Napoleon Bonaparte

Hero, Villain, or Something In-between?

 

Introduction

Have you ever wanted to be the one assigning grades? Well, here is your chance! At the end of this lesson you will grade one of the most famous men in history... Napoleon! A child of the Revolution and a "military genius" at a time when France needed authority, Napoleon "rose from obscurity to mastery of France" in just a few short years. It's what he did next that you need to evaluate!

 

The Task

You will research Napoleon's rule in France, looking for both positive and negative actions. You will evaluate his actions, and his intent, in three main categories--domestic policy, foreign policy, and ability to gain the trust and respect of his people. You will organize this evaluation into a report card format, grading both his effort and his achievement in each of these categories. You will then use this information to rate him, overall, on a hero--villain continuum and to provide advice for future rulers about what they should emulate and what they should change for their own periods of rule.

 

The Process

To accomplish this task, you will do the following:

 

          Use the resources below to learn about Napoleon and complete worksheet.

á    

á   Pay close attention to Napoleon's domestic policies, foreign policies, and his ability to gain the trust and respect of his people. You should also note whether or not these sites provide opposing interpretations of the quality of his rule (i.e., favorable vs. critical).

 

á   Choose three of what you think are the best sites.

 

á   Print out the report card below.

 

á   Compile your information and decide what grade Napoleon should earn for each category (domestic policy, foreign policy, and trust/respect of his people). Evaluate him both for effort and for achievement. Then provide reasons/proof for your arguments as well as suggestions for ways he could have improved.

 

Report Card

Word document of report card

Napoleon Bonaparte

 

 

á   When your report card is complete, review your grades. Then decide where Napoleon should be placed on a hero--villain continuum (1 being villain, 10 being hero). Justify your ranking with at least 3 strong arguments.

 

á   Finally, leave some advice for future rulers based on what you learned about Napoleon. This should be written out (complete sentences/paragraph form) exactly as you would want these rulers to read it. This should be 2-3 paragraphs.

 

 

Resources

 

á   "Napoleon": Answers to "Frequently Asked Questions" about Napoleon found in ÒThe Essential NapoleonÓ at NAPOLEON.ORG.

o   http://www.napoleon.org/en/essential_napoleon/faq/index.asp

 

á   ÒPBS-NapoleonÓ: Biographical information, timelines, etc., regarding Napoleon found on the PBS site.

o   http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/home.html

 

á   ÒNapoleon Bonaparte: Emperor of the French...Ó: Quick biographical summary and web links to related information from Lucid Interactive.

o   http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95aug/napoleon.html

 

á   ÒNapoleon Bonaparte Speech--Farewell to...Ó: Napoleon's farewell speech to the Old Guard right before his exile to Elba found at "The History Place: Great Speeches."

o   http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/napoleon.htm

 

á   ÒNapoleon Bonaparte Internet GuideÓ: Quick links to biographical information, information about the Napoleonic Code, his military endeavors, etc.

o   http://www.napoleonbonaparte.nl/

 

á   ÒNapoleon IÓ: Biographical information provided by the Learning Network.

o   http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0834841.html 

 

á   ÒFlorida State University...Institute on Napoleon and the French RevolutionÓ: Biographical information and links provided by a university source.

o   http://www.fsu.edu/~napoleon/

 

á   ÒNapoleonic Wars: Era of Napoleon BonaparteÓ: Biographical information nicely categorized by topic.

o   http://www.napoleonguide.com/

 

Conclusion

You have just finished grading one of the "greatest" men in history....or was he? From this activity, you should not only have a better understanding of Napoleon and his rule in France, but also of why the world tried so hard to prevent future "Napoleons" from rising to power. In providing advice for future rulers you have revisited the age-old question, "What makes a good leader?" Congratulations on a job well done.