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Point Material for PAIR A: Napoleon was a hero to the goals of the French Revolution
Before the French Revolution, class or social status was more important in French society and government than the
individual. The Revolution got rid of this emphasis on Estates (social classes) and said that all individuals were equal in
the eyes of the government.
The French Revolution said that jobs should be based on talent, not on your ancestry or social class. Several of the
officials who worked for Napoleon came from all walks of life including a barrel maker, a cabin boy, a former sergeant,
and a minor noble. Clearly, he gave jobs to people from all three of the old estates.
Critical goals of the French Revolution included the creation of a stable economy and greater equality in taxation.
Napoleon set up an efficient tax-collection system and established a national bank in order to help stabilize the French
currency. This National Bank of France gave out loans to members of the wealthy middle class, who then used those
loans to open up new businesses. Napoleon promoted financial management and exercised better control of the
economy than previous French rulers. Under the Napoleon the French government was able to pay to build new roads,
canals, ports, and bridges that helped to improve national trade and encourage new business. Because of these
economic improvements, France enjoyed a relative period of domestic order and stability. People did not feel the need
to revolt against the government as much because the economic situation in France somewhat improved.
Universal male suffrage was adopted in France during the reign of Napoleon. That means that all male citizens were
allowed to vote in the various plebiscites (ballots in which voters have a direct say on an issue) Napoleon held in his
reign. Before Napoleon took a new title or job in the French government, he always held a plebiscite, asking for the
approval of the French people. He asked for their approval on taking the title or First Consul, on getting the job of
Consul for life, and on becoming crowned Emperor. This practice would have been unheard of during the reign (ruling)
of Louis XIV.
The French Revolution placed the state above the Church. In December 1804, Napoleon invited Pope Pius VII to crown
him emperor. As thousands watched, the new emperor took the crown from the pope and placed it on his own head.
Under Napoleon, the nobility and the clergy had to pay the same taxes that all of the other French citizens had to pay.
Napoleon preserved the revolutionary idea of having a national state-run school system. He wanted to use these
schools to provide the government with trained officials. Students from both poor and wealthy families could attend the
French public schools. Napoleon also promised to adopt and care for the children of his soldiers who died in battle. He
made sure they attended school and were taken care of by the state.
Napoleon conquered huge areas of territory in Europe. Everywhere he took control he introduced the Napoleonic Code,
his legal system. He granted religious toleration throughout his empire and he abolished the system of serfdom in all
parts of his empire. He made all men equal before the law throughout his empire. He also planted trees as symbols of
liberty in the new areas he took over.
Adapted from © James Seemueller 2006, College of William &Mary
Counter-Point Material for PAIR B: Napoleon was a traitor to the goals of the French Revolution
Napoleon crowned himself the emperor of the French Empire. He claimed that he was a hereditary ruler and that his
children would rule France after his death. Hereditary power was NOT a goal of the French Revolution, which during the
moderate phase wanted a limited monarchy, or during the Reign of Terror, wanted a Republic.
Napoleon also wrote his own laws, known as the Napoleonic Code. This shows that he did not respect the concept of
separation of powers and allow an independent legislative body to operate and write laws. Instead, he was in charge of
all of the branches of government, just like an absolute monarch.
Napoleon appointed members of his family to be rulers of countries that he conquered. For example, Napoleon
appointed his brother Joseph, to be king Spain and another brother, Louis, to be king of Holland. When he did this,
Napoleon was not spreading democracy and republic to European nations, instead he was just replacing the traditional
monarchs (kings) in these countries with new kings.
Even though Napoleon claimed he was taking over Europe to spread liberty, many people in Europe resented the foreign
rule of France. As a result, in many countries France occupied, nationalism (strong feelings of patriotism) emerged and
there were many revolts against French rule. Napoleon used harsh force to put down these revolts. One example of
this is in Spain. Many Spaniards resented the cultural differences of their new leadership. They also resented the
negative economic effects of Napoleon’s Continental System which outlawed them from buying goods from England
causing prices to rise. When they revolted, Napoleon ordered his soldiers to kill all participants involved in the revolt,
including those who surrendered in order to make an example of them.
One of the many reforms in the Constitution of 1791 (a French Revolutionary document) was no censorship of the press.
In other words, the government could not tell a newspaper what it could or could not publish. Napoleon censored the
press in France in order to turn his defeat in Egypt into a victory in the eyes of the French people. He went against this
Revolutionary value for his own gain. He also limited the number of newspapers in circulation in Paris from over 60 in
1799, to only 4 by 1814. He also censored newspapers by telling them that they could not publish any harsh or critical
remarks about his rule.
During the Revolution, freedom of speech and thought were established. Under Napoleon, these freedoms were
restricted rather than maintained. Napoleon personally oversaw the productions of plays in the theaters of Paris. If
Napoleon disapproved of a playwright’s work, his career was over.
Under the Napoleonic Code, women were not granted the same rights as white males. Women won the right to sell
their property during the Revolution. The Napoleonic Code did away with this right. Also, under the Napoleonic Code, if
a woman was found guilty of adultery, she could be imprisoned. However, if a man was found guilty of adultery, his
punishment was that he could not marry his mistress.
Napoleon also reinstituted the system of slavery in the French colonies. This caused a revolt in the French colony of Haiti
in 1803. Former slaves resisted French rule and the reinstatement of slavery under the leadership of their general and
former slave, Touissant L’Overture.
Napoleon’s strategy included commissioning paintings of himself. He brilliantly created a mythical image of himself- an
infalliable hero, destined by God to rule over France, much like the divine rule of the old monarchy. He even had the
Catholic Church in France make statements teaching the people that Napoleon was picked by God to rule over France.