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I believe that there is more to admire about Napoleon Bonaparte than despise.
Putting an end to the Rebellions
Rebellions were a threat to the sanctity of the French government. Napoleon was calledupon to stop a royalist and anti-revolutionists whom were rebelling against the‘Directory’, whom ruled the French government. To stop them from taking over thegovernment, he boasted that he used a “whiff of grapeshot”. This can be compared to ashotgun cartridge. A cartridge was loaded into a canon, which then shot at the peoplewhom were heading for the government. The cartridge was full of tiny balls thatincapacitated the people. That put a vast amount of fear into the people, preventing themfrom rebelling in the future, due to their fear of the “whiff of grapeshot”. His ability todeal with a problem as massive as rebellions and put an end to it permanently isastounding.
Repairing an Army
To start, Napoleon was given an army that was essentially in tatters. The men had littlearmour and clothes, poor weapons, and low morale. Napoleon knew that if he wanted towin in his wars, he had to repair his men. He started off by treating them well, givingthem food, weapons, and armour. He also told them that anything that they came across,they could loot and keep. This gave the men an even better reason to survive and fighthard. With his newly repaired army, Napoleon conquered Italy. His ability to grow hisarmy’s morale and his military maneuvers were very impressive.
Reorganizing the government and country
Once Napoleon took over the government, he began to reorganize the public aspects of the government. He fortified the postal service of the country, and how the governmentcollected taxes. He also built numerous hospitals for the poor. He wanted the people of his country to be fit, so that when they were called upon, they could fight with strength.He also built schools to improve the country’s education, he believed that his people weremore useful if their intelligence was high. Napoleon had a soft spot in his heart for education, due to his love for it. During his youth, books his best friend. One can easilyadmire how Napoleon cared about the welfare of his people, and how they lived,especially when it came to their education.
Beating the Odds
 Napoleon used his military skill to defeat the major powers in Europe. He fought againstAustria, Britain, Russia, and Prussia. In all instances he won, except towards the end of his career. He was looked upon as a man who could do no wrong, and he really broughtup the morale of the people in France, because they had a winner. It would be like having
 
Wayne Gretzky on a hockey team, it tends to bring up the team’s overall morale, and Napoleon did just this for France. Napoleon always knew what his opponents would notexpect, and he used this to his advantage. His name became on that generals throughoutEurope feared due to his skill at war.
Freedom of Religion
 Napoleon took a bit of a risk when he announced that the people of France could have thefreedom to choose whichever religion they so desired. I think that this was quite the riskymove on Napoleon’s part. He had to be careful to not anger the protective Catholics, or the Protestants whom both had a minority over other religions in the country. The mainreligion that Napoleon wanted to give freedom to was the Jews whom were constantly persecuted against in other countries, and were, from time to time, shunned. He wished togive them all a place to come and experience liberty and equality. It showed that he reallydid care about freedom.
Here, take some art
After Napoleon captured the Pope, he ordered him not only to pay over a fee in gold, buthand over approximately 150 pieces of artwork. Curiously, Napoleon did not keep these pieces of art for himself, like arguably most people would, but he gave them to France.They ended up later being put into a museum. It is quite honourable for Napoleon to puthis country before his own wealth. I think that this shows that for a large part, Napoleonwas selfless and had a great amount of respect for his country.
Conclusion
: Napoleon is a name that is surrounded with controversy. Supposedly, Nostradamusconsiders him the first anti-christ. He can only really be called this due to his massconquering and warfare. Otherwise, he was by no means an evil man. He did not causemass terror throughout his country. He did not persecute specific groups of people. Hewas just a man whom wanted power and control, but this is what most men want. He wasoverall a rather brilliant man. He went from a secluded boy who had no friends, to theruler of almost all of Europe. It’s rather curious how the quiet ones always end up withthe most power. Napoleon knew how to play the political system, taking over the countryfrom the weak Directory. A man whom is a politician and a general has immense power,which is why I personally greatly admire the man. He knew how to play the system, andultimately, the people of the France. Was he a good person? To a degree, but that isn’t thequestion of this seminar. The question is if there is more to admire about Napoleon thandespise, and I think that these facts answer that question.
Trivia
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 Napoleon made his battle plans in his sandbox.
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 Napoleon was terrified of cats.
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The Mona Lisa used to hang in Napoleon’s bedroom.
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another blogger

imagine what he could of done if he wasn't so power hungry...he was a double edged sword

reply05 / 27 / 2008
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