AP European History AMSCO Guided Notes
5.6: Napoleon's Rise, Dominance, and Defeat
AMSCO Guided Notes
AP European History Guided Notes
AMSCO 5.6 - Napoleon's Rise, Dominance, and Defeat
Essential Questions
- What were the effects of Napoleon's rule on European social, economic, and political life?
- What were the nationalist responses in Europe to Napoleon's rule?
I. Napoleon's Rise to Power
1. What were the key events that brought Napoleon to power between 1795 and 1799?
2. How did Napoleon's military success in Italy and his role in suppressing the 1795 insurrection contribute to his rise?
II. First Consul and Emperor
1. What powers did the Consulate give to the first consul, and how did this structure differ from the Directory?
2. How did Napoleon consolidate his power from first consul to emperor between 1800 and 1804?
III. Domestic Reforms Under Napoleon
A. Centralized Government and the Merit System
1. What was the Civil Code and what revolutionary principles did it reinforce?
2. How did Napoleon's merit-based system improve the efficiency of the French government and finances?
B. Educational System
1. What was the purpose of the lycées and what social groups did they serve?
C. Religious Reforms
1. What did the Concordat of 1801 accomplish regarding the Catholic Church and religious toleration in France?
D. Economic Reforms
1. What were Napoleon's economic goals and how did he improve France's agricultural and textile production?
2. Why did Napoleon discourage unions and regulate trade guilds instead of allowing workers to organize?
IV. Curtailment of Rights Under Napoleon
A. Secret Police
1. What role did Joseph Fouché play in maintaining Napoleon's power and what methods did he use?
2. How did Napoleon justify the use of secret police and assassination to eliminate threats to his rule?
B. Censorship and Restrictions
1. How did Napoleon control the press and what was the purpose of requiring censors at newspapers?
C. Limitation of Women's Rights
1. What specific legal powers did the Napoleonic Code give to husbands over their wives' property and personal freedoms?
2. How did Napoleon's treatment of women's rights contradict the revolutionary principles he claimed to support?
V. The Napoleonic Wars
1. What military innovations and tactics did Napoleon introduce that made his armies more effective than his enemies?
2. What were Napoleon's major military victories and defeats between 1799 and 1815?
VI. Spread of Revolutionary Ideals Across Europe
1. How did Napoleon's armies spread revolutionary ideals across Europe and what changes did they bring to conquered territories?
2. What contradiction existed between Napoleon's spread of revolutionary ideals and his reinstitution of slavery in the Caribbean?
VII. Nationalistic Responses
1. How did Napoleon's conquests and the Continental System awaken nationalism in the peoples he conquered?
A. Guerrilla War in Spain
1. How did Spanish guerrilla tactics against French forces demonstrate the limitations of Napoleon's military power?
B. Nationalism in German States
1. How did Napoleon's defeat of Prussia lead to military and political reforms that strengthened German nationalism?
2. What was the Burschenschaft movement and how did German governments respond to it?
C. Russian Scorched-Earth Policy
1. Why was Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia a turning point in his military dominance?
2. How did Russia's scorched-earth strategy and winter conditions defeat Napoleon's army despite his initial military superiority?
VIII. End of the Napoleonic Era
1. What events led to Napoleon's abdication in 1814 and his exile to Elba?
2. What happened during the Hundred Days and why did the Battle of Waterloo end Napoleon's political career?
3. What was the human cost of Napoleon's wars and what was his final exile?
Key Terms
Civil Code
Concordat of 1801
Napoleonic Wars
Continental System
Battle of Waterloo