He had a certain vision for France and instead of doing it the right way by asking others opinions, he took over and became a dictator passing radical laws. Napoleon came into power a little different. He started off by overthrowing the Directory in a the Coup de' etat in 1799. When they threw over the directory the people voted for three men, Consul of Three, to be in charge of the cointry. And guess what, Napoleon was one of them!
In October 1799 Napoleon became first consul of the government and in so being became the most powerful man in France. Napoleon claimed to be the “heir of the revolution” and to begin with he introduced a new system of government promoting “career open to talent” which allowed people from various origins to take high ranking positions in the government and military. Napoleon also made feudalism, which was abolished by the revolution illegal in France thus showing his support for the revolution. Napoleon also introduced legal reforms by writing the “Code Napoleon.” With this he replaced the law codes of the ancient regime which during the revolution had caused much confusion. This new set of laws meant that every French citizen had equal rights promoting the revolutionary idea of equality among all men.
This violent act from the people stemmed from the poor economic situation in France as by Spring 1789, the average Parisian worker was spending 88% of their wage on bread as prices were so highly inflated. When Necker was dismissed popular demonstrations in Paris began and a hunt for weapons began which led them to the Bastille, where mob of 150,000 stole 30,000 muskets and began to destroy the prison, which partly symbolised what was wrong with the ancient regime. This was so significant as this signalled that the kind had lost control of Paris which allowed the Paris Commune to be set up on July 15th, and share power with the king, also meaning that the National Assembly was a no able to draw up a constitution without the threat of the king dictating the Assembly. This was huge for Paris as it now meant the people were
The Enlightenment was a period in history where people began to use reason to solve life’s problems. In France’s case those problems consisted of many things like, the unfair social structure. France had been divided into 3 estates, the first estate consisting of the Clergy, the second estate consisting of Nobles, and the third estate consisting of peasants. There was no social mobility in France what so ever. The peasants had very little land and considering they made up most of the population, this in turn made them very discontent.
In the early 1930’s Stalin felt threatened by his growing opposition and was determined to bring the party under his total control. At the 17th Party Congress in 1934, Sergei Kirov received the vast majority of votes which led to his assassination due to the threat that he posed to Stalin’s leadership. Many argued that this was a turning point in Russian history. It unleased a terror that killed millions in the next four years. Stalin was able to eliminate all effective opposition through a series of purges.
The extent of France’s financial crisis was enormous enough to bring about the revolution in a form of a landslide to its people. France’s financial situation before the revolution began was a huge economic depression with an ever-increasing Royal debt. The financial system at that time was also very medieval in nature in regards to the inhuman taxes forced to be paid by the French Third Estate, taxes such as the Corvée and the Gabelle. The salt tax was a tax that was used back in the Dark Ages that forced citizens over the age of 7 to buy 7 pounds of salt each year at a commanded price. However, during the reign of King Louis XVI, France has applied a state monopoly on the salt and still forced everyone to purchase the salt at a high price but also at a very low quality.
Napoleon proclaimed himself as a liberator when he invaded Italy and Egypt. After a series of victories, General Bonaparte led his victorious army into Milan on May 5, 1796. The Milanese greeted him as a heroic liberator, the general who freed them from the rule of the Austrian emperor Francis I. "People of Italy, the French army is here to break your chains," Napoleon proclaimed, "our only quarrel is with the tyrants who have enslaved you." Napoleon very quickly occupied the more populated parts of the country.
He opened their eyes to the ideals of democracy and the free world. He exhibited unbridled power and found that he too, like many before him, wanted to rule the world. B. Summary of Evidence • He was responsible for the spreading of the liberalizing ideas of the French Revolution throughout Europe, which help to bring an end to the remnants of feudal systems still existing in parts of Central and Eastern Europe. • Even though he was an Emperor, he actually started the demise of kingdoms and royalty.
The Directory lasted four years, the longest of any post-revolution governments, but by 1799 it was seen as a temporary solution and out of date. The economy faced many problems, inflation was very high and the government was unable to pay the salaries of its employees, experiments with paper currency were a disaster and there was a threat of invasion from Russia and Austria who had been appalled by the execution of a fellow monarch. The Directory was unable to install the principles of the revolution or ensure France's security, it was seen as time for a new style of government. The Directory was undermined from within and a 'possible coup was already three-quarters complete in the mind of Roederer'. Napoleon, in the minds of many disillusioned French citizens, had been called upon 'to save France from the crisis into which it had been thrown by the pitiful government of the Directory.'
In 1789, the French Revolution occurred because of political problems and financial hardships faced by a vast majority of the French population at the time. The main causes of the successful overthrow of the current King Louis XVI were due to the ‘Tennis Court Oath’ and the forming of the National Assembly, popular support for the revolution and the growing hatred for King Louis XVI and his Austrian wife Marie Antionette, and the Storming of the Bastille. The first of these causes was the Tennis Court Oath and the forming of the National Assembly. Faced with financial crisis, the French Government called a meeting of the Estates General in May of 1789. The Estates General was made up of members of the First, Second, and Third Estates and met at Versailles.