Photo: Unknown
Posted on 12/07/2011 11:26:54 AM PST by longtermmemmory
Photo: Unknown
Did you know that America once had an emperor? As
ridiculous as this sounds, few heads of state have
received burials as regal and solemn as that which took
place in San Francisco, on January 10th, 1880. 30,000
people lined the streets, while businesses closed for
the day and flags flew at half-mast. Many had shed
bitter tears on reading, ‘Le Roi est mort’ – the King
is dead. This ‘king’ left an estate worth only $6 when
he died – a tramp of madcap appearance, who collapsed
on a rain-swept street two days before his funeral, but
who had ‘ruled’ America for over twenty years: Joshua
Abraham Norton, alias Norton I, Emperor of the USA!
Emperor Norton giving an audience
Photo: Unknown
Born in 1819, in London, Norton arrived in San Francisco
in 1849, and even though he had accumulated $250,000 by
1853, disastrous investments led to his being declared
Bankrupt in 1857. A broken man, he was forced to swap
his smart townhouse for a decrepit bedsit, yet in 1859
he impressed the editor at the San Francisco Bulletin
with a document that many would have laughed at.
Photo: Unknown
Next morning, breakfast readers of the paper were amazed
to see the following: “At the peremptory request and
desire of a large majority of the citizens of these
United States, I Joshua Norton... declare and proclaim
myself Emperor of these United States; and in virtue of
the authority thereby in me invested, do hereby order
and direct the representatives of the different states
of the Union to assemble... To make such alterations in
the existing laws of the Union as may ameliorate the
evils under which the country is labouring, and thereby
cause confidence to exist, both at home and abroad,
both in our stability and our integrity.”
Photo: Unknown
The people of San Francisco soon warmed to this genial
and intelligent man, because he genuinely did take his
self-declared role very seriously indeed. He involved
himself deeply in local affairs, inspecting drainage
and sewer systems, local transport, construction sites,
and even talking crime rates with local police! He was
always to be found striding around the city streets,
keeping in touch with the people.
A dignified figure, he quickly became well-known, and it
wasn’t long before he had not only 'abolished'
Congress, but also 'dissolved' the American Republic!
San Franciscans loved his eccentricity; even more so
after he abolished the office of President, declaring
that, henceforward, he would rule personally!
Typical Emperor Norton proclamation
Photo: © BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons
A Jew himself, Norton eventually ordered the foundation
of a ‘Universal Religion’ into which all faiths were to
be joined – at the same time as he abolished both the
Democratic and Republican parties! San Franciscans
showed him real deference. The familiar pale blue army
uniform, with gold-plated epaulettes and brass buttons,
the heavy sabre clanking at his side, and the faithful
hounds (Lazarus and Bummer), would always cause people
to bow and curtsy.
Actor Playing Emperor Norton in his fineryPhoto: RJL20
He usually ate at fashionable restaurants, but was never
asked to pay. Plaques proclaiming his patronage were on
show all over, and he used public transport free of
charge. Theatres would reserve three free seats for him
and his two dogs, knowing that his entrance would bring
the audience respectfully to its feet. Newspapers
happily published his ‘royal decrees’, and when his
outfit became too shabby, the best tailors fought for
the privilege of making a replacement, at city expense!
Norton elevated all city officials to the nobility, as
a thank you gesture.
Photo: © BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons
Affectionately called ‘The Emp’ by those close to him,
Norton even issued his own currency – ‘Bonds of
Empire’ – which promised to pay the bearer the full
amount plus 25% in twenty years time, and they were
happily accepted all over the city! When an errant
policeman arrested him in 1867, public outcry was such
that the police chief had to issue a full public
apology. The city, in recompense, awarded Norton free
board and lodging for life! When Norton ordered the US
navy to blockade a local riverboat company – after a
captain had mistakenly thrown him off for not paying –
the company directors gave him a lifetime free pass.
Photo: Wells Fargo History Museum
Norton was not the madman some might believe. He wrote
to Queen Victoria, and offered President Lincoln his
services as a mediator during the Civil War, but was
politely refused. The Emperor called for funding for
research into ‘aerial machines’ and the establishment
of a ‘League of Nations’, and also proposed the
building of a suspension bridge across the bay, 50
years before the Golden Gate came into being.
Plaque to Norton at Golden Gate Bridge Photo: John Nagle
He may have worn boots that had slits in the sides, to
accommodate his corns, but one thing is certain: he was
an honest, noble, intelligent man, who was respected by
his subjects because he had the greatest respect for
them. Norton I did what many politicians fail to do. He
won the hearts of the people, so wonderfully
demonstrated by the grief that followed his final
journey, to Woodlawn Memorial park in Colma. His
occupation was listed in both census and city directory
as ‘Emperor’, the title that also graces his red
granite tombstone. In so many humanitarian ways, Joshua
Norton really was the unsung Emperor of America.
Headstone on grave of Emperor Norton I Photo: berkielynn
interesting to compare the mad who went mad and declared himself emperor with current politicians.
“I just found it very interesting that San Francisco, even back then, would be so frivolous.”
People back then had more imagination and better ways to amuse themselves before the invention of television.
Leaving behind an estate of $6 separates him from that pack.
his sourdough snacks are delicious.
Frisco loves it’s kooks!
Funny they left out the details of his bad investment, after which be went nuts.
I’ve read it before, he got snookered in buying a “Scarce” commodity, then the rest of the fleet of ships came into port and the price dropped, a LOT!
He was wiped out, but instead of getting back on his feet it was simpler to declare himself emperor and take the sort of charity our modern professional “homeless’ can only envy.
Is insanity hereditary? Makes you wonder how many present day San Franciscans are genetically linked to this loon.
Imagine if we could ignore obama and his political appointees as easily and Nortion I
Thanks for the ping !
do you know when the next JN Cabal meeting is ?
People think this is hilarious. But we have an empress in the White House who thinks nothing of taking an entourage of friends on junkets around the world at our expense. And you're laughing at early San Franciscans? Moochelle is living it large at our expense, along with the idiot-in-chief.
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