Sample Napoleon DBQ Outline
This type of essay requires you to:
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Write a solid thesis – you must include the words stabilize, unite, and support ideals of French Revolution
Understand Meaning of Documents – requires you to
o Say title
o Say type
o Summarize what it means/said
Support Thesis with Evidence From Documents – requires you to
o Explain what the document says/shows
o Tell how this relates to stabilizing, uniting, and/or supporting ideals of the French Revolution
Analyze Point of View in AT LEAST 2 Documents – requires you to
o Say the author’s name AND
o Give details for WHY s/he holds that opinion
o (Not just say what the opinion is)
Group Documents in 3 Ways – must relate to thesis & be in your topic sentences
Expanded Core:
o Use documents persuasively (say that ‘this proves’ some idea)
o Go beyond minimal thesis (tell me why or how Napoleon stabilized, united, & supported FR Ideals)
o Recognize historical context of documents (give info about the source itself or conditions of France in
that year)
o Analyze all documents (give thorough details)
o Explain links between documents (key phrases: Similarly to, Likewise, Furthermore, In addition to [doc],
[other doc] shows…)
o Additional Groupings (are there more than 3 reasons for your thesis?)
o Analyze POV in all documents
o Include accurate, relevant historical context (provide info about Napoleon’s rule that isn’t necessarily
directly about the sources themselves)
o Explain why additional sources are needed (say what other documents or types of documents could help
prove your point & how)
Red items = Point of View
Purple Items = Request for additional document
Green Items = Context
Orange = Citation
1. Thesis: While Napoleon successfully stabilized and united French society, he failed to consistently support the
ideals of the French Revolution.
2. Group 1: Stabilizing French Society
a. Napoleon’s personal ambition and perseverance allowed him to end the years of turmoil seen in the
French Revolution. This is documented in Count Mole’s Remarks on Napoleon, which state that
Napoleon was greatly concerned with his reputation and power. Because Mole was a councilor of state,
it can be inferred that he was privy to inside information about the actions of Napoleon that brought
stability to France (Doc 2).
b. It is also seen that Napoleon stabilized French society with his strong leadership in Napoleon Crossing
the Alps, an 1800 painting by Jacques Louis David. David depicted Napoleon as in command of a bucking
horse while on campaign to conquer Europe, which symbolizes his control over France and ability to
stabilize the conditions beneath him. David was clearly an admirer of Napoleon as he painted him with
high esteem and glory (Doc 4).
c.
Strong leaders are needed after periods of turmoil, and this was true of France after the French
Revolution; Napoleon stabilized society through his strong leadership and enactment of social reform
laws, which is symbolized in David’s painting and exemplified by Count Mole’s remarks.
d. To further understand how Napoleon stabilized society, it would be helpful to analyze records of grain
production in France during his rule; lack of grain was one of the major de-stabilizing influences that had
first sparked the Revolution, so if Napoleon fixed that problem, it would further assert his stabilizing
influence.
e. Napoleon’s strong leadership stabilized France after the Revolution.
3. Group 2: Uniting French Society
a. Napoleon united French society by reasserting Catholicism, which had been virtually abolished in the
French Revolution. The majority of France was indeed Catholic and Napoleon used that to his advantage
to unite the citizens under his rule. This is shown in the Napoleonic Catechism of 1806, produced by the
Catholic Church, which stated that all Christians must support Napoleon (Doc 7). The Church held this
point of view because although their power was restricted in comparison to Napoleon’s, he at least gave
them some of their authority in France.
b. Furthermore, Napoleon united his troops in battle, who were a major component of French society. In a
speech to his troops in 1796, Napoleon encouraged his soldiers to push forward mightily in the Italian
campaign (Doc 1.) It is clear that Napoleon felt this speech was necessary to assure victory in Italy, as
this was a hard-fought military action. However, this support transferred to the support of the French in
general, and his rally united the populace in France.
c. A piece of propaganda would further support Napoleon’s success in uniting French society, as it could
show that the people felt secure and part of a whole under his rule and supported him.
d. Supporting popular religion and encouraging troops exemplify the means Napoleon used to unite French
society.
4. Group 3: Inconsistency with French Revolution Ideals
a. Transition: While it is quite clear that Napoleon was able to stabilize and unite French society, there is a
wealth of evidence that shows he did not take such a unilateral approach to supporting the ideals of the
French Revolution.
b. At times, Napoleon did support the ideals of the French Revolution.
i. He made clear to his troops in the aforementioned speech in Italy in 1796 that they were on a
mission to end tyranny, which coincides appropriately with the ideals of the French Revolution
that saw the end of the tyrannical rule of monarchs and the Reign of Terror (Doc 1).
ii. Napoleon also supported ideals of the French Revolution in his conquests abroad. This is
evident in his Imperial Decree at Madrid in 1806, which effectively abolishes feudalism and
promotes religious tolerance in Spain – both of which were ideals asserted in the French
Revolution (Doc 6).
iii. Moreover, Napoleon suggested other kings of Europe should support these ideals in their own
territories, as seen in his letter to Jerome Napoleon, King of Westphalia. Napoleon wrote this
letter in an attempt to persuade the king to promote liberty, equality, and property – all ideals
of the French Revolution – in his nation (Doc 8).
iv. Perhaps Napoleon truly felt that these ideals were just, but perhaps he only felt that promoting
these rights would help secure his power; regardless, he did indeed support these ideals of the
French Revolution.
c. However, Napoleon did not support ideals of the French Revolution when they could threaten his
power.
i. Madame Remusat, a lady-in-waiting to Empress Josephine who likely had access to privileged
information about Napoleon, wrote of Napoleon’s rule in the early 19th century. Her comments
on Napoleon reveal that he served as a, “barrier against republican influences,” meaning that he
prevented republicanism – the very backbone of governmental reform in the French Revolution
– from spreading elsewhere in Europe (Doc 3). If he truly supported the French Revolution
ideals, he would have actually facilitated the spread of republican ideas; however, he knew that
this would challenge his own authority, so he prevented it.
ii. Napoleon even knew himself that his persona contradicted the ideals of the Revolution. In 1802,
he recorded in his diary that he was built upon conquest and victory was his method to secure
more and more power (Doc 5). This entirely undermines the ideals of the French Revolution that
supported an equal, fair government, as Napoleon was in reality a dictator with absolute rule,
not the ideal republican government the Revolution fought so hard for.
iii. This could also be seen in the Concordat of 1801, which just fell short of re-establishing
Catholicism as the state religion of France; this decree completely reversed actions taken in the
French Revolution to support freedom of religion!
d. In conclusion, Napoleon simply used ideals of the French Revolution to benefit himself, just as he did
with promoting Catholicism and encouraging his troops to be victorious in battle.
5. Conclusion: Rephrase thesis – Despite Napoleon’s failure to continue the ideals of the French Revolution, he
was important in stabilizing and uniting France after the turmoil of the Revolution.
a. He was ultimately self-serving and used all means available to further his power, including supporting
some ideals of the Revolution.
b. France did benefit from social reform and reassertion of Catholicism under his rule, stabilizing and
uniting society.