Civ essay French revolution
Napoleon is regarded as one of the most influential men of the 18th century and impacted France in more than one ways. However, he got to this position thanks to the French Revolution, which had occurred earlier. Many figures came and went during the French revolution but somehow Napoleon was able to seize power and cement himself as the supreme leader of France. This rise to power was not won easily and forced Napoleon to act in a way completely different than the people that preceded him. Not only that, but Napoleon also enacted questionable things as time progressed which appeared to be completely opposite in ideology when compared the ideology of the revolution. Napoleon did betray the ideals of the revolution …show more content…
Many of these Ideals were outlined in The Declaration of the Rights of Man. The two most important of these ideals were inalienable rights that all men possessed, and the ideal that sovereignty resided in the nation, not a sole leader. The ideal that all men had unalienable rights was explicitly explained in the second article of The Declaration of the Rights of Man. In which it was stated that “The aim of all political association is the preservation of natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression”(Sherman 117). The importance of this statement is extremely far reaching and really sets the groundwork for what The French Revolution was supposed to be about. Liberty and equality are important factors in creating a good nation and in France it was no exception. Another Ideal that was important to the Fr4ench Revolution was the idea that there not just one ruler, but instead a nation that ruled over itself. “The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. “No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation”(Sherman 117). It’s clear this was placed into the declaration to stop a monarch from ever ruling France again and was made frightfully well defined when the king of France was removed later on. In …show more content…
In Napoleon’s words he rose “himself from nothing to be the most powerful monarch in the world (Sherman 134). The keyword here is “monarch” which is the exact position that the French Revolution, along with the constituents of the French Revolution, so desperately wanted to prevent. In a sort of irony, instead of preventing France from ever having another monarch, another monarch was produced except he was also absurdly powerful all over Europe. Finally, the most damning evidence that Napoleon betrayed the French Revolution was how he crowned himself emperor. “ In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor… the new emperor took the crown from the pope and placed it on his own head”( Napoleonic Era 665). Before the revolution, all kings of France were crowned by the pope, denoting that the king did not have all the power. However, when someone refuses to be crowned by the pope it undeniably means that that person will assume complete control. In Napoleon’s case it was almost as if he was even more of monarch than King Louis the 16th was, thus completely cementing that Napoleon did indeed betray the
Napoleon is regarded as one of the most influential men of the 18th century and impacted France in more than one ways. However, he got to this position thanks to the French Revolution, which had occurred earlier. Many figures came and went during the French revolution but somehow Napoleon was able to seize power and cement himself as the supreme leader of France. This rise to power was not won easily and forced Napoleon to act in a way completely different than the people that preceded him. Not only that, but Napoleon also enacted questionable things as time progressed which appeared to be completely opposite in ideology when compared the ideology of the revolution. Napoleon did betray the ideals of the revolution …show more content…
Many of these Ideals were outlined in The Declaration of the Rights of Man. The two most important of these ideals were inalienable rights that all men possessed, and the ideal that sovereignty resided in the nation, not a sole leader. The ideal that all men had unalienable rights was explicitly explained in the second article of The Declaration of the Rights of Man. In which it was stated that “The aim of all political association is the preservation of natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression”(Sherman 117). The importance of this statement is extremely far reaching and really sets the groundwork for what The French Revolution was supposed to be about. Liberty and equality are important factors in creating a good nation and in France it was no exception. Another Ideal that was important to the Fr4ench Revolution was the idea that there not just one ruler, but instead a nation that ruled over itself. “The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. “No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation”(Sherman 117). It’s clear this was placed into the declaration to stop a monarch from ever ruling France again and was made frightfully well defined when the king of France was removed later on. In …show more content…
In Napoleon’s words he rose “himself from nothing to be the most powerful monarch in the world (Sherman 134). The keyword here is “monarch” which is the exact position that the French Revolution, along with the constituents of the French Revolution, so desperately wanted to prevent. In a sort of irony, instead of preventing France from ever having another monarch, another monarch was produced except he was also absurdly powerful all over Europe. Finally, the most damning evidence that Napoleon betrayed the French Revolution was how he crowned himself emperor. “ In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor… the new emperor took the crown from the pope and placed it on his own head”( Napoleonic Era 665). Before the revolution, all kings of France were crowned by the pope, denoting that the king did not have all the power. However, when someone refuses to be crowned by the pope it undeniably means that that person will assume complete control. In Napoleon’s case it was almost as if he was even more of monarch than King Louis the 16th was, thus completely cementing that Napoleon did indeed betray the