EMPEROR NORTON I: AMERICA’S FORGOTTEN DICTATOR

He reigned for 21 years - a monarch with absolute power over one of the most powerful countries on earth.

Norton: absolute monarch

Emperor Joshua Norton I declared himself supreme ruler of the United States in 1859: his avowed intention was to restore stability and integrity to a country he felt was falling into ruin.

Emperor Norton might easily have been dismissed as a harmless eccentric, were it not for the fact that he soon had a large number of supporters.

Aided by the newspapers of San Francisco, his decrees soon became known to vast numbers of people.

His reign began on 17 September, 1859, when he issued a proclamation to the Californian papers which read: ‘I declare and proclaim myself emperor of these United States.’

Imperial transport

He called for a public meeting of representatives of all the different states in America, signing his declaration: Norton I, Emperor of the United States. (He soon added Protector of Mexico to his title.)

His proclamation was greeted with wild enthusiasm by the people of California, who loved his bluntly worded decrees. Norton conferred upon himself the autocratic powers of an absolute monarch and, in the second week of October, 1859, formally abolished the House of Congress.

King of America

‘Open violation of the laws are constantly occurring,’ he declared, ‘caused by mobs, parties, factions and undue influence of political sects… the citizen has not that protection of person and property [to] which he is entitled.’

The following year, Emperor Norton called upon the army to forcibly depose the elected members of Congress, in order that he might consolidate his tenuous grip on power.

Both the army and congress ignored Norton, but the general public did not. They found him endearingly eccentric and loved his quirky and colourful decrees - all of which were widely published in American newspapers.

In 1862, he ordered the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches to ordain his emperor. (They ignored him). In 1869, he abolished the Democratic and Republican parties, Shortly afterwards, he issued a decree forbidding religious warfare.

Norton issued his own currency

Emperor Norton soon became a familiar figure to the citizens living in his imperial capital of San Francisco. He wore a navy military uniform with golden epaulets and a spectacular beaver-skin hat bedecked with rosettes and peacock feathers. Cane in hand, he’d patrol the streets of his capital, inspecting the state of public buildings.

Emperor Norton was, in reality, a penniless bankrupt, but he nevertheless regularly dined in San Francisco’s finest restaurants. In return for free food, he’d reward them with an imperial seal: ‘By appointment to his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Norton I of the United States.’

An imperial decree

Restaurants were desperate to get such seals, as they provided a significant boost to trade. The emperor also had the best seat reserved for him at the opening night of every show in his capital.

He had his occasional brush with the law, but he always got the upper hand. When, in 1867, he was arrested by the police in order to be committed to a mental asylum, there was a public outcry. It led to his immediate release and an apology from the police. Norton, ever magnanimous, granted an imperial pardon to the officers who arrested him.

By the 1870s, Norton was issuing his own currency: the banknotes became widely accepted in San Francisco. He was also granted recognition of sorts from the US government: the 1870 census lists his occupation as ‘emperor’.

His reign was to last another decade before coming to a dramatic end: in January 1880, he collapsed in the street and died shortly afterwards.

The San Francisco Chronicle announced the tragic news to the world. Under a banner headline, ‘Le Roi est Mort’, it said: ‘In the darkness of a moonless night under the dripping rain..., Norton I, by the grace of God, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, departed this life.’

His grave is these days in Woodlawn Cemetery in Colma, California, recognisable by its large inscribed stone bearing the words: ‘Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector.'


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