Was Napoleon the Child of the Revolution?

On August 15th, 1769, Napoleon Bonaparte, the son of a poor Corsican noble was born and so began the legend of Napoleon Bonaparte. Many ask to this day, "Was Napoleon a child of the revolution?" What Napoleon achieved and gave to the world after the French Revolution had been won truly gave the world a new sight of mind.

To first determine that Napoleon was in fact a child of the revolution you must first look at both sides of the argument. You must first ask yourself, what one means by "the Revolution." In the history of France there was not just one Revolution, but a series of revolutions as the French struggled to create a new political and social system that would better France and make all of it's people united and equal under law. By the "Revolution" does one mean the revolution of Barnave or Mirabeau, or maybe the revolution of Lafayette, Brissot, or Robespierre? All of these men were men of the Revolution during this time, however all had conceptions that differed of what the Revolution was to be made of. The main idea of what most desired from the revolution was equality under law, some sort of centralized government, the elimination of the feudal system, as well as religious tolerance and career that were open to talent not birth.

At the age of 25 Napoleon had gained his first generalship. He proved highly effective against the Austrians in Italy in1796 and defeated them battle after battle. After Napoleon had won many great battles he had become popular in France soon he forced the directory to resign and Napoleon took control of France. Napoleon established a new constitution and he set out to establish peace with France's military enemies. By 1801 he restored order at home and peace with Austria and Britain. In 1802 a Plebiscite appointed him "dictator for life." Napoleon established a set of laws called the Napoleonic Code and in 1804 Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France.

When Napoleon crowned himself emperor to some it showed a set back of the revolution because France had come under rule to a dictator which is the equivalent to a Monarch instead of having the power divided between the people. This showed the government having a conservative type government and not many ideas being changed. Napoleon spent much of his time conquering lands and made it seem as if he only desired power and power tends to corrupt a man's mind and he often loses focus from his original goal. Fortunately Napoleon was no in power very long and he had not lost sight of achieving the goals of the revolution.

The Napoleonic Code embraced the ideas of the revolution which wished to establish Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. The Napoleonic Code reformed various aspects of the old French laws and provided more equality under the law and gave greater guarantees of basic rights, but it was in some aspects still conservative. "The Code also reinforced the French Revolution's legacy by ensuring religious toleration and the abolition of serfdom and the feudal codes."(loyno.edu/~seduffy/napoleon.html)

Napoleon ruled as emperor for a period of 10 years (1804-1814). Napoleon ruled as an absolutist and severely restricted freedom of the press. Napoleon once said, "Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets."(Napoleonguide.com/aquote_politics.htm) This showed that Napoleon feared highly of newspapers and their propaganda which struck all of the public day after day. What that quote means is that the media shapes things and can begin to form ideas of revolution and it is true that you are able to fight your own enemy and your country is united with you but when you fight your own people it only creates more tension between each other. In Napoleon's 10 year reign he contributed much to the french economy and way of life which made him generally a popular ruler in France among all but the most embittered aristocrats. Napoleon succeeded in putting the country on a stable financial footing and brought practical reforms to the lives of the commoners, he reformed the tax system and set up a nationwide education system open to everyone despite what social class you were. Equality was given in The Legion of Honor as well as reward the talents of others. "...The establishment of the Legion of Honor, which was the reward for military, civil, and judicial service, united side by side the soldier, the scholar, the artist, the prelate, and the magistrate; it was the symbol of the reunion of all the estates, of all the parties." (LE MEMORIAL DE SAINTE-HELENE, 1821) Napoleon conquered most of Europe during his reign as emperor.

Great Britain became aware of Napoleon's dangerously rising power in Europe, and in 1803 peace broke between France and Great Britain as Great Britain declared war on France again. Great Britain