Preview

French Revolution Research Paper

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1108 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
French Revolution Research Paper
The French Revolution was a series of complex events from 1789 to 1799. The Revolution consisted of 3 stages and a 4th following the revolution. The first stage known as The First French Revolution was a constitutional struggle that was for the most part passive. During these periods very little violence erupted however, it still had its fair share of problems. A group of brave, influential men expressed criticism towards the King and his policies. Reminiscent of the American Revolution the group of men rejected taxation without representation, declined arbitrary authority. They offered many programs and reforms that benefited the nation many of which were accepted by the king himself. This stage of the French Revolution unlike the American …show more content…
The Directory was the first bicameral legislature in French history. The parliament consisted of 500 representatives and 250 senators. The executive roles were given to five people named by the council. This new regime was met with resistance from the Jacobins and the Royalists. The army suppressed many riots and anti revolutionary behaviors. The army was led by Napoleon Bonaparte and gained much power. On the 9th of November in 1799 the Consulate was established by Napoleon. In many ways the Revolution gave birth to …show more content…
"The Napoleonic Code reflected two principles that had threaded their through all the constitutional changes since 1789: uniformity and individualism." This confirmed the abolishment of all feudal privileges. Treating citizens as equals also. The Napoleonic Code revised the code set during the revolution regarding family. The revolution declared that men and women were equal. Napoleon personally changed this and affirmed the natural supremacy of the husband. This gave men pretty much total control over their wives and kids. The Napoleonic Code adhered to the standards set by the revolution in terms of treating citizens as equals before the law, and abolishing random arrests and incarceration. However, Napoleon reintroduced inhumane punishments such as branding and beheadings. "The Napoleonic code was more egalitarian than law under the Old Regime, but no less concerned with

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Napoleonic era began in 1799 with Bonaparte’s coup d’état, which overthrew the Directory and by that established him to be the youngest new French Consulate in the history. In France, Napoleon showed to be an organizational genius as he worked to restore unity, peace and order to post-Revolution France. At that time he also worked to improve the relations to the catholic church as it was the leading religion in France.…

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The ‘wide use’ of military justice in the Directory to control brigandage shaped the harsh measurement in Napoleon’s rule suggested by Jones can be reinforced by the conseil de guerre, put in place by the Directory in 1796, a more comprehensive military justice system than before. The reforms were instrumental in placing military justice on a firmer footing than it had known. The penal code were enacted by the Directory legislature in 1796, specified harsh penalties like death sentences and desertion under fire, which served as the backbone of French military justice until 1857. Made the point of Jones more credible that the Directory is repressive by using police forces and censorship to control, Napoleon learnt and inherited the structure of a police state. There were elements of a police state in the Directory, but uncompleted, like the Police Ministry for example. Jones raised a reasonable argument that Napoleon further developed a police state based on the streamline of the Directory…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The French Revolution was a quest for liberty, and centered on people who wanted their freedom. They wanted to be treated as equal participants in the community, not as slaves for the royals or nobles. The peasants who represents more than 90% of France’s population, were working for their own families and everyone else as they paid much more in taxes. Brotherhood was the way of everyone coming together as one. Hubris is excessive pride in one’s self, people during the French Revolution did not want to admit they were wrong for what they were doing and that they did not want less entitlement then they had. Fiscal irresponsibility was brought on by the higher debts, and taxes were raised so the government could get out of the finical hole they were in. The democracy was a new construction of power where the politics were giving everyone the chance to be heard and to be equal. Technology at the beginning of the French Revolution was lacking, but as it continued throughout the years it became a resource at war.…

    • 1736 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    At first glance the Code Napoleon sounds amazing, but the law codes were definitely misconceiving as they held within them a lot of bad things as well. The Code Napoleon also favored the interests of the state over the individual, so again we can link it back to a monarchy-type rule. Again, going back to the law codes bringing back a monarchy-type rule, the emperor (Napoleon) had full right to appoint judges, dukes, and other high titles. More barbarically, the law codes also allowed for the use of torture in trials, furthermore it gave Napoleon the ability to be judge, jury and executioner if Napoleon did not get his way or the results he desired. By re-instituting monarchy type rule, Bonaparte had undone the efforts of the French Revolution.…

    • 1893 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Napoleon’s personal greed for power drove him to infringe the basic principles of the revolution on the rights to hereditary and absolute rule. Robespierre, an enlightened leader of the Jacobins, stated that the purpose of the French Revolution was to abolish absolute monarchy and institute a “democratic or republican government” that could help increase political equality within a nation (Robespierre). However, Napoleon rejected any republican form of government; he was solely concerned with maintaining a “hereditary power, which… may endure for generations, even for centuries” (Selected). Ironically though, in hopes to gain popularity among members of the 3rd estate, he abolished the power of the nobility and appointed governors that were loyal to the central government. Not only did he crown himself emperor of France, but also, “he established an imperial court and the members of his family were made royalty, while other titles and honors were given to his…

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The French Revolution was a time of sweeping social and political change in France that kept going from 1789 until 1799, and was mostly conveyed forward by Napoleon amid the later development of the French Empire. The Revolution toppled the government, set up a republic, experienced fierce times of political turmoil, lastly finished in an autocracy under Napoleon that quickly conveyed a large number of its standards to Western Europe and past. Motivated by liberal and radical thoughts, the Revolution significantly modified the course of cutting edge history, setting off the worldwide decrease of outright governments while supplanting them with republics and liberal democracies. Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a rush of worldwide…

    • 141 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The reforms he previously instituted still proved to be popular, and his Napoleonic code was a positive development because it ensured equality of all citizens although it did not give rights to women. In 1808, he moved to recreate the French aristocracy, which was abolished as a result of the French Revolution. He handed titles of nobility to those he felt served him particularly well, mostly to friends and family that proved loyal during his uprising. He reinstated aristocracy as an attempt to bolster his power and reputation. Napoleon hoped that handing out titles would create allies and strengthen relationships with loyal servants to the regime. A new court was set up, though he did not enjoy the formalities it brought. These changes did not affect the average French citizen however. Tax codes were reformed and made fairer. Public education was modernized as a result of his changes. He set up lycees, which were secondary schools funded by the government that helped educate the common people with no regard for social class. Napoleon was a popular and effective emperor (Napoleon…

    • 2011 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Lavelle. "How did France Change Under Napoleon?" School History. 6/19/08. 11/20/08 "Napoleon". PBS. 2008. 11/20/08 "Napoleon I". 2008. 11/8/08 "Napoleonic Code". Net Industries. 2008. 11/8/08 "Napoleonic Code Approved in France". History.com. 2008. 11/8/08…

    • 1146 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of Napoleon's greatest contributions was the codification of French law and especially the great Civil Code that replaced the 360 local codes of the Ancient Regime. It was a combination of the egalitarianism of the Revolution and the authoritarianism of Napoleon. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs go to the most qualified. It was, however, the first modern legal code to be adopted with a pan-European scope and it strongly influenced the law of many of the countries formed during and after the Napoleonic Wars. The Code was a major step in replacing the previous patchwork of feudal laws. The old paternal authority within the family was restored, for instance, while women's rights were strictly limited - Napoleon once remarked that “women should stick to knitting'. However, the achievements of the Revolution were continued with guarantees of equality, property rights and the rights of the citizen won in 1789. Published in a small compact edition in 1810, it became a model for legal rationalisation in many other states of Europe. One feature which was greatly to affect the future of France was the insistence on equal division of estates between sons.…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Napoleon

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages

    He issued s comprehensive set of laws called the Napoleonic Code that provided order, freedom of religion, and eliminated privileges by estates.…

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    French Revolution

    • 1890 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The main source for the French Revolution was Louis XVI and his over control of everything. King Louis XVI was an absolute monarch that ruled by the divine right theory, the right t to rule from god. He got to choose all civil officials and military officers, created and enforced laws. Had the power to declare war and make peace. He taxed everything and spent people’s money on what he saw fit, controlled the thoughts expressed by a strict censorship of speech and press. He had the power to imprison anyone without trial for an indefinite period. During his rule he lived in his magnificent palace at Versailles, completely oblivious to the rising tide of popular discontent.…

    • 1890 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    summary of Napoleon

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Emperor Napoleon proved to be an excellent civil administrator. One of his greatest achievements was his supervision of the revision and collection of French law into codes. The new law code incorporated some of the freedoms gained by the people of France during the French revolution, including religious toleration and the abolition of serfdom. The most famous of the codes, the Code Napoleon or Code Civil, still forms the basis of French civil law. Napoleon also centralized France's government by appointing prefects to administer regions called departments, which France was divided.…

    • 461 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The French Revolution can be seen as both a positive and negative event in history, it depends on who you ask. It led to the loss of many lives and property. But despite how ugly the bad stuff was, the French Revolution led to the destruction of social classes and the creation of the declaration of rights for mankind. Also, it ended the French monarchy and created new revolutionary ideas about society.…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Napoleon should be considered the Son of the Revolution because he gave every man the opportunity to get an education. According to Napoleon’s decree on public education everyone should have the right to an education. He also believed that all schools should be run by the communes. Prior to the French Revolution, only the wealthy received an education. This document shows that all men could now receive a public education. This demonstrates that Napoleon was the Son of the Revolution because he is increasing the greater good by giving men the opportunity to…

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Napoleon had a plan for the revolution. The idea of it was that France would become an equal state. The main things that the revolution came forth with was the ability to give freedom of a religion, a more enforced law which would help try and deal with the crimes that were being committed throughout France, with the criminals getting away with their crimes. Napoleon’s main reform was to get France out of the huge debt they were in. Napoleon also heavily concentrated on the education reform, throughout all of France.…

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays