Napoleon Betrayed the Principles of the French Revolution

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Another way Napoleon did not betray the revolution is by meritocracy. Meritocracy was the idea that you should be appointed to a position of power not by who you know or blood but by skills and talent. Napoleon rose to power himself on these basics and wanted to give others the chance to do this as well. This would have a great impact on his army as they would feel motivated by this and knew if they did something great in Napoleon’s army that they would be rewarded highly for it. A clear example is the order of the Légion d'honneur, the first order of merit, admitting men of any class. They were judged not by ancestry or wealth but by military, scientific, or artistic prowess. Napoleon in stored high moral for his army this along with fighting for a cause would lead to many victories in the behalf of Napoleon. Meritocracy was another way of increasing this moral, Napoleon wanted his ministers and soldiers to know that if they had done something on behalf of the greater good of France it would not be taken lightly. Napoleon did this as he wanted to encourage his men and the French to achieve the impossible.

Napoleon also didn’t betray the revolution due to his civil code of equality in the eyes of the law. Napoleon set to reform the French legal system in accordance with the ideas of the French Revolution, because the old feudal and royal laws seemed confusing and contradictory to the people. Before the Code, France did not have a single set of laws; law consisted mainly of local customs. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs should go to the most qualified. Along with sweeping away feudal privileges, it established equality before the law, guaranteed individual liberty and protected private property. Men would now be judge not on their title or who they were but what they did, there was equality throughout the land and no more privileges could be given to any man. Napoleon did this as he wanted France to be a country where everyone was treated equally, this would ensure right was kept along with the people trusting the law and Napoleon.

Another way Napoleon didn’t betray the revolution was by giving bourgeois property rights and increased status. Napoleon under Napoleonic code issued the right of property to insured, from this the middle class would not have to worry about their land being taken and could focused on their businesses along with one that they needed the land for farming etc. Napoleon increased the status of the bourgeois and from this they felt not only more secure under Napoleon but more secure under Napoleon whereas in the rule of Louis XII they were not secure what so ever. Napoleon did this due to the bourgeois being the people with the businesses in France if land was secure that meant that their businesses would run more smoothly, causing economic growth along with benefits to the French. The bourgeois would feel safer under Napoleon and his popularity would rise due to it.

To conclude I believe that Napoleon did betray the ideas of the revolution. A major impact on my decision is the dictatorship of France. Napoleon ruled as a dictator where freedom of speech was limited, this solely goes against the ideas of the revolution as once opinion is silenced by the power of Napoleon. Napoleon also insured censorship in France; this meant that what you said and how you said it was always checked on and you had limited will to write, it also told lies about Napoleon making small victories seem as ones which should be remembered throughout history. This was against the ideas of the revolution as it limited the people’s freedom of expression, thus betraying the revolution, making the leader Napoleon seem greater than he was.

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