Napoleon: Tyrant or Hero?

Paper Summary:

Many hail Napoleon as one of the greatest men of all time. He was emperor of the French who consolidated and institutionalized many reforms of the French Revolution. One of the greatest military commanders of all time, he conquered the larger part of Europe and did much to modernize the nations he ruled. The paper shows that many consider him a hero to the French people and to all the lands he conquered; bringing forth the same reforms that he had put into effect in France, such as The Napoleonic Code, abolishing serfdom and feudalism and guaranteeing basic rights. Many like to think of Napoleon not as a tyrant to his people but rather a hero. The paper shows, though, that others argue that his iron grip on the people cost them their freedom and his code was more against the people than for them. This paper, therefore, questions whether Napoleon was a tyrant or a hero to his people.

From the Paper:

"With all the glory and the splendor that some countries may have experienced, never has history seen how only one man, Napoleon, brought up his country, France, from its most tormented status, to the very pinnacle of its height in just a few years time. He was a military hero who won splendid land-based battles, which allowed him to dominate most of the European continent. He was a man with ambition, great self-control and calculation, a great strategist, a genius; whatever it was, he was simply the best. But, even though how great this person was, something about how he governed France still floats among people's minds. Did he abuse his power? Did Napoleon defeat the purpose of the ideals of the French Revolution? After all of his success in his military campaigns, did he gratify the people's needs regarding their ideals on the French Revolution? Was he a tyrant or a hero? This is one of the many controversies that we have to deal with when studying Napoleon. So the question we must ultimately answer is what kind of a leader was Napoleon Bonaparte?"

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