Napoleon: Dictator or Liberator?

Dictator. Napoleon was born into a noble family in 1769, and showed an interest in the military at an early age. In 1785, Napoleon set out to become a lieutenant in the French artillery. Napoleon was unsuccessful in fighting for Corsican independence, however he returned to France and was seen as a patriot. Napoleon was given leadership over French forces in Italy and won great victories there in 1796 and 1797. Although his next campaign, Egypt, was a failure, …

…this outcome. There were numerous plots against Napoleon's life--plots he used to his advantage, which allowed him to move against his opponents with a cruelly. In 1804, Napoleon announced that he intended to be crowned Emperor of France; by this move, his position would become hereditary, making him even more of a dictator. Doing this made all plots against his life. Napoleon said, "You may kill me, he was saying, but you won't kill the institution."