Two Men, One Goal: Comparison of Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte

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Chelsea Hardin Professor Benton Composition 101 10 October 2014 Two Men, One Goal: Comparison of Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte are two names recognized by most people. These two men, from two different time periods and two different countries were alike in many ways, yet different. They were both military dictators who wanted one thing. They both wanted to build an empire across Europe. They had different ways of going about it, and succeeded for awhile before being brought down. Both men were born in countries other than the ones they ruled. Napoleon was born in Corsica, an island that was defeated by France a year prior to his birth. Napoleon grew up hating the French and he was quite proud of his heritage. His father, Carlo, was a representative of the Corsican parliament worked to secure Napoleon a scholarship to a French academy. At the age of fifteen, he was promoted to a military academy and began training with the best artillery of France. Soon after the French Revolution, Corsica was made part of France, and the citizens had the same rights as the French citizens. Napoleon took a leave of absence to return to his homeland where he threw himself into the Corsican politics. He found himself the leader of a faction that was against the island’s governor, Pasquale Paoli. The two men went to war against each other, and in the end, Napoleon and his followers were banished. Unlike Hitler, Napoleon rose through the military. He proved to be a strong leader in the military, eventually making his way to General. In 1796, Napoleon commanded an army that defeated Austria, one of France’s primary rivals. Napoleon continued to win many battles and eventually promoted himself to emperor in 1809. Much like Napoleon, Adolf Hitler was not born in the country he would soon take over. Hitler was born in Austria and would
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