Purchase Solution

Constitution of the Year VIII

Not what you're looking for?

Ask Custom Question

What exactly was the Constitution of the Year VIII and how did it secure power for Napoleon? How well did this constitution work? Why and how did Napoleon change it later? What was the ultimate source of Napoleon's power?

Purchase this Solution

Solution Summary

Description of what the Constitution of the Year VIII was and the impact on Napoleon.

Solution Preview

The Constitution of the Year VIII was a national constitution of France, adopted December 24, 1799 (during the Year VIII of the French Revolutionary Calendar), which established the form of government known as the Consulate. The coup of 18 Brumaire (November 9, 1799) effectively gave all power to Napoleon Bonaparte, and in the eyes of some, ended the French Revolution.

After the coup, Napoleon and his allies legitimized his position by creating the "short and obscure Constitution of the Year VIII" (as Malcolm Crook has called it[1]). The constitution tailor-made the position of First Consul to give Napoleon most of the powers of a dictator. It was the first constitution since the Revolution without a Declaration of Rights.

The executive power was ...

Purchase this Solution


Free BrainMass Quizzes
America Fighting for Good - World War II : 1940 - 1945

The quiz will test your knowledge of America and its role in World War II - how it avoided the war, got involved and emerged as a world power and forever losing its isolationist policy.

CoViD-19 and Historic Pandemics

How much do you know about CoViD-19 and how it compares to historic pandemics? Test your knowledge with this short quiz!

Ancient Ghana

This quiz tests students' knowledge about the ancient kingdom of Ghana (Africa).

German Wars of Unification

A short quiz to determine the student's knowledge of events and figures associated with the mid 19th Century German Wars of Unification

The Transatlantic Slave Trade

Basic quiz about the Transatlantic Slave Trade.