The latest legal wrangle for the presidency of the United States might have seemed a drawn-out affair, but it wasn't the longest, nor the first to end as indeed it did.  Al Gore and George W. Bush re-enacted scenes which first occurred over a century before,  though they had no need to contend with a third party who regarded them as mere pretenders!

It seems like a fairy tale now, when we look back, but few US heads of state have been given burials as royal and solemn as that given to the man in question. 120 years ago, January 10th, 1880 to be exact, between ten and thirty thousand people lined the route of a funeral cortege, as it made its way through the streets of San Francisco.  Businesses, out of respect, closed for the day, and flags flew at half-mast. Many had shed bitter tears on reading the headline in the 'San Francisco Chronicle' on the previous day.  'Le Roi est mort' - the King is dead.  Who was this "King," and why was he so popular?

Four years before, the presidential elections of 1876 had been dogged by controversy  about voting returns.  A close-run contest anyway, mirroring the latest one, there were to be a full sixteen weeks of dispute before Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, who won the popular vote, conceded to Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, only three days before the inauguration!

The man for whom San Francisco had provided the most elaborate funeral ever seen there left an estate worth only $6 when he died -- a tramp of madcap appearance, who collapsed and died on a rain-swept street on January 8th 1880.  Yet he was no ordinary down and out. He had ruled America, at that time, for over twenty years.  He was Joshua Abraham Norton, alias Norton I, Emperor of the United States of America!

Joshua had been born in 1819, in London, on February 14th.  His father, John Norton, was a shrewd businessman and left a tidy legacy when he passed away.  Joshua arrived in San Francisco on April 23, 1849, and he immediately opened a general store.  He started brightly, and had accumulated $250,000 by 1853, but disastrous investments led to his being declared Bankrupt in 1857.

A broken man, he was forced to swap his smart town house for a decrepit bedsite, working for the very industry that had caused his downfall!  Little is known of the following two years, but he re-emerged in 1859 with renewed vigour and purpose. On the evening of September 16, he walked into the office of the editor at the San Francisco Bulletin with a document that many would have laughed at, but not this editor!

So impressed was this man, by the bearing and manner of his visitor, that he took him very seriously, and next morning, breakfast readers of the paper were amazed to see the following:

At the peremptory request and desire of a large majority of the citizens of these United States, I Joshua Norton... declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these United States; and in virtue of the authority thereby in me invested, do hereby order and direct the representatives of the different states of the Union to assemble. To make such alterations in the existing laws of the Union as may ameliorate the evils under which the country is labouring, and thereby cause confidence to exist, both at home and abroad, both in our stability and our integrity.

This statement was signed Norton I, Emperor of the United States, and Protector of Mexico.

As startling as this must have seemed to the people of San Francisco, they warmed to this genial and intelligent man, because he genuinely did take his self declared role very seriously indeed.  His second, published statement followed closely after, in which he declared:

It is represented to us that the universal suffrage, as now existing through the union, is abused:  That 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.

He involved himself heavily in the lives of his community and subjects, inspecting drainage and sewer systems, critically studying local transport, construction sites, and even talking about crime rates to the local police! He was a stockily built man, with full beard, always to be found striding around the city streets, keeping "in touch" with  the people. 

His was a dignified figure, which quickly became well known to his subjects, though his disaffection with the elected government grew swiftly, for they naturally ignored him, and it wasn't long before he had not only abolished Congress, but also dissolved the Republic! San Franciscans grew to love his eccentricity, even more so after, in disgust at his treatment by government,  he abolished the office of President, declaring that, henceforward, he would rule personally !

It's interesting to note that, in response to the news of the assassination of his fellow Emperor, Maximillian, by rebels, he surrendered the title of "Protector of Mexico!"

Norton wanted to be seen to be completely fair, even going so far as to attend different religious services every week, to avoid the spectre of sectarian rivalry for his good graces. A Jew himself, he eventually ordered the foundation of a "Universal Religion" into which all faiths were to joined -- at the same time as he abolished both the Democratic and Republican parties!

As unlikely as it might seem, today, the people of the city showed real deference to this eccentric character.  Upon seeing the pale blue army uniform with gold-plated epaulettes and brass buttons , the black beaver hat with bright green plume and rosette , the walking stick, the ever-present Chinese umbrella, the  heavy sabre clanking at his side, and the faithful hounds (Lazarus and Bummer), they would bow and curtsy.

His fairness was legendary, and he was often invited to arbitrate in local disputes, being thought of as having the wisdom of Solomon, by many.  He usually ate out, often at fashionable restaurants, but was very rarely asked to pay. New customers were almost guaranteed to be attracted by plaques proclaiming his patronage, and he was always allowed to use public transport free of charge.

Theaters would reserve three free seats for him and his two dogs, knowing that his entrance would bring the audience, respectfully, to its feet.  Through his "term of office" newspapers charged him nothing for publishing his "royal decrees."  When his regalia became too shabby, the city happily paid for a new one, with the best tailors fighting for the privilege of making it!  Norton elevated all city officials to the nobility, as a thank you gesture.

In spite of his status within the city, he continued to rule the country from his shabby bedsite.  Followers felt he deserved better accommodation, and when he decreed that the Grand Hotel should provide him with it, they complied respectfully.  It didn't last long, however - and he soon returned to his former home.

He was affectionately called "The Emp" by those close to him, and in order to deal with day to day expenses, he issued his own currency, "Bonds of Empire," which carried his portrait and which he himself designed and printed.  These promised to pay the bearer the full amount plus 25% in twenty years time, and they were happily accepted all over the city!

When an errant policeman had the audacity to arrest him in 1867, there was such public outcry that the police chief had to issue a full public apology. The city, in recompense, awarded Norton free board and lodging for life!  When Norton ordered the US navy to blockade a local riverboat company -- after a captain had mistakenly thrown him off for not paying -- the company directors gave him a lifetime free pass.

Norton was a visionary, and a statesman, not the madman some might believe.  He wrote often to other heads of state, including Bismarck and Queen Victoria. He offered President Lincoln his services as a mediator during the Civil War, but was politely refused.  The emperor called for funding for research into "aerial machines," called for the establishment of a "League of Nations," and proposed the building of a suspension bridge across the bay -- at a time when such structures were unknown outside of Africa.

The Golden Gate bridge was built fifty years later, just as he'd suggested it, and carries a testimonial plaque to his "prophetic  vision."  He may have worn boots that had slits in the sides, to accommodate his corns, and he may have been an eccentric of the first order, but one thing is certain.  He was an honest, noble, intelligent man, who was respected by his subjects because he had the greatest respect for them.

Norton I did what many politicians fail to do.  He won the hearts of the people, so wonderfully demonstrated by the grief that followed his final journey, to Woodlawn Memorial park in Colma.  His occupation was listed in both census and city directory as "Emperor," which title also graces his red granite tombstone.  In so many humanitarian ways, Joshua Norton really was the unsung Emperor of America.