How Did Napoleon Bonaparte Preserve The Gains Of The French Revolution

The French revolution was a fight of the people in order to finally gain rights, and, in doing so, creating a movement changing the course of history, and ridding their country of medieval noble systems and the monarchy. In order to continue to hold these hard-fought values and rights within the country, there was an onslaught of violence and dictatorship in fear of losing them. This took place from the September massacres all the way through to the end of Napoleons reign, and in-between, specifically with the rule of Robespierre and the Jacobin party. Many say that it took blood and dictatorship in order to preserve the gains of the French revolution, implying that without the harsh rulers and the violence that ensued during this time, the
Napoleon’s reign marked the fulfillment of the bourgeois revolution. The goals of the revolution were to establish a new state based on the Enlightenment principles of liberté, égalité, and fraternité, and this included reducing clerical power, abolishing serfdom, and ending aristocratic privilege (Grant, R.G.)- all things that Napoleon did while in power. Napoleon used enlightenment ideals in order to appease the people of France, while also ensuring his own power. This shows that, while Napoleon prioritized having power over his people, he understood that appeasing them will prevent a revolt, further consolidating his power; through this, Napoleon actually begins to put into place fair, liberal, futuristic policies hat greatly benefit the people and fulfills the original goals of the revolution, while still remaining a dictator. Napoleon also took another extremely clever move to improve France- as well as to consolidate his power- by taking steps to bury the old nobility. Napoleon shifted social priorities, creating the notables (successful revolutionary bourgeois men). Napoleon had purposely created a new class of nobility; He did this not in order to try and return to the social organization of the ancien regime, but, rather, to bury the very idea and power of the old nobility (Lyons, Martyn). Napoleon went to great lengths in order to consolidate his own power, because of theca that he personally had overthrown a government, and so he understood how that might happen. Through consolidating his own power, Napoleon created a new, liberal country where justice was served fairly and all the people were treated with equality- something that could not have been accomplished had Napoleon not controlled the country through a dictatorship. However, Napoleon’s reign was not a complete, true dictatorship; Much of his rule