Napoleon claimed to use elected bodies, but in reality the system of elections was so indirect that universal suffrage was made meaningless. And even though all constitutional changes were put through a plebiscite, in practice they were rigged and unrepresentative. This shows that Napoleon bent the rules to suit his ideas.
The usage of the senatus consultam (having consulted the Senate) in the constitution established in 1800 allowed Napoleon to ignore the elected law-making councils by issuing decrees. This meant that a Napoleon nominated Senate ran the "empire", allowing Napoleon to do as he pleased but at the same time showing people that they had had a say in it.
Napoleon's style of government had strong ventral control, Napoleon reverse the idea of a local election, as people in charge were mainly elected by him. He preserved the communes and departments that had been created in 1790, but he place prefects instead of intendants. These intendants were also in charge of tax collection. He used secret police, censorship, propaganda, spies and informers to retain control and destroy any opposition to his rule.
The judicature too was put back into the hands of the ruler, judges were to be appointed by the ruler, and then would follow his ideas. This took the power away from the people in being able to elect the judges they thought would be fair and just. The old letters de cachets were reintroduced to deny trials to extreme political offenders.
Napoleon also betrayed the revolution in reintroducing Roman law, which portrayed the ideal that women "should stick to knitting", which went against the equality which was a main factor in the revolution. Also education was to be restricted to boys, especially the sons of civil servants and officers - keeping the lycées expensive meant that no one below the bourgeoisie could afford to send their children to them. He also abandoned the Declaration of the Rights and Man and the Citizen, which was the main stepping-stone of the revolution.
Although taxation too seemed to be equal, it was not, indirect taxes on goods were increased by 50% between 1804 and 1814, and this shifted the burden from the richer to the poor as a higher proportion of their income was spent on the goods. Land taxes rose slowly, which was beneficial to the landowners. A tax on salt, sort of like the gabelle, was introduced. This went against the ideals of the revolution as it sought to lift the burden from the poor.
Napoleon also did not make life easier for the workers, they were not allowed to form unions, which meant that if the employers were unjust or had them working in a dangerous environment, then they could not speak out against it. Also they were forced to carry a livret, which restricted their freedom of movement.
Napoleon also reintroduced the idea of Catholicism being the main religion in France, but he did this for his own good rather than that of the people. It suited Napoleon because it ensured loyalty as all the priests were under the pay of the state, and they along with the bishops and archbishops were chosen by it too.
Napoleon had never worked in order to preserve the revolution, but used its ideas to help his increase his popularity and ensure that he was seen as a good leader, that is however what the revolution did not want: a leader. He crushed all opposition and restricted speech so that his faults and mistakes could not be obvious to France at large.
He did not try to create equality but his ideas and reforms, such as taxation, helped the rich to get richer, whilst restricting the poor, he did not deem it necessary to increase land tax to make the distribution of income more even.
Napoleon tried to show the nation that there was extreme democracy in France as they got a say in everything that was done, however, plebiscites and elections were rigged more often than not.
Napoleon, however, managed to abolish feudalism and increase religious toleration, even though his motives were not to retain the ideals of the revolution, he managed to make some changes that were beneficial to France.
However, Napoleon destroyed the principles of the revolution so that they supported his principles, which were to gain more power and popularity.
Napoleon’s Domestic Policies
· Centralization of government
· System of patronage
· New administrative and legal uniformity
· The Napoleonic Code
· Education
· Secret Police
· reimposition of Slavery
To begin it is necessary to determine what one means by "the Revolution". There was not one Revolution, but really a series of them which occurred as the French struggled to create a new political and social system. By the "Revolution" do we mean that of Barnave, or of Mirabeau, or Lafayette, or Brissot, or Danton, or Robespierre, or Hebert, or Tallien, of Babeuf, or Barras? All of these were men of the Revolution, yet they all held differing conceptions of what that "Revolution" was. I will be considering many of those fundamental principles which guided most of these revolutionaries. In general, these principles include equal treatment under the law, one degree or another of centralization of the government, elimination of feudal rights, religious tolerance and careers open to talent not birth.
Georges Lefebvre wrote that the Emperor was "...a pupil of the philosophes, he detested feudalism, civil inequality, and religious intolerance. Seeing in enlightened despotism a reconciliation of authority with political and social reform, he became its last and most illustrious representative. In this sense he was the man of the Revolution." R. R. Palmer has observed that Napoleon considered the Jacobin government of Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety the only serious government of the Revolutionary period. During the "Reign of Terror" Napoleon was strongly identified with the Jacobins. His dialogue published in 1793, Le Souper De Beaucaire, championed the Jacobins over the federalist Girondins. What Napoleon admired were the Jacobins' strong centralized government, their commitment to deal decisively with the problems facing the fledgling republic, and their attempt to forge a strong stable France while winning the war against its enemies.
Napoleon clearly felt, like the Jacobins, that an energetic centralized state was essential to consolidate the advances achieved by the Revolution and, at the same time, he wished to bring about the stability many French longed for after the upheavals of the past decade. In his eyes this meant the need for a strong executive. From 1799 until his death on the South Atlantic island of St. Helena, Napoleon spoke of himself as the man who had completed the Revolution. By this he meant that the basic goals of the Revolution enumerated above had been obtained and that now it was time to consolidate and institutionalize those gains. France, after ten years of revolution, had still lacked the proper foundation upon which to institutionalize the revolutionary achievements until Napoleon provided it with his administrative framework.
Conclusion
"Risen to the throne," Chateaubriand wrote, "he seated the people there beside him. A proletarian king, he humiliated kings and nobles in his antechamber. He leveled ranks not by lowering but by raising them." He insured religious tolerance. He consolidated and preserved the gains of the Revolution. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that Napoleon "fell, but what was really substantial in his work lasted; his government died, but his administration continued to live..." The Bourbon Prince de Conde summed up Napoleon as "One-third philosophe, one-third Jacobin, and one-third aristocrat."
Napoleon both preserved and perverted the aims of the revolution. He did this because he knew how to make compromises with those social groups with political and civil power. The bourgeoisie were the clear winners of the Revolution, and Napoleon made sure that their gains were maintained. The aristocracy and clergy returned home, somewhat shell-shocked, no doubt. Although their powers had diminished, they still held important social and political positions. When we turn to the artisans and the peasantry of France, a different story emerges. The artisans experienced little immediate gain from the French Revolution. After aiding the Jacobins in their quest for a republican democracy, they were told to go home following the death of Robespierre on the Ninth of Thermidor. Although broken in spirit, the artisans would again emerge throughout the course of the very revolutionary 19th century. And then there were the peasants. Knowing only hardship to begin with, their lives perhaps changed the least. They simply returned to their farms and life went on as usual.
Great site about Napoleon himself and how he ruled.
