Robespierre Trial- My Personal Opinion

Due to the fact that I was assigned to defend Napoleon on the trial that took place in class, by default I was going against Robespierre. I felt as though both arguments provided were strong, and I was impressed with what the opposing side had to say. However when it comes to my personal opinion on the matter, I feel as though Napoleon’s actions truly betrayed the ideals of the Enlightenment, more so than Robespierre’s did. Although I was assigned to play a witness acting as an expert on the Napoleonic code, while researching the topic, it was clear to see the Napoleon’s definition of equality did not meet those of the French. Of the almost 2,500 statements included in the Napoleonic code, there were sections devoted to equality such as Book 1, Title 1, Chapter 1- Of the Enjoyment of Civil Rights, which in statement #8 states- Every Frenchman shall enjoy civil rights. As our textbook implies, the French Enlightenment emphasizes reason, toleration, natural law, equality, and promotes the ideas of change and progress. As shown by the evidence provided by prosecution of Napoleon, he did not follow these ideals of the Enlightenment. Yes, he did help the people of France and his leadership skills are quite respectable, however I feel as though his constant eagerness to gain more power strayed from the French ideals. In the textbook, it states how in the enlightenment personal discoveries were made by both scientists and philosophers. These individual discoveries were sometimes successful and sometimes failed, however they in some way benefitted the community. An example of this was when French writer Voltaire questioned the outlook of the Scientific Revolution, which in turn triggered the expansion of deism. Breakthroughs like these were what made the French Enlightenment unique, and although in the trial I was assigned to defend that Napoleon followed these ideals, my personal opinion states otherwise. I personally feel as though he was too self absorbed and focused more on making his mark on France as opposed to influencing “the growing global awareness of its major thinkers.” (Page 485, Ways of the World textbook)