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Napoleon: Governments
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By 1802 Napoleon was the most popular dictator France had ever known, and he was given the position of first consul for life with the right to name his successor. The establishment of the Empire on May 18, 1804... changed little except the name of the government. The Constitution of the Year VIII was altered only to provide for an imperial government; its spirit was not changed. The Emperor of the French created a new nobility, set up a court, and changed the titles of government officials; but the average Frenchman noticed little difference.
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Even before he became emperor, Napoleon had already started his wars of conquest. He started by conquering every country surrounding France except Britain. Napoleon's conquest of Spain greatly disrupted her holdings in the new world and allowed many South American countries to rebel. Despite the fact that his government was centralized, Napoleon managed to do quite well at improving the areas he conquered. He granted basic rights and freedom of religion through his Napoleonic Code. Freedom of religion displeased the Roman Catholic Church even further since most of the areas granted this freedom were originally Catholic.
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Napoleon (as he should now be called) wished to establish effective government. Important in this process was the codification of laws in a manner that maintained the social hierarchy and asserted the authority of the male, the father, and the state [see Code Civil]. A centralized financial system with the Banque de France controlling the currency was introduced in 1800. Elected bodies were largely ignored, and the regime became more dependent on the administrative system, in which nobles of the ancien régime and a new nobility, derived from the bourgeoisie and the popular classes and attracted by the Légion d'Honneur, cooperated. Censorship was rigorously imposed, dissident groups were brutally suppressed, and the monarchist threat was disposed of by the execution of the duc d' Enghien, an incident which provoked great indignation.
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Napoleon returned to find the Directory was a mess. He, in his selfish way, saw this as the perfect time for self-advancement. So in November of 1799 he overthrew the Directory. Napoleon set up a government called the Consulate. He was the first of three consuls. About three years later he made himself first consul for life.
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While Napoleon believed in government "for" the people, he rejected government "by" the people. His France was a police state with a vast network of secret police and spies. The police shut down plays containing any hint of disagreement or criticism of the government. The press was controlled by the state. It was impossible to express an opinion without Napoleon's approval.
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"The budget plan is to raise taxes as opposed to reducing the amount of growth of government," said Sen. Lynn Wachtmann (R., Napoleon). "I went through all my old campaign flyers - I couldn’t find anywhere I promised to raise taxes."
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