Napoleon Stations Updated 2014.doc

Station 1: Napoleon’s Rise

A young Napoleon in the late 1790’s Napoleon at the Siege of Toulon

Directions: Please read the questions below and discuss as a group.

1. Please observe the images of Napoleon as a young man. What characteristics did

Napoleon possess as a young man that made him famous?

2. How might the above-mentioned characteristics have helped Napoleon rise to power

based on what we have learned about France in the late 1700s?

3. Please read the quotes below and answer the questions that accompany them.

“A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights.”

-Napoleon Bonaparte

“A leader is a dealer in hope.”

-Napoleon Bonaparte

“Ability is nothing without opportunity.”

-Napoleon Bonaparte

“Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment.”

- Napoleon Bonaparte

“If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.

” -Napoleon Bonaparte

•What do these quotes say about Napoleon’s attitudes and beliefs?

Station 2: Napoleon as Emperor

“Take time to deliberate, but

when the time for action has

arrived, stop thinking and go in.”

-Napoleon Bonaparte

1) Please read the above quote and answer the following questions:



1a) What is the “action” that Napoleon is referring to? Do you

agree with his methods?

Station 2 Continued: The Crowning of Napoleon

“I found the crown of France in the

gutter, and I picked it up.”

-Napoleon Bonaparte

The ceremony had started at nine a.m. when the Papal procession set out from the Tuileries. The procession was led by a bishop on a mule holding aloft the Papal crucifix. The Pope entered Notre Dame first, to the anthem Tu es Petrus, and took his seat on a throne near the high altar. Napoleon's and Joséphine's carriage was drawn by eight bay horses. The two-part ceremony was held at different ends of Notre Dame to emphasize the disconnectedness of religious and secular facets. An unmanned balloon, ablaze with three thousand lights in an imperial crown pattern was launched from the front of Notre Dame during the celebration.

Before entering Notre Dame, Napoleon was vested in a long white satin tunic embroidered in gold thread and Josephine similarly wore a white satin empire style dress embroidered in gold thread. During the coronation he was formally clothed in a heavy coronation mantle, made from crimson velvet, lined with ermine; the velvet was covered with embroidered golden bees, drawn from the golden bees among the regalia that had been discovered in the Merovingian tomb of Childeric I, a symbol that looked past the Bourbons and linked the new dynasty with the ancient Merovingians; the bee replaced the fleur-de-lis on imperial tapestries and garments. The mantle weighed at least eighty pounds and was supported by four dignitaries. Josephine was at the same time formally clothed in a similar crimson velvet mantle embroidered with bees in gold thread and lined with ermine, which was borne by Napoleon's three sisters. There were two orchestras with four choruses, numerous military bands playing heroic marches, and over three hundred musicians. A 400-voice choir performed Paisiello's "Mass" and "Te Deum". Because the traditional royal crown had been destroyed during the French Revolution, the so-called Crown of Napoleon, made to look medieval and called the "crown of Charlemagne" for the occasion, was waiting on the altar. While the crown was new, the sceptre was reputed to have belonged to Charles V and the sword to Philip III. At the moment of the crowning when the Pope said, "Receive the imperial crown..." Napoleon unexpectedly turned and, forestalling the Pope, removed his laurel wreath and crowned himself and then crowned the kneeling Joséphine with a small crown surmounted by a cross, which he had first placed on his own head. At Napoleon's enthronement the Pope said, "May God confirm you on this throne and may Christ give you to rule with him in his eternal kingdom". Limited in his actions, Pius VII proclaimed further the Latin formula "Vivat imperator in

aeternum!" (May the Emperor live forever!), which was echoed by the full choirs in a Vivat, followed by "Te Deum". With his hands on the Bible, Napoleon took the oath:

The text was presented to Napoleon by the President of the Senate, the President of Legislature and the most senior President of the Council of State. After the oath the newly appointed herald of arms proclaimed loudly: "The thrice glorious and thrice august Emperor Napoleon is crowned and enthroned. Long live the Emperor!" During the people's acclamations Napoleon, surrounded by dignitaries, left the cathedral while the choir sang "Domine salvum fac imperatorem nostrum Napoleonem"—"God save our Emperor Napoleon".

After the coronation the Emperor presented the imperial standards to each of his regiments.

Directions: Please read the questions below and discuss as a group.

2. Read the summary and examine the pictures below and answer the following

questions.

Station 3: Napoleon’s Policies

"My true glory is not to have gained forty battles; Waterloo will erase the

memory of so many victories; what nothing will erase, what will live

eternally, my Civil law."

-

Napoleon Bonaparte

Directions: Please read the summary on the Napoleonic Code below and discuss as a group.

The Napoleonic Code- or Code Napoleon is the French civil code, established under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804.

The code forbade privelages based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs

go to the most qualified. It was drafted rapidly by a commission of four eminent jurists and entered into force

on March 21, 1804. The Napoleonic Code was not the first legal code to be established in a European country

with a civil legal system, it was howver, the first modern legal code to be adopted with a pan-European scope

and it strongly influenced the law of m any of the countries formed during and after the Napoleonic Wars. The

Code, with its stress on clearly written and accessible law, was a major step in replacing the previous

patchwork of Feudal laws and it is widely regarded as one of the few documents that have influenced the

whole world.

The longest lasting effect of Napoleon Bonaparte's rule over France was his overseeing the implementation of a

series of national laws collectively known as the Civil Code, or Code Napoleon (1804).

They included the Codes of Civil Procedure, Commercial Law (1807), Penal Code (1810) and Criminal Procedure

(1808).

Napoleon wanted to replace a series of existing laws - that varied in each French province - and replace them with a

standard code for all French people.

He had already reformed the French taxation system bringing to his imperial government almost 700 million francs

annually. The sources for the money came from taxes on income and a series of taxes on goods - such as wine,

tobacco and salt.

In 1800 he added to his overhaul of the financial system by creating the Bank of France.

Napoleon did not play a part in its formation, which was handled by an official commission from 1801, nor did he

look at many of the 2,281 suggested laws before they had been debated by the Council of State.

Once the Bank of France had been created Napoleon focused his attentions on it and used his exceptional

administrative talents to influence its overall impact.

This was agreeable for many; however, while he took the religious aspect out of divorce, many of his views did limit

Revolution-founded freedoms for women.

For example women were not allowed to independently trade in property, but had to ask their husbands before

they did so.

Napoleon tightened divorce laws and fathers were empowered as rulers of their homes. They could ban children

from inheritance and also imprison children for a month.

Napoleon showed great foresight in beginning a program of public works that included building canals, harbors and

made roads better and safer by improving their condition and cracking down on criminals.

Education was improved for many, although the majority of children did not gain benefit from Napoleon’s new

specialized academy’s and high schools. Napoleon encouraged the creation of private schools and sowed the

seeds of community-wide literacy.

Never one to accept criticism well, Napoleon cracked down on the press, censoring newspapers and eventually

closing down all but a few.

The Civil Code was officially enacted in 1804 and in 1807 was renamed Code Napoleon. It applied to all French

domains and territories as well as being adopted by countries within the sphere of French influence.

Today the Civil Code forms the basis of many European legal systems.

Critical Thinking Questions:

1. What was the Code Napoleon?

2. Why do you think Napoleon sought to create this code?

3. How do you think the French people felt about the Code Napoleon when considering life under

the Monarchy?

4. What do you think are the most important parts of the Code Napoleon?

Station 4: The Russian Campaign

The Russian Campaign, 1812

In 1811, Tsar Alexander I, supposedly allied with Napoleon, refused to be part of the continental blockade of British goods any longer. Napoleon’s edict barring trade with Great Britain was ruining the Russian economy. Tensions quickly escalated; every attempt to negotiate failed.

SOKHOLOV: The Russian army starts to concentrate its forces on the borders. Napoleon went to Kaurakin, the Russian ambassador, and harshly questioned him. "What does this mean? What does Russia want from me? You know it’s easy to start a war but it’s very difficult to finish one."

On June 24, 1812, ignoring the advice of his closest advisors, Napoleon invaded Russia. Never in living memory had so large an army been assembled — Italians, Poles, German, French — more than 600,000 men from every corner of his empire. Napoleon prophesied the war would be over in twenty days.

WOLOCH: An army of 600,000, it would seem to be absolutely irresistible no matter what happened. He’ll simply pour in enough men to overwhelm the Russians, force them to engage in battle and defeat them.

"I know Alexander," Napoleon said. "I once had influence over him; it will come back. If not, let destiny be accomplished and let Russia be crushed under my hatred of England."

HORNE: And Napoleon, once again with this sense of destiny. His star was such that he thought he could defeat Russia — this enormous country.

Napoleon's army trudged slowly across Russia's vast, open spaces. He hoped to annihilate his enemy quickly, but the Russians would not give battle.

SOKHOLOV:Napoleon had an army twice the size of the Russians. There were so many that the Russians didn’t dare fight. They started to retreat because they didn't have a choice. They had to retreat. But while they were retreating, they were, in fact, weakening Napoleon's army.

As the Tsar's armies retreated, they burned the countryside behind them, leaving the Cossacks to hack at Napoleon's rear and flanks, then gallop away.

ELTING: And I think that early on, Napoleon began to realize that this time he had bitten off just a little more than he could chew.

As the days passed, the blazing heat of the Russian summer began to take its toll. Soldiers fell out from exhaustion, sickness, and desertion — more than five thousand a day. After two months, before Napoleon had fought a single battle, 150,000 soldiers were out of action.

HORWARD: A lot of these foreign troops just took off and left. They weren’t Frenchmen, they weren’t loyal to him specifically. They were fighting because their king was allied to Napoleon.

SOKHOLOV: They were prepared to die, to die for Russia. Everyone saw this as a holy day, that they were going to die for a great purpose. There was a tradition to put on clean underwear before death. They all put on clean white underwear and went into battle.

The battle of Borodino was a brutal slug-fest. Napoleon threw his enormous army at the Russians in a frontal assault, showing little of his old strategic subtlety.

SOKHOLOV: This was a wild attack. They were killing each other, killing each other. There were deaths without stop. It was horrific.

The battle began at 6:30 in the morning and lasted until 3 in the afternoon. At that point, both armies were exhausted. The Russians fought the Emperor's armies to a standstill. The next day they withdrew, leaving Napoleon proclaiming victory.

Moscow was at his mercy, but the Russians refused to make peace. As Napoleon’s army entered the city on September 14, he found it almost deserted. That night, Moscow began to burn.

"Mountains of red, rolling flames," Napoleon recalled later, "like immense waves of the sea. Oh, it was the most grand, the most sublime, and the most terrifying sight the world ever beheld."

SOKHOLOV: The Russians burned Moscow themselves. And when Moscow went up in flame, this was the worst blow to Napoleon’s army. Napoleon couldn't stay in Moscow.

Fearing the approach of winter but reluctant to abandon his conquest, Napoleon wrote the Tsar proposing negotiations. The Tsar responded with icy silence. After five weeks of waiting, Napoleon bitterly ordered his soldiers home.

On October 19, laden with spoils, they marched out of the Kremlin through the Gate of the Savior. It was a warm Fall day. Three weeks later it began to snow. The Russian winter had arrived early.

Temperatures fell to twenty-two degrees below zero. Napoleon's soldiers froze in the open countryside. "Our lips stuck together," one soldier wrote. "Our nostrils froze. We seemed to be marching in a world of ice."

CASTELOT: You can’t imagine the suffering of the Russian retreat. When they spoke, their breath froze with a little dry sound; their words were freezing in the air.

Food ran out. Horses died by the thousands. Hungry soldiers quarreled over the horseflesh. They were fighting starvation, cold, fatigue, disease — and the Cossacks.

The Cossacks harried Napoleon’s flanks, tearing at his army as if it were a wounded animal. Russian peasants showed no mercy on the stragglers, torturing the sick and wounded, and anyone left behind.

SOKHOLOV: The army is being eaten away, because it is being attacked on all sides. So the army fell apart, little by little.

Six months before, he had crossed into Russia with more than a half million soldiers, confident of victory. Now, on December 5, rumors of a coup in Paris forced him to abandon his troops and head back to the French capital. As his sled made its way across Europe, he told a companion: "It’s just one step between the sublime and the ridiculous."

Directions: Please read the questions below and discuss as a group.

1. Please read the summary of the Russian Campaign and answer the following

questions:

a. When did Napoleon realize he had bitten off more than he could chew?

b. Why did the Russians burn Moscow? How did it affect Napoleon?

c. What dealt Napoleon and his troops their biggest blow and ultimately led to

their defeat?

2. Please examine the information Below from Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812.

Based on the statistics what do you think the result of the campaign was?

Soldiers in Napoleon’s Russian Campaign

• 600,000 began the campaign

• 250,000 died in Russia

• 94,000 taken prisoner

• 150,000 wounded or deserted

• 100,000 survived

a. Based on the information provided describe the Russian Campaign in three

words or less.

Station 5: Napoleon’s Legacy

The Congress of Vienna: 1815

The Congress of Vienna was held from September of 1814 to June of 1815. After the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte, this international conference was called to create a balance among the European powers in such a way so as to prevent future wars and maintain peace and stability on the European continent. The means of achieving this goal would be through a major reshaping of European interior borders.

Important People:

Though the conference opened with a series of glittery balls and conferences, the delegates soon got down to work. Mainly, the four major powers of Europe (Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain) were left to make most of the big decisions. Austria sent Prince Klemens von Metternich, the Austrian minister of State who was also acting as a president of the Congress. The Russian Empire was

represented by Alexander I, the emperor of Russia. The main delegate from Prussia was Prince Karl August von Hardenberg, and Great Britain was represented by Lord Castlereagh, and later Arthur Wellesley, the first duke of Wellington. This group of major powers decided that France, Spain, and the smaller powers would have no voice in important decisions. However, the French diplomat, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, was successful in allowing France to have an equal voice in the negotiations. Talleyrand became the deciding vote in many of the decisions.

Important Decisions:

France was deprived of all territory conquered by Napoleon. The French monarchy was restored under the rule of Louis XVIII. Austria was given back most of the territory it had lost and was also given land in Germany and Italy (Lombardy and Venice). Russia got Finland and control over the new kingdom of Poland. Prussia was given much of Saxony and important parts of Westphalia and the Rhine Province. Britain got several strategic colonial territories, and they also gained control of the seas. The Dutch Republic was united with the Austrian Netherlands to form a single kingdom of the Netherlands under the House of Orange. Norway and Sweden were joined under a single ruler. Switzerland was declared neutral and Spain was restored under Ferdinand VII

Results of the meeting:

Directions: Please read the summary and analyze the picture above and answer the

questions below.

1. What was the purpose of the Congress of Vienna in 1815?

2. Was France allowed to have any say in the negotiations of the congress? Do you agree

with this? Why or Why not?

3. What decisions were ultimately agreed upon at the end of the Congress of Vienna?