Did Napoleon do more for France or for the United States ?
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Napoleon is still seen as one of the greatest Frenchmen ever and a national hero in France. There has been coutnless books and movies about his life. Yet, Napoleon Bonaparte is often regarded as a dictator with a lot of battle blood on his hands in some other countries (UK ?).

What do American people think of Napoleon nowadays ? Do they remember him as a friend of the American Revolution who helped the young USA to extend its territory by twice its land area ? There have been speculations that Napoleon didn't die in 1821 on St. Helena, but that he brother (who looked a lot like him) did, and that the former Emperor managed to escape to Brazil, then to Louisiana, where he spent the rest of his life. In any case, Napoleon certainly did love the United States, maybe as much as France.

About 200 years after his time of glory, and with the hintsight, could we say that the Corsican emperor has left more to France ot to the USA ? France can remember him through the Napoleonic Code of law and a few buildings. But the United States owe him much more, parts or all of 16 states : Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, northern Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado.


This huge territory, 4 times bigger than present-day France or 9 times the size of Britain, was sold by Napoleon to the United States in 1803 for the ridiculously low amount of 3￠ per acre, for a total of $15 million. That is not much for 22.3% of the territory of the modern United States.

In my opinion, Napoleon should be more happily remember as an American hero (or even founding father) rather than a French one, even if he didn't know the whole importance of his act at the time. Could you imagine the presdent United States being limited to the Eastern third of the present country ? It could be argued that the land from the Louisiana Purchase would have been acquired by force if necessary, but 200 years ago, and even 100 years ago, France was more powerful militarily (and more populous) than the USA. So there is a good chance that Louisiana would have stayed French until well into the 20th century (if not to this day), or that a second, French-speaking, independent country would have been created in the Mid-West. This would have radically changed the history and shape of the USA we know, and world history. If the US is the huge, powerful country it is now, Napoleon has had a lot to do with it.

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