Napoleon: Emperor of the World

Napoleon: Emperor of the World

“Well John, elections are coming up again,” said Bill, to create some small talk in the cafй. “Yeah and who are we going to vote for again?” said an already decided John. “Oh I believe we should vote for Napoleon,” exclaimed Bill. “I say this because I really don’t want to go back to a monarchy, and he did unify all of France.”

“Yep I totally agree there,” replied John.

Napoleon…many connotations come to mind when you speak of him and what he accomplished in his time. Genius, madman, and great war hero were only a few of the words that people described him by. He was not French but rather Corsican, and would eventually rule all of France and almost all of Europe. Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the strongest, smartest and slyest military leaders/tacticians that the world had ever seen but he was also a clever politician as well. It seems that Napoleon could do no wrong, yet he had marital problems with his, affair-oriented, wife Josephine, and he could never defeat the cunning Great Britain. His great folly was the 1812 invasion of Russia, and concluding that came his downfall at the hands of the Duke of Wellington. Beaten and humiliated, Napoleon was abolished to the island of Elba where he died. Even in his death, Napoleon’s ways and teachings are still used today and many governmental foundations are based on his principles.

Napoleon was considered mad to a lot of people but he was also praised for his multitude of accomplishments. I am one who praises Napoleon for all that he has done. Napoleon was a man who knew what he wanted, would make a plan, and then follow it to the very end. Many people thought him to be more than human but we have to remember that through all his greatness he still was human , and that he also isn’t perfect. There are 3 main reasons why I support Napoleon. One, Napoleon was an amazing tactician and he could defeat any opponent by reading how they shift during battle, and then move accordingly to counter it. Two, he created the Napoleonic Code, which is basically a rough draft for the constitution here, in the US. Lastly, unlike Hitler in WWII, Napoleon was a dictator that was actually concerned about the people, and coming from a different country he could put in place a more effective government. Napoleon was not perfect by any means, but I give him my support because he was the closest thing to it, for a politician.

Napoleons tactics were innovative for the time, especially in Europe. His tactics were compared to those of the great Sun Tzu, who wrote The Art of War. According to legend, it is said that Napoleon read both Art of War books by both Machiavelli and Sun Tzu. “This is quite possible,” reports an editor at Sunshi, a FAQ page for the Art of War. “Napoleon was an avid reader, and because both are military works, it is highly possible for him to have read them” < http://www.sonshi.com/faq.html>. I support Napoleon for this reason because at least I know I would be safe, and wouldn’t have to worry about being controlled by another nation, taking away my Nationalism. Also, because anyone who uses The Art of War has to be intelligent enough to realize that those