Emperor of the United States

I learned an interesting fact the other day...

I have the entire DC comics Sandman collection (yes, I know, I'm a geek) and in one of the issues there is a storyline referencing a man called Joshua Norton, the first and only emperor of the united states. I had never paid much attention to the story as there were many more interesting ones to be read, until I read the foreword or afterword to the collection, in which Neil Gaiman stated that the story was in fact true and there had actually been an emperor Norton I of the United States.

So I looked him up. Turns out, ol' Josh Norton lived in San Francisco in the mid eighteen hundreds. After suffering a huge financial blow involving a rice shortage, the poor guy (who had lost everything) decided to take matters into his own hands and declare himself emperor of the US. He sent out a letter to several San Francisco newspapers, stating thusly:

"At the peremptory request and desire of a large majority of the citizens of these United States, I, Joshua Norton, formerly of Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and now for the last 9 years and 10 months past of S. F., Cal., declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these U. S.; and in virtue of the authority thereby in me vested, do hereby order and direct the representatives of the different States of the Union to assemble in Musical Hall, of this city, on the 1st day of Feb. next, then and there to make such alterations in the existing laws of the Union as may ameliorate the evils under which the country is laboring, and thereby cause confidence to exist, both at home and abroad, in our stability and integrity.

NORTON I, Emperor of the United States."

The people of San Francisco, always amused by eccentricity, received this first emperor of the US. Still penniless, Norton I received regal attire (including a top hat with peacock feathers stuck in the band) from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and his specially drafted bank notes were widely accepted as legal tender by restaurants and businesses. Citizens of his chosen imperial city saluted him on the streets as he performed his regal duties of checking that the sidewalks were not cracked and making sure that no one called his beloved city "Frisco," an offense punishable by a small fine. Mark Twain was his friend, even so much as to write the epitaph on the tombstone of one of Norton's dogs. The census of 1870 even recorded a Joshua Norton living at his address and listed his occupation as "Emperor."

When a police officer arrested him in order to have him committed, the public was outraged, and a judge dropped all charges, decreeing that "he had shed no blood; robbed no one; and despoiled no country; which is more than can be said of his fellows in that line." Norton, the benevolent ruler that he was, granted the errant police officer a full pardon.

Throughout his reign, he argued that the city should build a bridge between it and Oakland, which of course happened, albiet after his death. There's a petition to rename that bridge after him currently. He exchanged correspondence with other rulers such as Queen Victoria, Tzar Alexander of Russia, and Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.

He, like any mortal ruler, passed away in 1880, dying on the street, still penniless, still shabbily dressed in his top hat with the peacock feathers wilting in the rain. The newspapers published the announcement of his passing with the headline "le roi est mort," "the king is dead." 30,000 people attended his funeral. His tombstone reads "NORTON I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico" and can be seen in the Woodlawn Cemetery, in Colma. The day after his funeral was marked by a total eclipse of the sun.

Isn't that a romantic story? He's as much a part of US history as any president we've had, yet not many know of him. For twenty-one years in the mid to late eighteen hundreds, the United States DID have an emperor, our only one, if only in the mind of one man and those of the good people that humored him. He's all over the internet as well. Wikipedia has a good article on him, as do many other sites.

So there's your forgotten history lesson for the day, girls and boys. Hope you enjoyed it!