the critical laws created during the fervor of Revolution, written by people fed up with incompetent government officials - the law that becoming a government official is based upon merit, and not appointment by someone in a higher office. Napoleon’s Codes didn’t stay completely faithful to the Declaration of Rights of Man, however. One change that was made was one that gave females in Napoleon’s Empire have almost no rights, and treated them like children. Another thing that Napoleon’s Codes changed is the right to Freedom of the Press. Remembering Marat and his persuasion of the French people, newspapers and other sources of possibly unfavorable opinions were silenced from criticizing the government or Napoleon himself. Napoleon’s codes changed the core structure of France’s legal system - previously, suspects in a trial were considered innocent until proven guilty, but Napoleon altered this so that all suspects are guilty until proven innocent.
Declaration of Rights of Man:
"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. 2008. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
Napoleonic Codes:
Kreis, Steven. "The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. 13 May 2004. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
Napoleonic Codes vs. Declaration of Rights of Man
ReplyDeleteAs the French Revolution came to a close, Napoleon Bonaparte used his wit, military prowess, and immense popularity with the people of France to take over the country and crown himself Emperor over (at that time) the most powerful country in the world. Napoleon was a smart leader, unlike Louis the 16th, and so he knew that he needed to keep the citizens of his new Republic from beginning another revolution to displace him from the throne. Napoleon knew that to do this, he needed to leave the Declaration of Rights of Man alone - the entire reason why the French rebelled. Napoleon looked up to the Roman Empire, studying their military tactics and system of laws and government to create a basis for his own set of laws, which he titled the Napoleonic Codes. Due to the fact that Napoleon didn’t agree with certain sections of the Declaration, he rewrote it to better suit his ideals. By only rewriting some of the laws in the Declaration, Napoleon attempted to keep the citizens of France happy and content. One of the most important laws from the Declaration of the Rights of Man that was left untouched in Napoleon’s Codes stated that all Men are equal and no one is subject to a class system. Napoleon also kept one of the critical laws created during the fervor of Revolution, written by people fed up with incompetent government officials - the law that becoming a government official is based upon merit, and not appointment by someone in a higher office. Napoleon’s Codes didn’t stay completely faithful to the Declaration of Rights of Man, however. One change that was made was one that gave females in Napoleon’s Empire have almost no rights, and treated them like children. Another thing that Napoleon’s Codes changed is the right to Freedom of the Press.
Remembering Marat and his persuasion of the French people, newspapers and other sources of possibly unfavorable opinions were silenced from criticizing the government or Napoleon himself. Napoleon’s codes changed the core structure of France’s legal system - previously, suspects in a trial were considered innocent until proven guilty, but Napoleon altered this so that all suspects are guilty until proven innocent.
ReplyDeleteDeclaration of Rights of Man:
"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. 2008. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
Napoleonic Codes:
Kreis, Steven. "The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. 13 May 2004. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDuring the French Revolution, the third estate lived through hunger and neglect because of the second estate. King Louis XVI was oblivious to the living conditions of the third estate and used their tax money on the luxuries of him and his wife. He was a selfish and arrogant leader. He went against what was written in the Declaration of Rights of Man. “The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.” Napoleon Bonaparte on the other hand was very strong, assertive, ambitious and a hardworking leader. He cared for the third estate and strived to treat everyone fairly. Napoleon Bonaparte was born in 1769 into a poor family. He was known for his military skills and he won a scholarship to a famous military school. He devoted himself mainly to his studies and focused on good military strategies. Napoleon was a very ambitious man who strived to be the best. He declared himself the Emperor of France as he placed a crown upon his own head.
ReplyDeleteClearly King Louis XVI and Napoleon aren’t very much alike. King Louis XVI wanted to satisfy the needs of him and his wife, while Napoleon wanted to make France more unified. However, the two men do have one thing in common. Napoleon inherited a few laws from the Declaration of Rights of Man and put them into his Napoleonic code. The first word of the code is in fact the fourth article of the Declaration of rights of Man. It states, “The exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits other than those that ensure to other members of society enjoyment of those same rights. These limits can be determined only by statute.” The Napoleonic Code also adopted that all citizens are equal before the law, careers are open to all French people, and it also included competent government officials. The Napoleonic Code however, did include many laws that went against the Declaration of Rights of Man. Women were given fewer rights as well as children. The code made inheritance for children and divorce for women more difficult. In spite of this, a wife may make a will without the authority of her husband. Napoleon also established peace with the Catholic Church which was a long time enemy or the Revolution. Catholicism became the official religion of France but, the church could not ask for land lost during the Revolution.
Napoleon was careful to include many of the rights gained by the Revolution-equality for all men. He differed from Louis XVI because he was a hardworking and driven leader with a purpose, which was to fulfill the needs of the people of France.
Work Cited:
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
"The Declaration of the Rights of Man." Washington State University - Pullman, Washington. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
After what some argue to be the most important event in European history, the French Revolution, the French people were searching for a guiding hand to reinstitute the initial beliefs of the French Revolution. As a result, the high-ranking military official, Napoléon Bonaparte, became the French people’s leader and eventually the council for life.
ReplyDeleteIn 1804, Napoléon implemented a set of laws called the Napoleonic codes. These codes not only brought a new legal system into effect in Europe but also continued to utilize various beliefs of previous law systems such as the Roman law and Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis. Like Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis, the Napoleonic Code “divided civil law into three main concentrations: (1) personal status; (2) property; and (3) the acquisition of property” (Kersch). However, Napoléon suspended specific rights and ideals of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. By doing so, Napoléon Bonaparte both fulfilled and betrayed the ideals of the French Revolution.
Napoléon did attempt to preserve a select few ideals of the French Revolution. Napoléon kept all citizens equal before the law. This was the fundamental idea of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which was written during the French Revolution. The Declaration of the Rights of Man was based off of the Enlightenment’s ideals that were the fuel to the revolution itself. The Napoleonic codes also satisfied a French revolutionary ideal by granting people the freedom to choose their job and employers to choose their own employees. This allowed people to be chosen for a job based on their qualifications rather than their birth standings. By granting the people and their employers this freedom, competent government officials were hired rather than people like King Louis XVI who was corrupted and unqualified.
Napoleon Bonaparte became leader of France in 1804 after he placed the crown on his own head. Although many consider Napoleon to be a tyrant he rightfully moved up the ranks on his own. Born in Corsica, Napoleon moved to France and vigorously studied military tactics. From his dedication to his studies and his experience Napoleon became a high ranking official. So much so that he was highly respected and even gained support to overthrow the government. His new government was implemented and was comprised of 3 consulates, one being himself. He then maneuvered himself to be the most powerful man in France, and two short years later he proclaimed himself emperor. While emperor Napoleon designed the Napoleonic code, this encompassed popular ideas from the Declaration of the Rights of Man as well as embracing his own beliefs.
ReplyDeleteThe Declaration of the Rights of Man was greatly liked and supported by the common Frenchmen so Napoleon had to be careful not to betray the central beliefs of the revolution when creating the Napoleonic code. Essentially, Napoleon kept the central ideas of The Declaration of the Rights of Man in the Napoleonic Code, but changed the laws of inheritance, laws for the press, laws for the church, and lastly the rights of women. Most importantly the Napoleonic code kept the idea that all had equal rights.
One of the first changes Napoleon made was the law of inheritance. In the old Declaration, land of the deceased was sent back and not given to relatives. Napoleon saw this as unfair and made sure land went back to the relatives. Not only was this fair but it also insured that France would not be full of wealthy landlords. Another change was the freedom of the press. Previously under the Declaration the press was able to publish just about anything. This allowed propaganda and beliefs that contradicted the state to be published. Men like Marat, who were regarded as a heros, were no longer able to publish their beliefs under the Napoleonic code. Napoleon went far enough and shut down 60 of the 73 newspapers in France. This ensured that no ideas that contradicted Napoleon were published. Another notable change between the documents was the status of the church. Napoleon recognized the church as a valuable ally because of its potential power, as a result of his observation he befriended Christianity. He also saw a potential problem, because the church was unpopular among the majority of the public. As a compromise, he allowed the peasants and others to keep their land that would be usually given to the church, while making Christianity the national religion of France. In this case both the church and the general populous are satisfied. The last significant change between the Napoleonic code and the Declaration was the rights given to women. Under the Declaration women were given almost equal rights to men. On the contrary under the Napoleonic code women were oppressed and often treated like children. They were no longer able to divorce or even allowed to testify in court.
Napoleon was very conscious as to not upset the French populous, yet he was able to achieve his goals by making his own rules.
Works Cited
Kreis, Steven. "Europe and the Superior Being: Napoleon." Historyguide.org. History Guide, 28 Feb. 2006. Web. 23 Oct. 2010.
Moore, Richard. "Civil Code or Code Napoleon." Napoleonguide.com. 1999. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRochelle Dong
ReplyDeleteDuring the French Revolution, many citizens were fighting for a free and equal life in which the 3rd estate could also participate in politics. During that time, the National Assembly published a piece called The Declaration of the Rights of Men. The document held the ideals of all the citizens, and allowed them to have equal rights with all other men. Life under the Napoleonic Code was similar to life during the French revolution, as the Napoleonic Code was based mostly off The Rights of Men. Many of the same rights were kept while others were completely changed. Rights and freedom for men was a common theme in both articles, but freedom and rights were largely ignored in both documents, but even more so in the Napoleonic Code.
The Napoleonic Code was based heavily off The Rights of Men; however, Napoleon changed some of the codes to work more in his favor. He restricted rights from women; in fact, he stripped women and children free of rights. Though he states “Every Frenchman shall enjoy civil rights” he doesn’t specify women or children. Also, Chapter VI of the Napoleonic codes clearly states that women can not act without the specific authority of her husband. Code 375 gives rights to the father to punish a child as seen fit, and similarly; 376 allow the father to confine a child for as long as a month. By imposing these codes and laws, he was able to continue to strip away rights from women and children, allowing the family to be supported patriarchal. Napoleon’s Code also limited the liberty of the press. About 13 newspapers were allowed to be printed after the Napoleonic Codes came out.
Napoleon’s Code also changed the laws of property and its rights. The Declaration said that property was sacred right that should not allow anyone to take it from them, but under the Napoleonic Code, men were allowed to take their wife’s property and the co-heirs were not allowed to claim the property without suing the husband and wife.
The Rights of Men alleged that law was the expression of the general will and that every citizen had a right to participate in its foundation. Napoleon was able to sneakily control the rights of the Frenchmen. He silently stripped powers away and slowly moved into being the emperor of France, one of the ideas that the revolution had so strongly revolted against.
As you can see, through the power of manipulation, Napoleon was able to rule over an entire country right after the revolution by keeping many of the same rights from The Declaration of the Rights of Men, and by changing some of the laws to better suit himself and his rule.
Katherine Dillon
ReplyDeleteWebber 7
Napoleon Bonaparte Exercise
Napoleon was a legendary revolutionary figure, yet he did not fully represent the ideals of the French Revolution. He believed in a power of the masses, not a monarchy or an overpowering upper class. He was an ambitious and intelligent military figure, who overcame obstacles during his childhood that made him stronger, forming the basis for his quick flight up the ranks of the military and his rise to success. Ironically, against the revolutionary standards and his own beliefs, Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France in front of the pope. However, the people accepted this because his many military successes and self confidence instilled their trust in Napoleon and made them feel safe. Napoleon installed a consulate system of government to rule all of France. He was one of three consuls and he had a life long term.
He abolished “The Rights of Man,” a legal code of the revolutionary age, and implemented his “Napoleonic Code,” a more complex and limiting set of laws. In his code, he kept some of the rights granted during the French Revolution while nixing others and adding his own laws. Ideals remaining the same were that all citizens are equal before the law, careers were available to all French citizens, and all citizens were entitled to competent government officials, and were allowed to run for office positions. However, he ultimately was referring to the rights of men only. Women were given many freedoms and rights during the revolution, only to have them taken away by the Napoleonic Code. Napoleon introduced many laws restricting women from inheritance and ownership of property, divorce, and representation before court. This made them subordinate to men and equal to children in terms of rights. Women were forced to obey their husbands and obliged to follow them wherever they decided to reside.
Napoleon claimed that he preserved the rights of the revolution, but evidentially that was not the case. Another right he destroyed was the freedom of the press. Of the seventy-three newspapers established during the French Revolution, Napoleon shut down sixty.
During the French Revolution there was a major separation of church and state. The revolutionaries rejected the Christian calendar, made ten-day weeks, abolished Sundays (the Sabbath, the holy day, and the day of church), changed street names that were named after Saints, and all religious pictures were replaced with pictures of Marat. Napoleon restored peace with the church and made Catholicism the official religion of France. This, however, was a compromise. Anyone who gained land of the church during the revolution was not required to return it. This pleased the people while the restoration of peace pleased the church.
Though Napoleon Bonaparte is a revolutionary figurehead, and had many accomplishments throughout his life, he did not fully execute the revolutionary ideals. He restricted the rights of women and the freedom of the press, restored the ties between the Catholic church and the government, and crowned himself emporer.
The French Revolution occurred for two main reasons, to find a better way to manage the government and to give the people more freedom. After the revolution, the revolutionaries created the “Declaration of the Rights of Man,” a document stating at its simplest that all men are created free and equal before the law. However, after the monarchy with King Louis had been abolished, the revolutionaries set up “The National Assembly,” a democracy based government. All the while, young Napoleon Bonaparte was making a name for himself and rapidly blowing through the ranks. At age 16 he was already appointed as a lieutenant and seven years later became the Brigadier General of the COPS. Because it was foreign to the French people, the democracy was very unstable and entrusted so with whole military’s support, Bonaparte seized his opportunity and took control of France. Bonaparte was a brilliant man and new that the people of France would not be happy with reverting to a monarchy. So to appeal to the general public, Napoleon kept almost all of the Declaration of the Rights of Man intact, but added his own little signature. He called this new set of rules the “Napoleonic Codes.” Even though he kept almost everything the same, Napoleon did make some key changes. Knowing that it was one of their peeves, he made sure not to touch the revolutionaries’ “all men are equal before the law” clause, but he did manipulate the freedom of the press. Bonaparte was deathly afraid that, as with the revolution, the press might help to rally the People against him. As a resolution to this, Napoleon shut down 60 of 73 running presses. Napoleon also took many rights from women and made them, if possible, even less free than before. Rather than just denying them the opportunities men were given, he went so far as to openly call them a lesser species and give them the bare minimum of rights needed to survive. Even though he was crude and some of his methods are still scrutinized, Napoleon was a very effective leader in a time that desperately needed a strong willed man at its head. He effectively kept the people quiet and kept his country safe, all the while holding the crown.
ReplyDeleteIan Torbett
ReplyDelete10/22/10
World History
Napoleonic Codes vs. Declaration of the Rights of Man
After the French Revolution, the National Assembly made a new constitution for France, The Declaration of the Rights of Man. However, when Napoleon ruled France, he created the Napoleonic Codes. This was a new, simplified legal system of France that kept some of the rights from previous constitution, but discarded others.
The French Revolution, led by Maximilien Robespierre, is known for its violence, and bloodshed. This revolution occurred because the Third Estate wanted political and economic reform. As time progressed, events such as the Tennis Court Oath influenced the drafting of a new constitution for France, which was inspired by the Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence in America. The new constitution in France, drafted by the National Assembly, was The Declaration of the Rights of Man. These newfound rights allowed the Third Estate to have equality, Freedom of Press, more rights for women, and many more. “The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression” (Avalon Project). The driving principle behind the French Revolution was the need for equality, and freedom.
Shortly after the French Revolution, the reign of Terror occurred in France. This period of time was when Maximilien Robespierre took control of France with the help of the Committee of Public Safety (COPS), and the Jacobins. In doing so, he suspended the rights of France’s new constitution in the name of defending democracy. Robespierre was executed by the National Assembly, and then The Declaration of the Right’s of Man was the basis of the French legal system.
At the time of the reign of Terror, a young lieutenant named Napoleon Bonaparte led France’s forces to protect France’s borders. Years later, Napoleon was named Brigadier General of France’s forces. Eventually, he led a coup de tat with the military against the current government of France. The coup de tat was successful and Napoleon established a new government within France, three councils who rule the country. Two years later, Napoleon declared himself Emperor of France.
As Emperor of France, Napoleon changed the French society in numerous ways. He established Catholicism as the official religion of France, by allowing those who took land form the Church to keep it, making both the Church and the citizens of France content. He regulated the press so journalists like Marat could not arise in society, and write against Napoleon. In addition, Napoleon lessened the rights of women, making them have the same rights as a child. The largest impact on the society was when Napoleon drafted and implemented a new legal system into French society, the Napoleonic Codes. These new codes were a simplification of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, only having seven principles instead of over 300 codes. The Napoleonic Codes kept some of the rights stated in the Declaration of the Rights of Man, but discarded others.
Napoleon kept the same principle from The Declaration of the Rights of Man from his Napoleonic Codes: “All men are created equal.” He kept the right that stated: “All citizens are equal before the law.” He tried to keep a balance between his personal power, and the rights and interests of the citizens of France. Napoleon had to be careful being the sole ruler of France, not infringing on certain rights of the French. The reason he was not overthrown by making the Napoleonic Codes was that Napoleon was a very active leader. He interacted with the society. Napoleon also allowed any man to hold any public office. This thought of being allowed to hold a position of power as a commoner was very appealing to the French citizens because before the French Revolution, only those in the Second Estate could hold power and make decisions.
ReplyDeleteNapoleon Bonaparte changed France many ways by using the Napoleonic Codes, which are implemented in the French government today.
Works Cited
"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. .
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 21 Oct. 2010. .
Literature, English. "The Civil Code Index." The Napoleon Series. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. .
Victoria Mansfield
ReplyDeleteHonors World History
Mr. Webber, per 6
24 Oct 2010
After the violent and bloody French Revolution occurred, a little, but aggressive and intelligent man named Napoleon Bonaparte had a strong desire to rule France. In order to do this, he knew that he had to maintain the rights that were gained by the revolution to possess support of the French people, yet he also wanted to change the way France was governed. When he declared himself as ruler of France , he immediately began to act. During his rule, he established peace with the Catholic church Catholicism became the official religion of France. However, they could not obtain the land they had lost during the revolution. Prior to the Napoleons rule, 300 different codes legal systems had existed in France had during the revolution, but when Napoleon came into power, he created only 7 codes to replace the series of existing laws. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, which was established in 1789 during the revolution stated that “men are born and remain free and equal in rights.” This article carried out during Napoleon's rule and he ensured for these established rights to be maintained, however, what it stated kept it's literal meaning. It only applied to men. Napoleon established his own Napoleonic Code, which applied to all French territories and today forms the basis of many European legal systems. He ensured that all citizens would be equal and free before law. However, when he created the Napoleonic code, he changed it so it included degrading women even more so than they were already looked down upon during the revolution. His code stated “ The wife is obliged to live with her husband, and to follow him to every place where he may judge it convenient to reside: the husband is obliged to receive her, and to furnish her with every necessity for the wants of life, according to his means and station.” Inferiority of women in French society still occurred, divorce laws were tightened and fathers were authorized as the head of their homes. An interpretation for the reason why Napoleon had women degraded even more after the French revolution may be because of how his controlling ex-wife, Josephine treated him. His Napoleonic code also shut down 60 of the 73 newspapers in France, so liberty of the press was abolished. This is most likely because Napoleon did not another man like Jean-Paul Marat, or any other journalist to write negative comments about him. In a nutshell, Napoleon yearned to change the way France was ruled so he established a new set of codes which still kept rights gained by the French revolution and pleased the majority of the French population.
Works Cited.
ReplyDelete"Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 26 August 1789." Center for History and New Media. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. .
Kreis, Steven. ""Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen" (August 1789)." The History Guide -- Main. 13 May 2004. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. .
Kreis, Steven. "The Code Napoleon 1804." The History Guide. 13 May 2004. Web. 23 Oct. 2010.
Moore, Richard. "Code Napoleon : Civil Code : Napoleon Bonaparte : Napoleonic Wars. Web. 23 Oct. 2010.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCasey Tirshfield
ReplyDeleteOct. 23, 2010
Period #6
Subsequent to the regicide of King Louis XVI and post Revolution Jacobin rule, France was under the order of the Executive Directory or the Directoire exécutif. During this time, France was at war with neighboring countries attempting to take advantage of their precarious civil unrest. It was not until 1804 that France would once again be subject to a uniform code of laws and a full-functioning governing structure. This reprieve came in the form of a man, widely known for his short stature, ruthless tactics, and dedication to the art of war and conquest; Napoleon Bonaparte.
Napoleon Bonaparte was born to an affluent family of the third estate in 1769 on the island of Corsica. During his childhood, he dedicated himself to academics, which ultimately secured a prestigious scholarship to a famous military academy. Despite the provocations he encountered there due to his height and accent, his hard work and studies inevitably prevailed in his military career. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant at the tender age of sixteen, and preceded to rise rapidly in military rank as a result of his effective battle tactics, which were modeled after those used by the Roman Empire.
1804 was the year Napoleon declared himself the first Emperor of France, and the year in which France’s governmental system would be forever changed. Intent on remaining in the public’s favor, unlike his vapid predecessor Louis XVI, Napoleon Bonaparte, instead of drafting new policies to placate the aristocracy, tailored existing laws and procedures so as to satisfy the desires of, the church, revolutionaries, as well as his own. He accomplished this by meticulously adhering to the demands dictated in the declaration of The Rights of Man and Citizen.
The National Assembly of France officially approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, on August 26, 1789. The documents purpose was to deem all men free with the exception of certain social educate. For its time, it was a monumental document, marking the first time in history that there was an established government, which was not the common Monarchy, instead a democracy.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen stated that there was to be no monarchial despotism, no law that would be infringing on liberty, all punishment was to be equivalent to the crime committed, there would be freedom of speech and press, and lastly there was to be no taxation without representation.
The primary stipulations of this document were implemented into Napoleons method of government. Being a supporter of the Jacobin’s himself and understanding his need for “popularity” among the people, he made a point to give all citizens their newly acquired freedoms. This was evident shortly after his crowning when he contrived the Napoleonic Code.
This document, when juxtaposed against the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, had acute differences. It substantially limited freedom of press, which was a major protagonist of the revolution, as seen in the work Marat. Another change it imposed was the appreciable limitations placed on the already minimal rights of Women. Despite women acting as key individuals in the French revolution albeit protestors, or diplomats, Napoleon vented his discontent with his own wife on all women in France. Depriving them of independence, including their right to a divorce, and their right to testify in court, thus destining them to be inferior to their counterparts, men.
Another colossal impact the Napoleonic code had on France was the manner in which it dealt with issues regarding the Churches involvement in France. Napoleon gave them a presence and power in declaring Catholicism as the official religion of France yet limited their power and satisfied citizens by declaring all land taken from the church was to remain the possession of the citizens.
ReplyDeleteDespite these changes however, Napoleon kept intact the primary perpetrator of the revolution, freedom and equality among all men. His document has served as the infrastructure for much of France’s current legislature and to this day continues to have an impact on society in subtle ways.
Napoleon fulfilled the ideals of the French Revolution, which were formally established in the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen” by enacting the revolution’s reforms in the Napoleonic Code. The code stabilized the fragile regime; expanded individual religious freedoms, and fulfilled a personal rags-to-riches ascendancy through the military, which would have been impossible without the revolution. Napoleon also betrayed the revolution’s ideals by concentrating power in one individual and putting men before women. These actions led to the dismantlement of Freedom of Speech, restored power to the Catholic Church, and led Napoleon to place his relatives as the head of other countries that he conquered.
ReplyDeleteThe “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen,” a document promulgated by the National Assembly in 1789, proclaimed that liberty, equality, and the respect for life and property would be the foundation of the new French state (Parker). It acted as a manifesto for the Third Estate and established equality before the law, careers open to talent, equality of taxation, and freedom of speech (Parker). The rights that this document created were the core ideals of the revolution (Parker). According to “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen” all men are born equal, the purpose of politics is the conservation of man’s natural and inalienable rights: liberty, property ownership, security, and resistance to oppression. In establishing the seventeen articles of “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen,” the National Assembly abolished feudalism and serfdom, the tithe for the church, and eliminated special privileges for the Nobility. In abolishing noble privilege, the National Assembly made it possible for any man to pursue any career that he was capable of pursuing; under the Bourbons, destiny was determined at birth, even the most talented military soldiers, for example, unless of noble birth, could not rise to high command (Parker). Reforms like these allowed Napoleon to rise from his plebian status and become First Consul of the young French Republic.
Unfortunately, instability and corruption threatened the longevity of the “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.” In 1799, after a brilliant military ascension to commander and stunning military victories abroad, Napoleon Bonaparte, with a group of political dissidents in Paris deposed the new corrupt third or fourth version of the revolutionary government in a coup d’état. Soon after, Napoleon made himself consul for life and then crowned himself emperor and created a military monarchy. The benefits of his takeover were an end to the turmoil of multiple short-lived revolutionary regimes, and a simplified commercial and penal code that embraced the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen’s” rights. The Napoleonic Code put an end to feudal privilege, established the equality of rights of its citizens, established religious tolerance, codified law, and promoted free trade, created an efficient and systematic method of administration, and introduced the metric system, introduced the registration of documents and statistical accounting. Napoleon’s government hired the largest bureaucracy to administer the centralized state. His religious tolerance allowed Jews, Protestants, and dissenters full citizenship if they pledged their allegiance to the state. The Napoleonic Code also established a national education network and a stable financial system cemented in the new Bank of France. His expansion of religious tolerance recognized that all men were created equal and that the purpose of politics was to conserve the natural and inalienable rights of liberty, security, property ownership, and resistance to oppression. In creating stability and a permanent code of working laws to put the “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen” in action, Napoleon continued some of the ideals of the revolution, but his reign also razed some of the social progress gained after the fall of the monarchy. Napoleon’s dictatorship and his plans to install relatives as heads of state in conquered countries contravened the spirit of the French revolution as well as the principles that abolished any birthright privilege; the destruction of the few rights gained by women after the revolution placed a black stain on the page of Napoleon’s rule. Similarly, restoring power to the Catholic Church eliminated much of the progress made after the revolution and placed France back into the hands of a dictatorship. Although some of Napoleon’s policies betrayed the ideals of the revolution, most of his reforms confirmed the ideals and formalized them in the Napoleonic code, shaping the foundation of the modern state.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
Bély, Lucien. Ancien Élève De L'École Normale, Supérieure Agrégé De L'Université. Paris: Ouest France, 1985. Print.
Floyd, Elizabeth, and Geoffrey Hindley. Makers of History. London: Bloomsbury, 1989. Print.
Parker, Geoffrey. The Times Illustrated History of the World. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1995. Print.
Spodek, Howard. The World's History. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.
Napoleon Webquest
ReplyDeleteThroughout the French Revolution we see a great ordeal of terror and violence, all in the hopes of creating change. Change in governmental structure and rules. By the end of the revolution much was achieved which we can see in The Declaration of The Rights of Man, a document that was approved by the National Assembly of France as a result of the revolution. Napoleon Bonaparte quickly gained his ranks with the country of France. After a short time, he crowned himself emperor of France and was quick to make his own changes. Napoleon wasn’t a stupid man and knew he couldn’t rewrite everything that had been gained via the French Revolution, so he decided to make his own set of rules. His new set of rules was named the Napoleonic Code and can be compared with both The Declaration of The Rights of Man and ancient Roman law. It is seen as a mixture of the two. Napoleon created it because the laws of the time were too confusing and somewhat contradictory to each other. Before the Napoleonic Code there were as many as 300 laws. The Napoleonic Code consisted of just 7 concise laws. Napoleon wanted to maintain many of the rules that were established during the revolution. His own code emphasized freedom and equality of man even more than before. No man was treated unfairly and was considered the same as another at birth. On the other hand, the new code slammed woman even more than the revolution. Woman already have unequal rights much before the revolution, but with the Napoleonic Code in affect, women’s ideas, thoughts and opinions were considered useless. Women were much less valued than men. The man of the house was seen as far superior to the kids and wife. Woman had almost no say when it came to marriage, especially if her husband disagreed. Napoleon did not include women's rights in his new code and most definitely did not see them equal to men.
Works Cited:
"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. .
"Napoleonic Code." Net Industries. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. .
The French revolution saw a birth of a new form of government focused on equality and civil rights. Born from a constitution created by the National Assembly, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen provided for civil liberties and certain freedoms to all French citizens. Beginning with “Men are born free and equal in rights,” it provided for ideals such as the goal of government, the role of the army in protecting and serving its citizens, the process by which a government would ever acquire a citizens property, and the rights of a citizen before a law. These laws, while mostly blanket and non-specific, accurately represented what we today see as fundamental ethics of a government. The ideals of the revolution were set in place by this document. During this time, Napoleon Bonaparte began to climb up the ranks of power in the post-revolution government. He quickly came to head the army of France, and soon after declared himself Emperor. He imposed a set of laws on France, known as the “Code Napoleon.” These laws were implemented across France, and allow a basis for comparing the goals of Napoleon and the Revolution. As a Revolutionary, Napoleon's goals should have coincided with those of the National assembly, but this was not always true. The laws of the Code Napoleon have a few of deviations from the ideals of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Trade was restricted under the code, limiting the power of unions and giving less power to sellers. Another quite obvious issue is the lack of protection of free speech, which Napoleon took advantage of by shutting down many of the newspapers. The code also included no regulation of government, evident by Napoleon's move from first an assembly, to a 3 person consul, to his declaration of himself as sole Emperor of France. Despite these irregularities, the Code Napoleon did adhere to many other aspects of the Declaration. It kept constant with the ideals of civil liberties, instituting and protecting by laws many of the same liberties, such as property security, civil rights, and rights before the justice system. Women's rights were pointedly removed in the Code Napoleon, similar to the ignorance of women's rights in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens. Through both the similarities and differences between the documents, Napoleon could be judged as a man attempting to reform what he saw as errors in the then-current system, or as a man beginning to unravel progress made years before.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
Bonaparte, Napoleon. "The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
"The Civil Code Index." The Napoleon Series. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
"Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen." Human & Constitutional Rights. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
"Lecture 15: Europe and the Superior Being: Napoleon." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
Napoleon Bonaparte Exercise (pt. 1)
ReplyDeleteJaclyn Hirbawi Period 7
October 24, 2010
The French Revolution, arguably inspired by the American Revolution, started as a fight for political and economic equality. Initially, enlightenment ideas fueled the Revolution and are represented in events such as the Meeting of the Estate General, the Tennis Court Oath, and the creation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Although these revolutionary ideals began as virtuous, while the French Revolution continued the people’s fundamental motives were nearly forgotten. Namely, the “incorruptible” leader, Robespierre, revoked them altogether during the period of mass public execution known as the Reign of Terror. Nevertheless, as a result of the Revolution, French citizens were granted equal political rights as well as equal economic opportunities.
During the French Revolution, life for ninety-eight percent of the populous was displeasing and filled with unhappiness. Discontent developed due to the poor economic conditions that directly affected the third estate. Even after the Revolution, France, in complete disarray; many suffered the burden of financial debacle, political unrest, the lingering chaos from the wars with different parts of Europe. France was in need of great change. In fact, during these difficult times, the newly appointed National Directory struggled and the bread lines were yet to become any shorter than they were previously.
Napoleon Bonaparte, iconic for his height and a legendary figure, did bring great change, but did not fully represent the ideals of the French Revolution. Napoleon was a brilliant, driven, and charismatic military leader who devoted himself to his studies, his troops, and to the people. With his army ‘s backing, he facilitated a coup d’état that overthrew the Directory and became the new leader of France. He quickly set up a new government called the consulate. Three directors organized the new consulate: military, social, and judicial. In 1802, Napoleon was made “council for life” and named himself the First Consul. Ironically enough, a couple years later both against the revolutionary standards and his own beliefs, Napoleon crowned himself “first emperor” of France in front of the pope. However, despite contrary belief, Napoleon was accepted for the great sense of security his competent military successes and impeccable self-confidence provided.
One of Napoleon’s great achievements was the installment of an improved set of laws. Bonaparte knew how to appeal to the general public and knew that the people of France would not be happy with reverting back to a monarchy. The goal of his Napoleonic Code was to keep the basic revolutionary rights found in the Declaration of the Rights of Man while reforming and codifying the laws within it. In some ways, he reversed the accomplishments of the Revolution by reinstating Catholicism as the official religion, limiting freedom of the press, and degrading women and children further with few rights.
It can be argued that the mere seven codes Napoleon stripped more than what was kept from the Rights of Man. Primarily, the Napoleonic Code preserved the concept that all citizens are equal before the law. Keeping in mind the revolutionary ideals, Napoleon made sure that social status or class did not play any role in acquiring a job; the code allowed citizens to run for office positions and left careers available to all French
Napoleon Bonaparte Exercise (pt. 2)
ReplyDeleteJaclyn Hirbawi Period 7
October 24, 2010
citizens. An economic keystone in both the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Napoleonic Code was the law addressing appointment to public office based on merit and qualifications. However, he was ultimately referring to the rights of men only. Women were given many freedoms during the Revolution, and were then unfortunately taken away and restricted from inheritance and ownership of property, divorce, and representation before court. A patriarchal society was created as a result of the Napoleonic Code where women and children were under almost complete control of men. Napoleon sought to prevent influential figures such as Marat from riling the population to revolt. Thus, he also destroyed the freedom of the press by limiting press and shutting down sixty of the seventy-three newspapers established during the Revolution. Despite the reinstatement of Catholicism, a clear betrayal of the religious notions of the Revolution, Napoleon with his strategic skill kept the people pleased. In his code he stated that anyone who acquired land during the Revolution was no required to return it; this pleased the people while the restoration of peace pleased the church.
Napoleon Bonaparte’s creation of the Napoleonic Code solidified many of the revolutionary rights gained after the French Revolution, but also diminished certain civil liberties, women and writers in particular, fought so hard for. A man of great tactics and diplomacy, Napoleon regardless of some betrayals, made an exemplary effort to maintain peace, balance firm control over his people, and ensure happiness as to not experience another revolution.
Works Cited
Kreis, Steven. "Europe and the Superior Being: Napoleon." Historyguide.org. History Guide, 28 Feb. 2006. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 24 Oct. 2010.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBobby Wright
ReplyDeleteMr. Webber
Honors World History
Oct. 24, 2010
Napoleon and the Ideas of the Revolution
When Napoleon was the Emperor of France, he had preformed many great achievements and acquired many accolades for his military prowess. During this time, he both betrayed and preserved many of the ideas that had emerged from the Revolution, and those from the Declaration of the Rights of Man, with his Napoleonic codes, and policies. All of the ideas ideas of the French Revolution, and weather he acted on them or betrayed them, had a great impact on the lives of the French people.
When Napoleon ruled he preserved and acted on some of the Revolution that were outlined in the declaration of the rights of man in his Napoleonic codes and domestic policies. One idea that was preserved from revolution was that everyone was able to have any job. This means that anyone could in theory have a government position. This improved the lived of commoners vastly as it gave them a chance to better themselves. Another one of the ideas preserved was that the best man for the job should be appointed to government positions. This improved the lives of all the French people, by saving them from inept politicians. Perhaps the most important right that was preserved was that of equal rights. This meant that all men, not women, were equal before the law, and no one got special treatment because of their social status or class. This all serves to show how Napoleon carried on some of the ideas from the revolution in his work and how his decisions affected the French people in a positive.
While he catered to some of the ideas from the revolution and the declaration, he betrayed some of them as well. One of the main ideas that he destroyed was freedom of press. He did this because he feared that the press would denounce him and spark another revolution. This lead to people being sheltered from ideas and opinions that were counter to Napoleons. One of the more important, and quite possibly the most important idea that was abandoned by Napoleon was that of women’s rights. Napoleon treats women like children in his legal codes, giving them no rights and letting their husbands have complete control over them. A woman could not even defend herself in court unless her husband approved. All of these restrictions served to make women’s life infinitely harder. However the most important idea and political belief to come out of the revolution and the first one to be smashed by Napoleon was the belief that France was not a monarchy. Obviously, Napoleon’s mere existence as Emperor helped shatter the very revolution that let him gain power in the first place. Napoleons existence as Supreme ruler had varied effects on the lives of the French populace as it was by his command that all of these changes happened in the first place. Napoleon’s codes and political policies completely undermined some of the revolutions greatest ideas and how these betrayals had an overwhelmingly negative effect on the French people.
ReplyDeleteWhen Napoleon ruled France he changed it in a vast array of ways. He changed its policies both foreign and internal, as well as its laws. For better or worse, these modifications altered the French people’s lives dramatically and continue to have an influence to this day.
Works Cited
"Avalon Project - Declaration of the Rights of Man - 1789." Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 25 Oct. 2010. .
The Napoleonic Codes and the Declaration of the Rights of Man
ReplyDeleteWhen Napoleon took over the French Revolution, he got rid of most of the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and replaced it with his own Napoleonic Code. While he did not make any major changes, he did change and condense quite a bit. Before and during the Revolution, women had a limited role in society. After Napoleon took over, they gained an even less rights than under the previous Declaration. He did however; keep the clauses that stated that all men were equal in the eyes of the law, and that all men would enjoy civil rights. However, it was definitely weighted to give favor to men. Napoleon’s Code restricts women from doing much of anything without their husband’s consent, while men could do whatever they wanted. Children were also put at a disadvantage, inheritance became much harder, and they could be arrest under law, should they disobey their father. Another big change was in the press. Napoleon shut down more than 80% of the newspapers in operation, as he had seen during the Revolution the power that a free press run by the people could have. While Napoleon did get rid of most of it, it should be noted that that Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Napoleonic codes are tow entirely different documents with quite different purposes. The Declaration of the Rights of man is much like our Declaration of Independence: a bold, striking document to proclaim the rights of the citizens of a new and sovereign nation. The Napoleonic Codes was Napoleon’s way to condense the law system upheld in France at the time. His laws mostly deal with legal matters, such as the acquisition of property, the rights of married couples, and of dealing with debts and loans. His was not a document of declaration. It did not state the rights of his people. While it did make clauses in the Declaration of the Rights of Man redundant, and he did take out parts, they are two entirely different documents with different purposes.
Works Cited
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 21 Oct. 2010. .
"Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen." Constitution Society Home Page. Web. 21 Oct. 2010. .
Literature, English. "The Civil Code Index." The Napoleon Series. Web. 21 Oct. 2010. .
Napoleon Bonaparte Exercise
ReplyDeleteBrian Haist, P7, 10/24/10
The “Delcaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen” was designed by the National Assembly to give every man rights that could not be stripped of him. The National Assembly had originally created this document in order to combat what they thought was the cause of corruption and misery: “ignorance, forgetfulness, or contempt of the rights of man.” These rights were designed to specifically combat the Old Regime’s opression that was so evident in those times. With these new rights, a man could not do what he could do before such as get a garunteed tax return.
When Napoleon ascended the throne, he quickly came up with the Napoleonic Code which was his own version of "The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen." This new Code that Napoleon Bonaparte released had maintained most of the Frenchmen's rights, but did nothing short of destroying what women's rights there were. Napoleon's new code treated women like children, and gave men near complete authority. A perfect example of this is in Napoleon's Code Chapter 6: Of the Respective Rights and Duties of Married Persons. The women in this chapter are cleary suppressed, and it is especially apparent in the 217 rule: "A wife, although noncommunicant or separate in property, cannot give, pledge, or acquire by free or chargeable title, without the concurrence of her husband in the act, or his consent in writing."
Many of the new laws in the Napoleonic code had overwritten the previous accomplishments acquired in the French Revolt, such as much of women's rights. Despite all of the new disadvantages women had, women still had rights, and had quite a bit of room. The wife of the man could actually rebel against her husband in some ways such as "The wife may make a will without the authority of her husband" and "If the husband refuses to authorize his wife to plead in her own name, the judge may give her authority." This does not mean, however, that the woman of France's time was anywhere near equal to a men.
There are many suspected reasons for Napoleon's iron fist of rules on women in his time, but the one that makes the most sense is because of his wife: Josephine Beauharnais. She had a bit of a wanton eye, and cheated on Napoleon multiple times while he was in war. Despite this unethical and disloyal act, Napoleon was in love with her and was upset at the same time. Because Napoleon was supposedly aware that Josephine Beauharnais was cheating, it is suspected that he made these new laws because he had the image that women need to be suppressed.
ReplyDeleteIn all, Napoleon both kept and removed many of the rights of women but kept and even strengthened the rights of men. This is obvious in the comparison between the Napoleonic code compared to Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.
Works Cited
"The Civil Code Index." The Napoleon Series. Web. 23 Oct. 2010. .
"Code Napoleon : Civil Code : Napoleon Bonaparte : Napoleonic Wars : Generals." Napoleon Bonaparte. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .
"The "Code Napoleon" (1804)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 22 Oct. 2010. .
""Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen" (August 1789)." The History Guide -- Main. Web. 22 Oct. 2010.
October 21, 2010
ReplyDeleteDavid Claxton
After the revolution people found that there new government was not the idealistic government that the people were promised. At this same time a boy from Corsica was slowly infiltrating the ranks of the military and waging successful campaigns against the neighboring countries. He then receives the favor of the army and stages a successful “coup d’etat” and overthrows the government. As the new ruler of France he modifies the previously known “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen” and calls it the new law “The Napoleonic Code”. Napoleon is smart so he keeps the same basic principal and dose not drastically change it so he keeps the people happy but he changes it on many key points.
One of the biggest laws he changes it the Liberty of the Press. Napoleon saw the influence of John Paul Marat and his newspaper l’amis du peuple and how it affected the outcome of the French revolution and shaped the later Reign of Terror. Due to the fact that he was later going to call himself the Emperor of France, and how the paper led to the despicable hatred of King Louis, he shut down sixty of the seventy-three newspapers in France at that time. He monitored the remaining papers and spun the news in his favor to keep his popularity high. This is a large change to the original “declaration of the rights of man” because the original document stated that there was going to be freedom of the press in the New France.
He changed other laws from the “declaration of the rights of man” too. He almost abolished all rights and freedoms given to women, even if there was only very few in the original text that was written in the revolution. Napoleon also made it a lot harder for children to inherit the wealth of there parents. His logic behind this was to not have the lazy inheritors of the wealth and have everyone at the same level for gain of wealth making it more of an incentive to work harder. For prisoners too he kept a better eye on innocent until proven guilty. Giving convicted prisoners before there trials better treatment then they were earlier provided in the French revolution.
Theses are many differences between the documents but Napoleon still kept a lot of the points alive. He still kept the ideal that all citizens were equal before the law. No one had the upper hand based on wealth or class. Everyone was given a fair trial before a judge. This was in keeping with the original document. As well as having careers available to all people not just going to the different classes. So the best man for the job now got the job making more incentive and having a better working society and keeping competent government officials.
With napoleon coming to power he still kept the original ideas from “declaration of the rights of man” keeping Liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression. But he added some changes, which in his mind helped secure his rule and make France the powerhouse that it once was in the world scale. So in some ways he fulfilled the ideals of the French Revolution and he betrayed the ideals of the French Revolution.
I e-mailed that i turned it in on time before.
October 21, 2010
ReplyDeleteDavid Claxton
After the revolution people found that there new government was not the idealistic government that the people were promised. At this same time a boy from Corsica was slowly infiltrating the ranks of the military and waging successful campaigns against the neighboring countries. He then receives the favor of the army and stages a successful “coup d’etat” and overthrows the government. As the new ruler of France he modifies the previously known “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen” and calls it the new law “The Napoleonic Code”. Napoleon is smart so he keeps the same basic principal and dose not drastically change it so he keeps the people happy but he changes it on many key points.
One of the biggest laws he changes it the Liberty of the Press. Napoleon saw the influence of John Paul Marat and his newspaper l’amis du peuple and how it affected the outcome of the French revolution and shaped the later Reign of Terror. Due to the fact that he was later going to call himself the Emperor of France, and how the paper led to the despicable hatred of King Louis, he shut down sixty of the seventy-three newspapers in France at that time. He monitored the remaining papers and spun the news in his favor to keep his popularity high. This is a large change to the original “declaration of the rights of man” because the original document stated that there was going to be freedom of the press in the New France.
He changed other laws from the “declaration of the rights of man” too. He almost abolished all rights and freedoms given to women, even if there was only very few in the original text that was written in the revolution. Napoleon also made it a lot harder for children to inherit the wealth of there parents. His logic behind this was to not have the lazy inheritors of the wealth and have everyone at the same level for gain of wealth making it more of an incentive to work harder. For prisoners too he kept a better eye on innocent until proven guilty. Giving convicted prisoners before there trials better treatment then they were earlier provided in the French revolution.
ReplyDeleteTheses are many differences between the documents but Napoleon still kept a lot of the points alive. He still kept the ideal that all citizens were equal before the law. No one had the upper hand based on wealth or class. Everyone was given a fair trial before a judge. This was in keeping with the original document. As well as having careers available to all people not just going to the different classes. So the best man for the job now got the job making more incentive and having a better working society and keeping competent government officials.
With napoleon coming to power he still kept the original ideas from “declaration of the rights of man” keeping Liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression. But he added some changes, which in his mind helped secure his rule and make France the powerhouse that it once was in the world scale. So in some ways he fulfilled the ideals of the French Revolution and he betrayed the ideals of the French Revolution.
I TURNED IT IN ON TIME IT JUST DID NOT POST, I E MAILED YOU.
Casey Tirshfield
ReplyDeleteOct. 31, 2010
Mr. Webber
Period 6
The Battle of Waterloo
Arguably the most decisive battle of the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Waterloo would become Napoleon’s last military exploit. The battle was waged on June 18th, 1815 between the Seventh Coalition (the allied British, Netherland, Prussian and German troops) under the command of The Duke of Wellington, a greatly respected general of the time, and the French under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Leading up to this pivotal battle were a series of events, which were perhaps not in Napoleon Bonaparte’s best interest. Included was Napoleon’s implementation of the Continental system; a decree which was promulgated with the intent of weakening Britain economically, and there by reducing its military threat, by forcing all European nations to cut of their trade with the island.
Defiance of this system resulted in an onslaught of “blunders”. These included the Peninsula War and France’s attack on Russia. The Peninsula War was Napoleon’s first “enforcement” of his newly enacted system. The protagonist, Portugal, saw this decree as something that would weaken their economy greatly. Napoleon, infuriated with this defiance, invaded and suffered his first of a series of weakening blows to his once unstoppable empire. The next would take place deep beyond Russian lines when he was captured and exiled to Elba. Where, for the circumstances, he led a life of luxury until his escape in 1815.
Upon arriving back in France Napoleon assumed the thrown once more by gaining the support of his staunch army, alas his reign would last a mere 100 days. The Battle itself began on the 13th of March 1815, when the Congress of Vienna declared Napoleon and outlaw. Four days later Blucher and Wellington’s mobilized their armies. Attempting to gain the upper hand, Napoleon decided to attack them separately cutting down on their numbers.
This decision forced the division of his troops into three branches. One fell under the command of Marshal Ney, the other under the command of Marshal Grouchy, and a reserve under Napoleon’ command.
This loss at Waterloo served as a major detriment to Napoleon himself. Upon defeat he was captured and exiled to an island of the coast off the west coast of Africa where he would spend the remainder of his life. This imprisonment was much less luxurious than that at Elba, he was not granted the company of his own men and was in many respects neglected. He died six years later of cancer.