You may find it strange. The United States is the United States. Since the founding of the country in 1776, the national leader has always been called "President". How could an emperor appear? But there is indeed an emperor in the history of the United States. Next, Lord Chaos will explain it to everyone one by one.
The American emperor's name was Joshua Abraham Norton. He was born in England in 1811. He immigrated to South Africa with his parents in 1820. Later, due to the gold rush set off by San Francisco , he ran to the United States. He struck gold and soon relied on his intelligence to become a respected wealthy businessman in San Francisco. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long as he went bankrupt overnight due to business failures.
In 1858, Norton returned to the south of San Francisco with nothing, relying on loans to survive, but he was not willing to be lonely. Once, he was in a bar and heard someone say that in the United States, a paradise of freedom, as long as he does not break the law, , you can do whatever you want with . So Norton spent five days at home studying American laws, and unexpectedly discovered that there was no law in the United States that said citizens could not be emperors.
The next morning, Norton was in high spirits and wearing a shabby British naval captain's uniform. He came to the " San Francisco Chronicle " and told their editor-in-chief seriously that American law currently does not stipulate that citizens cannot do anything. Emperor, so far no American has proclaimed himself emperor. Now I officially declare that I am the American Emperor Norton I. I order you to publish my enthronement edict in the press. The first reaction of the editor-in-chief of was, you are a fool, you still want to be the emperor, and he couldn't help but laugh loudly, but the editor-in-chief immediately realized that this was explosive news, so he respectfully bowed deeply to Norton I Bowed and said, " I obey, my Majesty the Emperor ".
Soon, the citizens of San Francisco knew that they had an emperor, and everyone quickly and happily accepted this reality. Lincoln , the then President of the United States, was not angry when he learned that his country had an extra emperor. He just smiled and thought that since he had no soldiers and no power, he would just let you play.
Norton I personally patrolled his own land every day. In order to show his identity, Norton I also printed his own banknotes. He spent all his purchases in San Francisco with banknotes printed by himself. Although the businessmen in San Francisco knew that it was Counterfeit money, but also accepted his banknotes. Of course, Norton I did not print his own banknotes for consumption just because his banknotes could circulate smoothly. On the contrary, he was a very frugal emperor and only ate two meals a day.
During his tenure as emperor, he cared about current affairs and cared for his own people. He led many demonstrations for the abolition of black slavery and helped the Chinese who were bullied by the whites. When the Civil War broke out, he also issued an order for the governments of the north and the south to Reconciliation before the emperor. When the government's tax rate was too high, it would also ask the government to lower the tax rate. In the end, although the government resisted, Norton I, an emperor who cared for the people, also won the respect of the people. He once ordered the construction of a cross-sea bridge in San Francisco. Although the government did not implement it at the time, more than thirty years after the death of Norton I, the U.S. government built today's Golden Gate Bridge at its original location.
On January 8, 1880, Norton I suffered a stroke and died on his way to give a speech at the Academy of Sciences. Two days later, the people of San Francisco held a grand funeral for him. A total of 30,000 people attended the funeral . Everyone came to commemorate their beloved Emperor.
On June 30, 1934, the San Francisco government placed the tomb of Norton I in the Woodland Mausoleum and erected a tombstone with the words "Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico" engraved on it.
