The final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo and the collapse of the French Empire left a bittersweet mood in France. Many, tired of the long war and declining morale, welcomed a fresh start. Others, however, missed the sweet taste of empire and detested defeat and the foreign dissection of French territory. In exile, the Bonapartes waited for a chance and a member of the family who could restore honor to their name. Louis Napoleon met the description. Staging multiple failed coups, Napoleon rejected failure and instead took a more patient approach. Finally, in December of 1888, Napoleon swept into France from exile in England and won the Presidency in a landslide victory. Immediately, Napoleon set to work at home, working on the infrastructure
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In February 1848, on the same day that Louis Philippe fled his increasingly hot seat, Napoleon entered scene. At first he worked cautiously as his close friends and allies in the National Assembly warned that swift assumption of power would result in rapid backlash. Learning from his previous coups, Napoleon chose to bide his time and returned to England not a moment too soon as the bloody June days swept through Paris (O'Sullivan). Far from Paris, Napoleon distanced himself from the terrible uprising and even more brutal crackdown and came into limelight. The new constitution of the Second Republic called for national elections and Napoleon became a candidate. In his candidacy Napoleon, “evoked Napoleonic memories of national glory” and, “promis[ed] to bring back those days with his administration” (Larson). Furthering his popularity, Napoleon declared his goal to, “to take the initiative to do everything useful for the prosperity and the greatness of France” (O’Sullivan). Harkening to his work in Des Idees, he crafted a careful political agenda from the, “reminiscence or romantic legend [of Napoleon Bonaparte], into a political ideology” (Larson). This ideology stressed the importance of both social and economic reform, "that would reconcile order and freedom, the rights …show more content…
Napoleon, as well as the other European leaders, grew tense as Central American organization crumbled. Unable to reel in Mexico, the state was overthrown by Benito Juarez, a Mexican lawyer and swaying diplomat, who created a more liberal government in 1862. Around this time Napoleon's notes suggested that there were, "several influential men...[who could] establish a stable political situation [in Mexico]" (Richards 179). Money, not stability, presented the real threat from Juarez's government. The old regime still owed nearly 150 million francs to the French banks, but Juarez called a moratorium on the debt (Larson).Told by his advisors and friends that the Mexican people would welcome a Catholic monarch, Napoleon readily deployed troops on the one condition that a national election approve the appointment just as France had done to him (Larson). The Archduke Maximilian I, brother of the Austrian emperor Franz-Joseph II, reluctantly took the throne in 1864 and pledged to repay the old debt (Richards 180). With the conclusion of the American Civil War, the U.S. reaffirmed the Monroe Doctrine and Napoleon retreated from Mexico leaving Maximilian to fend for himself. On June 19, 1867, the resolute emperor was tried and executed, horrifying many Europeans and casting a shadow over France (Guerard 90). In many ways Napoleon's failed Mexican intervention marked the beginning of the end as allies distanced themselves from his regime just
In February 1848, on the same day that Louis Philippe fled his increasingly hot seat, Napoleon entered scene. At first he worked cautiously as his close friends and allies in the National Assembly warned that swift assumption of power would result in rapid backlash. Learning from his previous coups, Napoleon chose to bide his time and returned to England not a moment too soon as the bloody June days swept through Paris (O'Sullivan). Far from Paris, Napoleon distanced himself from the terrible uprising and even more brutal crackdown and came into limelight. The new constitution of the Second Republic called for national elections and Napoleon became a candidate. In his candidacy Napoleon, “evoked Napoleonic memories of national glory” and, “promis[ed] to bring back those days with his administration” (Larson). Furthering his popularity, Napoleon declared his goal to, “to take the initiative to do everything useful for the prosperity and the greatness of France” (O’Sullivan). Harkening to his work in Des Idees, he crafted a careful political agenda from the, “reminiscence or romantic legend [of Napoleon Bonaparte], into a political ideology” (Larson). This ideology stressed the importance of both social and economic reform, "that would reconcile order and freedom, the rights …show more content…
Napoleon, as well as the other European leaders, grew tense as Central American organization crumbled. Unable to reel in Mexico, the state was overthrown by Benito Juarez, a Mexican lawyer and swaying diplomat, who created a more liberal government in 1862. Around this time Napoleon's notes suggested that there were, "several influential men...[who could] establish a stable political situation [in Mexico]" (Richards 179). Money, not stability, presented the real threat from Juarez's government. The old regime still owed nearly 150 million francs to the French banks, but Juarez called a moratorium on the debt (Larson).Told by his advisors and friends that the Mexican people would welcome a Catholic monarch, Napoleon readily deployed troops on the one condition that a national election approve the appointment just as France had done to him (Larson). The Archduke Maximilian I, brother of the Austrian emperor Franz-Joseph II, reluctantly took the throne in 1864 and pledged to repay the old debt (Richards 180). With the conclusion of the American Civil War, the U.S. reaffirmed the Monroe Doctrine and Napoleon retreated from Mexico leaving Maximilian to fend for himself. On June 19, 1867, the resolute emperor was tried and executed, horrifying many Europeans and casting a shadow over France (Guerard 90). In many ways Napoleon's failed Mexican intervention marked the beginning of the end as allies distanced themselves from his regime just