page_title: Emperor Norton
section_title: Declaration as emperor
hierarchical_section_title: Emperor Norton / Biography / Declaration as emperor
caption_attribution_description: English: w:Joshua A. Norton (1819-1880), self-proclaimed Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico.
context_page_description: Joshua Abraham Norton, known as Emperor Norton, was a citizen of San Francisco, California, who proclaimed himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States" in 1859. In 1863 he took the secondary title of "Protector of Mexico" after Napoleon III invaded that country. Norton was born in England but spent most of his early life in South Africa. He sailed west after the death of his mother in 1846 and his father in 1848, arriving in San Francisco possibly in November 1849.
  Norton initially made a living as a businessman, but he lost his fortune investing in Peruvian rice to sell in China due to a Chinese rice shortage. He bought rice at 12 cents per pound from Peruvian ships, but more Peruvian ships arrived in port which caused the price to drop sharply to 4 cents. He then lost a lawsuit in which he tried to void his rice contract, and his public prominence faded. He re-emerged in September 1859, laying claim to the position of Emperor of the United States. Though Norton received many favors from the city, merchants also capitalized on his notoriety by selling souvenirs bearing his name.
context_section_description: By 1859, Norton had become completely discontented with what he considered the inadequacies of the legal and political structures of the United States. On September 17, 1859, he took matters into his own hands and distributed letters to the various newspapers in the city, proclaiming himself "Emperor of these United States":
  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 San Francisco, California, declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these United States; 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 February 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 announcement was first printed for humorous effect by the editor of the San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin. Norton later added "Protector of Mexico" to this title, and thus began his whimsical 21-year "reign" over America.
  Norton issued numerous decrees on matters of the state, including a decree on October 12, 1859 to formally abolish the United States Congress. In it, he observed:
  fraud and corruption prevent a fair and proper expression of the public voice; that open violation of the laws are constantly occurring, caused by mobs, parties, factions and undue influence of political sects; that the citizen has not that protection of person and property which he is entitled.
  Norton ordered all interested parties to assemble at Platt's Music Hall in San Francisco in February 1860 to "remedy the evil complained of".
  In an imperial decree the following month, Norton summoned the Army to depose the elected officials of the U.S. Congress:
  WHEREAS, a body of men calling themselves the National Congress are now in session in Washington City, in violation of our Imperial edict of the 12th of October last, declaring the said Congress abolished;
  WHEREAS, it is necessary for the repose of our Empire that the said decree should be strictly complied with;
  
  NOW, THEREFORE, we do hereby Order and Direct Major-General Scott, the Command-in-Chief of our Armies, immediately upon receipt of this, our Decree, to proceed with a suitable force and clear the Halls of Congress.
  Norton's orders were ignored by the Army, and Congress likewise continued without any formal acknowledgement of the decree. Further decrees in 1860 ordered dissolution of the republic and forbade the assembly of any members of the former Congress. Norton's battle against the elected leaders of America persisted for the remainder of his life. He issued a mandate in 1862 ordering both the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant churches to publicly ordain him as "Emperor", hoping to resolve the many disputes that had resulted in the Civil War.
  Norton then turned his attention to other matters, both political and social. He declared the abolition of the Democratic and Republican parties on August 12, 1869, "being desirous of allaying the dissensions of party strife now existing within our realm". The failure to treat Norton's adopted home city with appropriate respect is the subject of a particularly stern edict that often is cited as having been written by Norton in 1872, although evidence is elusive for the authorship, date, or source of this decree:
  Whoever after due and proper warning shall be heard to utter the abominable word "Frisco," which has no linguistic or other warrant, shall be deemed guilty of a High Misdemeanor, and shall pay into the Imperial Treasury as penalty the sum of twenty-five dollars.
  Norton was occasionally a visionary, and some of his Imperial Decrees exhibited profound foresight. He issued instructions to form a League of Nations, he explicitly for
caption: Emperor Norton in full dress uniform and military regalia, his hand on the hilt of a ceremonial sabre, c. 1875.
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