Sam Mager

Ms. Burke
Honors Modern World History
February 16, 2017
Napoleon Bonaparte Historical Essay

There were several ways in which Napoleon Bonaparte was involved with the causes of

the French Revolution. While serving in the military, Napoleon became affiliated with Augustin

Robespierre, brother of revolutionary leader, Maximilian Robespierre. He soon became a part of

the Jacobins, the more radical group of revolutionaries. Later, after becoming the Emperor of

France, the way in which he ruled over France both, in certain ways, supported and undermined

the ideals of the Revolution. He tried to always do what was best for France, but it was the way

he went about taking those actions that were so controversial. Napoleon did not fully support,

nor full undermine the French Revolution, for his actions could be placed into either category.

Throughout his life, many of the actions taken by Napoleon supported the causes of the

French revolution. He was involved in the Coup of 18 Brumaire, where he was a part of the

group who successfully overthrew the French Directory, which had become increasingly corrupt,

and was no longer able to control all of the discontent that was taking place throughout France.

As a leader, he controlled the prices of goods, as to prevent costs of being too high for citizens to

afford. He also assured that any land that peasants purchased during the revolution, either from

nobles or the church, would remain in their possession. Lastly, he created the Napoleonic Code,

which stated the equality of all citizens under the law, as well as religious toleration, and

advancement based off of merit, rather than based on social class. It is clear that many of the

actions taken by Napoleon were in favor of the revolution.

Although, as was mentioned earlier, Napoleon did so much good for France, there were

several ways in which he undermined what the revolution stood for during his rule. First of all, in
1801, he made peace with the Catholic Church, which was an action that perceived well among

the revolutionaries, who wanted nothing to do with the Papacy. Secondly, he replaced the

revolutionary slogan Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity with Order, Security, and Efficiency.

This was basically a way of his telling the French people that he was about getting things done,

whether or not people were happy about the way he went about it. Lastly, Napoleon became the

sole ruler of France and he gave out nobility, which is exactly what the revolutionaries wanted to

get rid of in the first place. It is evident that Napoleon, in some ways had the exact opposite view

of the revolutionaries.

Many people are conflicted over whether Napoleon was for or against the revolution. It is

clear that he was far from one sided, for he took actions that both supported and undermined the

French Revolution. He played a role in the Coup of 18 Brumaire, which overthrew the French

Directory. This supported the cause of the revolution because the Directory had become

increasingly corrupt. He allowed for any land purchased from nobles or the church by the

peasants to be kept rather than taken away. This was part of a push for equality, because it

allowed peasants the right to own their own land. Lastly, the Napoleonic Code was in support of

the Revolution because it was another push for equality of all French citizens. However, he also

became the sole ruler of France, which is exactly what the revolutionaries had pushed to get rid

of. He changed the revolutionary slogan, signifying that he was going to do things his way and

his way only, without caring what others thought of it. Lastly, he made peace with the church,

which is another thing that the revolutionaries were strictly against. It is hard to say whether

Napoleon fully supported or was against the revolution because all of the actions taken by him

could go either way.

 Napoleon did not fully support, nor fully undermine the revolution, for his actions could

be placed into either category. As he did a lot in support of the revolution, he did just as much to

undermine what the revolution stood for. As a ruler, he tried to do what he believed to be the best

for France, and sometimes his actions were not in support of the revolution. He did what he

thought would make France as successful as possible, whether people agreed with him or not.

This is why Napoleon cannot be categorized as a revolutionary or as a counter-revolutionary,

because he was somewhere in the middle.