Visual representation of Napoleon's rise to power

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  • Created by: Katherine
  • Created on: 04-02-21 00:35
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  • 1799 Constitution
    • Plebiscite Law of 1800
      • Constitution of 1802
        • Constitution of 1804
          • Undemocratic
            • Napoleon became Emperor
            • This was hereditary within his family
            • Did not include the army in the plebiscite as they had not supported Napoleon previously
            • The Tribunate and Legislature became increasingly less powerful – the Tribunate were abolished in 1808 and the Legislature were forced to support Napoleon in order to prevent the same fate 
          • Democratic
            • Ratified this with a plebiscite
        • Democratic
          • All adult men could meet to elect members to the departmental colleges
          • Universal male suffrage is impressive when compared to England
        • Undemocratic
          • They could only choose from a selection of the richest men
          • Rewarded the property owning class whilst neglecting those who didn’t, as Napoleon gave them favours and bought their support
          • Napoleon became consul for life and was able to choose his own successor
          • Reduced the power of the Tribunate and the Legislature
      • Undemocratic
        • The constitution had already been established so the plebiscite was just a formality
        • The ballot was not secret so numbers were influenced by malpractice and intimidation
        • The numbers were manipulated before being published – possibly the votes in favour were almost doubled
        • Historians think as many as 8 million people could vote – less than half of whom did so
        • Government promised to burn the electoral records, but didn't always
      • Democratic
        • In theory, highly democratic as the people would be given a say
        • Officially 3 million votes in favour and just 1562 votes against – would suggest overwhelming support for Napoleon
        • Untitled
    • Democratic
      • Election did provide universal male suffrage (although it was too inefficient to be effective)
      • Limited to each consul’s time in power – only supposed to be consul for ten years
      • Senate had some influence – selected the members of the legislative bodies (tribunate and legislature) – so it wasn’t just Napoleon
      • Legislature could vote on legislation by secret ballot, although they couldn’t discuss it
      • The Council of State chose major central and local government officials
    • Undemocratic
      • The constitution was achieved through a coup rather than being elected
      • Created by the consuls rather than the Standing Committees
      • Napoleon had complete control as first consul, whilst second and third consuls were merely consultative
      • No elections, just presentations of candidates who were chosen by notables 
      • First consul nominated the senators and chose the Council of State members
      • First consul initiated all legislation through the Council of State or the Senate, declared war and made peace.
      • Napoleon increased the number of senators from 80 to 140, nominating men who would support him and be eager to please

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