The Children of Adam and Eve

He revived the Napoleonic Empire in the mid-19th century and led France to
defeat in the Franco-Prussian War.

Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Paris, on April 20, 1808, the
third and last son of King Louis and Queen Hortense (1783-1837) of
Holland, and thus a nephew of Napoleon I. Because the Bonaparte family was
banished from France after his uncle's Downfall, Louis Napoleon was
educated privately in Switzerland and Bavaria. His mother schooled him in
the glories of the Napoleonic legend and set his course toward the
recovery of family power. Toward that end, he wrote pamphlets and
treatises to advertise himself and formulate a political program,
portraying himself as social reformer, political liberal, military expert,
and proponent of agricultural and industrial development. He also led two
unsuccessful armed attempts to overthrow the regime of King Louis
Philippe, in 1836 and 1840. Imprisoned for life after the latter, he
managed to escape in 1846, calling renewed attention to himself.

Leadership of France

Once Louis Philippe was ousted in 1848, Louis Napoleon renewed his quest
by offering himself as a candidate for the presidency of the new French
republic. To the astonishment of political veterans, he won in a
landslide. His triumph was diminished, however, by a Royalist victory in
the legislative elections in 1849 and by the constitution's limiting him
to one 4-year term. He resolved that dilemma by a coup d'?t on December
2, 1851, assuming dictatorial powers and extending his term of office to
ten years. Despite continued pockets of opposition, clear evidence of
widespread popular support encouraged him a year later to convert the
Second Republic into the Second Empire; because Napoleon I's son (died
1832) had been known to his followers as Napoleon II, he took the title
Napoleon III. Historians divide his reign into two periods. The
dictatorship persisted until 1860; thereafter he began a series of liberal
reforms that culminated in a limited monarchy, the Liberal Empire, on
January 2, 1870. This liberalization was marked by labor legislation, a
movement toward free trade, and a revival of opposition parties. Perhaps
Napoleon III's most durable work was the reconstruction of Paris. His
successes, however, were overshadowed by a foreign policy that was too
often idealistic, blinding the emperor to real dangers to French security.
The threat from Prussia, in particular, was perceived too late and caught
the French unprepared in every respect when war came in 1870. Swift defeat
in the Field led to Napoleon's capture, and his regime was overthrown in
Paris on September 4, 1870. He died in exile.

Evaluation

Napoleon III's reputation in France collapsed in the aftermath of the
shocking defeat and has never entirely recovered. The reevaluation of his
place in history has been more the work of foreign historians, untouched
by the national humiliation of 1870, who recognized his good intentions.
His place in history will ultimately depend upon whether his social and
economic goals are deemed necessary and desirable. His despotism now
appears to have been relatively benevolent, and the responsibility for
military failure in 1870 is no longer attributed to him alone.