In Defense of Emperor Bonaparte Sirs, I stand before you today in defense of the former Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, whose reign of France for over two centuries liberated her from a nation full of chaos and internal strife during the Revolution; to a nation of strength and stability, now capable of forging a place for itself in international affairs. Through the Napoleonic Code which he established, citizens gained the equality of their basic rights which they rebelled for during the Revolution. This not only restored harmony, order, and unity to France, but simplified the legal system that was previously in place. France was strengthened both economically and politically in numerous ways by Emperor Bonaparte, such as when he restored the relations with the Catholic Church by signing the Concordat with Pope Pius VII. An added economic benefit came to France by this political move of Napoleon’s when the Church restored to France property that previously belonged to them which the Church had seized during the Revolution.
However, to maintain the peace with France and of course other powers, the congress balanced the powers by the introduction and reappointment of other states such as the grouping of Belgium and Holland to act as a buffer against France. This meant that all powers had an equal right to exist. The idea was to prevent violence and consequently wars between countries. Castlereagh and other representatives supported the idea of the balancing of powers, Castlereagh especially as he, again, wanted to maintain their peaceful relations. As stated in the previous paragraph
He also used the quote, “ L’Etat, c’est moi”, which translates to “ I am the state”. There is no doubt Louis XIV want absolute political power, but he also believed he was, in a sense, better then everyone else. Louis XIV believed that it was very important that he maintain absolute control over all French military forces. This would help him to prevent a civil war that could happen as a result of nobles constantly struggling for power, as confirmed in the Fronde. King Louis XIV identified himself with Apollo, the Greek God of the sun.
Question: “In Louis XIV’s view, what were the qualities of an effective monarch? In his opinion, what were the main obstacles to absolute rule? Louis XIV’s view of an “effective” monarch is absolutism in power and direct control over his subjects by giving them no more and no less to “carefully guard against their excess (Document D) as well as external glory in foreign affairs. Louis wasn’t fond of nobilities during his absolute rule as monarch in France, because of the past rebellion of the Fronde, however in Louis XIV’s view he wasn’t to be effective if he had dissolved the nobles rather he would work through them instead. With the Fronde in the back of Louis’s mind, he was to make an effective choice of picking members for his council, which would rule his political, military, administrative, and economical affairs.
He emphasized heavily on the importance of unity between the states, the significance of the Constitution, the Checks and Balances System, and amendments. He mentioned about the implication of religion, education, and morality that exist in the newly settled nation. Lastly, he proposed the Proclamation of Neutrality of 1793 (Doc A). This proclamation was serving as a principle to have an effective legacy of the country. George Washington stated that they should deal with “sincerity and good faith adopt and pursue a conduct friendly and impartial [to Britain].” He may have stated this for he was the first to be the role model of the future presidents, therefore he would want to leave a legacy that will effectively put American in the positive direction.
In a way, he brought them closer to him so he could scrutinize every move they made and every word they spoke, to make sure there were no secret ploys against him. This tremendously contributed to this part of his motto. This piece of the dogma would eventually lead to the overall influence of the French upon other countries and their kings. By “One Law,” Louis XIV thought that he didn’t need Parliament to help him rule. According to the divine right of kings that he followed, it stated that monarchs are chosen by God to lead the people.
Napoleon Bonaparte changed the world’s culture, spreading French revolutionary ideas throughout his empire. He created a book of laws (Le Code Napoleon), which gave France its first structured set of modern rules. The emperor also granted the people of his empire, freedom of religion, allowing everyone to believe in what they choose to be true. Finally the males of his empire were given equal rights allowing any male the right to gain wealth and power whether they are rich or poor. Napoleon Bonaparte improved culture in France setting the foundation for change in Europe, creating Frances first structured set of laws, allowing freedom of religion in his empire, and finally breaking the boundary that divided the social classes.
From First Consul to the Emperor of the French, Napoleon took advantage of his triumph to rise in power. He once said, “Nothing has been simpler than my elevation…It is owing to the peculiarities of the time.” Napoleon was fit to revive France from the ruins it was in after the French Revolution. In this quote he acknowledges the situation the country was in and how it benefited him in terms of rising in power. He began by placing the first set of laws the French ever had in 1804 named, “The Code Napoleon.” It promoted equality, freedom of conscience, right for individuals to choose own professions, and protects
The British made reasonable reforms within their society, and made their society better through their reforms. Like Himmelfarb had mentioned, Edmund Burke should be associated with the British Revolution. According to Burke, the French would have bought good to their society had they made moderate reforms. Similar to the British, the Americans were latitudinarian. This meant that they accepted an extensive variety of attitudes.
According to the text, the first stage of the French Revolution was based totally on the liberty to succeed, own, and compete. Next, the second stage of the revolution took on equality to rally their troops, which was also the revolution of the working people in the French cities. In fact the French adapted a national motto for brotherhood which was Liberte’, elgalite, fraternite…which is French for Liberty, equality, and fraternity. The debates on the compatibility of the three terms as well as their order began at the same time of the French Revolution. France was known as what is called an absolute monarchy in which King Louis XVI had complete control over the nation.