The Man Who Declared Himself Emperor of the US

28 August 2011

BARBARA KLEIN: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein. This week on our program, the man who declared himself emperor of the United States: Joshua Norton. Here are Steve Ember and Robert Cohen with the story of Emperor Norton.

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STEVE EMBER: The small city of Colma, California is just a few kilometers south of San Francisco. Many people visit the city each year to see the burial place of one very unusual man in Colma’s Woodlawn Cemetery. These visitors come to see a memorial stone placed on his grave.

The writing on the stone says in large letters , “NORTON THE FIRST, - EMPEROR OF THE UNITED STATES AND PROTECTOR OF MEXICO.” Under this, in smaller size letters, is, “Joshua A. Norton Born Eighteen-Nineteen. Died January Eighth, Eighteen-Eighty.

ROBERT COHEN: Anyone who has studied American history knows that the United States is a democracy. The president and other political leaders of the United States are elected to office by the citizens. There is no royal family, no king, and no emperor.

Yet, Joshua Abraham Norton declared himself to be Emperor of the United States on September Seventeenth, Eighteen Fifty-Nine.

He sent an announcement to the newspapers of San Francisco saying he was Emperor Norton the First of the United States and the Protector of Mexico. The newspapers did not publish it.