Micro Empire

 

   People wanted to make George Washington king, but he refused, so the U.S. has never had a king. But it has had an emperor. That was Emperor Norton I, who ruled the United States from San Francisco from September 17, 1859 to his death on January 8, 1880. No one took  his proclamations  seriously because he was noted to be insane. But if you are going to live your life acting on your delusions, San Francisco is a good place to do it.

   Emperor Joshua Norton was born on this day in 1818 in London, not into royalty, but into a working class family. When he was four, he and his family emigrated to a farm in South Africa. He somehow made his way to San Francisco in 1849 and did well as a commodities speculator during the early gold rush days. Within three years he was one of the most prominent citizens in the city. He thought to make a killing in the rice market when there was a famine in China and bought up an entire shipload of rice from Peru for twelve cents per pound. Soon after, more ships arrived from Peru and the price dropped to four cents per pound. Norton was ruined  

   He tried to wiggle out of his contract by claiming the rice was of poor quality. For three years he fought in the courts, but the California Supreme Court eventually ruled against him and all his property was sold to pay his debts. Norton became obsessed with the unfairness of the court system and like a Dickens character whose brain becomes addled during a long court case, Norton lost touch with reality.

   On September 17, 1859 he sent a letter to a San Francisco newspaper declaring himself Emperor of the United States. He calling for representative of the various states to assemble in the Musical Hall in San Francisco to make changes in the laws that were currently causing so much evil in the country.

   Moving fast, Norton abolished Congress in October. He ordered General Winfield Scott, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, to clear the halls of Congress immediately. No one listened. He tried to get the Catholic and Protestant churches in the city to ordain him as Emperor so he could resolve the Civil War which had started in the meantime. The churches were non-committal.   

   By 1869 he had abolished the Democratic and Republican parties, and even more importantly he made using the word “Frisco” a high misdemeanor with a fine of twenty-five dollars. Some scholars say that rule may have been made by someone else using Norton's name.

   He did have some good ideas. He ordered the building of a bridge or tunnel between San Francisco and Oakland. Everyday he walked the streets of the city in a blue uniform given to him by soldiers at the Presidio. He inspected sidewalks, cable cars, and the condition of policemen's uniforms. The 1870 census listed him as living in a boarding house. His occupation was put down as "Emperor," but there was also a note that he was insane.

   When Prince Albert died, Norton wrote to Victoria suggesting he and she get married to strengthen ties between their countries. The Queen was not amused. Norton wrote to many other world leaders, but the only one who responded was the King of Hawaii. Kamehameha was upset with American incursions in his kingdom and refused to deal with Congress. He would only communicate via Emperor Norton.

   On January 8, 1880 Norton collapsed in the street on his way to give a lecture. He died before the ambulance arrived. The newspaper headline the next day read, “Le Roi Est Mort.” He was scheduled for a paupers’s funeral, but a businessmen’s club raised money for an expensive coffin and a decent funeral. Ten thousand citizens filed past his coffin to bid their Emperor farewell.

   Mark Twain met Norton in San Francisco and modeled the character of the King in Huckleberry Finn on him. Norton issued his own currency which was accepted by a few friendly restaurants around the city. The few surviving currency notes are collectors items and sell for more than $10,000 at auction.  There have been campaigns to rename the bridge to Oakland the “Emperor Norton Bridge,” but so far all that’s been accomplished is the placement of a plaque near the San Francisco end of the bridge, but this year is the 150th anniversary of his proclamation ordering the bridge be built so there's always hope.

Emperor Norton I, circa 1875