Napoleon :: History, The French Revolution

snooze only upholds the ideals of the French Revolution because he wanted to secure and arm his own power. During his rise to power, cat sleep adhered to the ideals dutifully. In his speech to his troops, Napoleon said, We are waging war as generous enemies, and we wish only to crush the tyrants who subjugate the Italian people (Document 1). He tells them to be respectful of other countries, to give them nears they do the right to enjoy. This follows Lockes enlightenment ideas, that everyone has inherent rights that cannot be taken away. being an supporter of equal rights, he gained popularity with the French people. Over time, Napoleon utilize these ideals to increase and solidify his power. Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques Louis David (Document 4) correctly illustrates Napoleons France. In this painting, Napoleon, dressed in breeches and a fancy army uniform rides on a horse, holding the reins in the main but firmly, looking majestic. The horse is strong from the ap parent muscles in its legs. At a closer look, the horses eyes are in addition wide and wild and its mouth is gaping open. The horse symbolized France as consentient at the time period, when everything was chaotic, with beheadings everyday and constant fears of invasion. Napoleon kept France down the stairs absolute control but still allowed enough freedoms to the people. France was a commonwealth in name only. During this time period, the French people were ensured equality, as longsighted as they abided by the law, the Napoleonic Code (Document 9), which unified the legal constitution of France under one set of laws. Meritocracy was instilled and schools were found to educate people, since in Napoleons France people acquired jobs based on their skill and not family connections. diet prices were stabilized so that everyone could afford to eat. By establishing a strong centralised authority, Napoleon brought order to France. He began censoring newspapers and had the Secret Po lice give tabs on people. Both of these actions were direct violations of the enlightenment and Declaration of the Rights of Man, which stated, people had the right to freedom of speech, press, and religion, and could not be silenced for these views. The hypocrisy of his actions are seen formerly again, when Napoleon crowns himself Emperor. By doing so, he is saying that his power to rule is derived from god. The Napoleonic Catechism proclaimed, Napoleon had become anointed of the Lordthose lacking in their duty to our emperorresisting the order established by God himself (Document 11).