Napoleon Bonaparte: Leader, General, Tyrant, Reformer

The primary source entitled “Napoleon Bonaparte: Leader, General, Tyrant, Reformer” was written starting May 27, 1796 through November 15, 1807 (117-121). This document was written by Napoleon himself. The type of document that this is would be a diary. Five historical events that were occurring around the year 1796 included Napoleon gaining command of the French army in Italy. From the introduction before his diary it states that, “…he demonstrated a strong desire for propaganda and psychological warfare…” (117). On April 26, 1796 Bonaparte wrote in his diary about how proud he was of his soldiers. At the time they had already won “six victories, taken twenty-one standards, fifty-five pieces of artillery, several strong positions, and conquered
Piedmont” (117). In 1799, Napoleon and a group of conspirators staged a successful coup d’état; which is a sudden seizure of power from the government (116). Napoleon writes in his dairy about how in the year 1800, the soldiers are starting to go with what he says and he is proud of the soldiers who back him (118). They see him as someone important and trust he knows what he is doing. Shortly after the coup d’état occurred, “Napoleon became a one-man ruler and in 1804 crowned himself emperor of the French” (116). The general, Napoleon raised his troops morale by giving them all that he could.
In his diary on March 27, 1796 he talks about how the Government should be grateful for them and later in the paragraph states, “I seek to lead you into the most fertile plains in the world” (117). In the diary he is always writing positive actions that his troops are accomplishing. He seems proud of them and respects them. In return you can tell that his soldiers for the most part gave the same respect back. Raising his troops morale matters because he wants his soldiers to know they are doing something important for their country. He wants to keep their spirits up in hard times and let them know they aren’t just away from their family and friends for nothing. They are there for a bigger purpose. “He sought to inspire his troops by appealing to their honor, their vanity, and their love of France” (117). Bonaparte used propaganda by mixing it into his warfare style. “By rapid marches, Napoleon would concentrate a superior force against a segment of the enemy’s strung-out forces”
(117). Napoleon Bonaparte did demonstrate Enlightenment ideals in the letter he wrote to his brother, Jérôme, King of Westphalia.
He displayed these ideals by telling his brother about how he should be confident in his decisions and make his subjects happy to be under his power. Napoleon tells his brother, “don’t listen to those who say his subjects are accustomed to slavery will feel no gratitude for the benefits that you give them” (120). Bonaparte also demonstrated French Revolution ideals in that he wanted liberty for his people and equality. He believed his soldiers deserve rights and the freedom to expression themselves. “He concentrated power in his own hands, suppressed opposition, and sought to mold public opinion by controlling the press and education” (119). Napoleon did spread the Revolution by promoting ideals of the French Revolution like liberty, equality, fraternity as I talked about above. He also worked with the French expansion and campaigns for the military. From this source I had the impression that Napoleon was a revolutionary. I am pulled more towards this way because even though he did take control of his government and later crowned himself emperor of the French, he did it in an effort to make his nation stronger. Another reason he was considered a revolutionary in my eyes was how under his military dictatorship, political freedom was suppressed (116). Like the title of the document says, he was a leader, general, and reformer. He lead his men to battle
with great leadership and in the end wanted to make a change for the French. He wanted his people to have their own opinions and not be afraid to speak out against the government.