Two hundred years ago, on February 4, 1818, Joshua Abraham Norton was born in Deptford, now part of modern London. His parents, John Norton and Sarah Norden, were English Jews whose last names were alarming. Sarah came from a line of great merchants and John was a trader himself. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In 1820, the British were sending many settlers to South Africa with the aim of colonization. To colonize, meaning a place where indigenous people already lived and where they had lived for thousands of years. In 1846, when he was almost 30, Norton lost his mother, Sarah. In 1848 he also lost his father John. That same year, Norton knew it was time for a change. He sailed west, crossed the Pacific, and arrived in San Francisco around November 1849. That's about a little more or a little less than a year at sea - which I guess sounds cool at first and becomes really old after the third or fourth time. wake up and think “hey, I’m still here”. For me, life at sea is like being old in Florida. Like you're disabled and stuck at home, but at the same time hurricanes and tsunamis are coming for you every other day. Norton reportedly inherited $40,000 from his father. Some accounts say he didn't have a lot of money, and that may be true, but when Norton arrived in San Francisco he experienced the enormous financial success that many people experienced during the gold rush. Many, but not all, mind you. The Gold Rush was not as kind to the other 300,000 people who flocked to California in 1849. Norton is said to have made his fortune in real estate. Well, that and imports. This is part of the reason the Gold Rush screwed up so many people: it was because the state was so far west that people would show up and not have farm where to eat, nor, well, anything to buy. So the smart people made their money by investing in the import game, bringing in products from other states, and then raising the price, because hey, who else do you buy your denim from? So, in 1853, Norton was worth a whopping $250,000. For perspective, that's well over $6 million today, which I say because my favorite currency calculator only goes back to the 1910s, so add another whole 60 years of inflation to that. But that same year, Norton saw an unexpected rice shortage hit the town. Norton poured literally as much money as he could into buying up local suppliers, trying to corner the market. Then, overnight, two enormous rice barges crossed the Golden Gate. (Not the bridge, just what the bridge crosses). The price of rice fell and Norton had wasted every penny of his investment. Now let's take that kind of failure and compound it when Norton tries to sue the owner of his investment. He lost not only his remaining money, but also his remaining properties. His failure was almost an exact recreation of everyone's losing round at Monopoly. Over the next six years, Norton descended into poverty and obscurity. In 1857 he made a few appearances, but those who once knew him said he had become someone else entirely. In 1859 this was manifested when Norton appeared in the office of the San Francisco Bulletin, with edicts written for every publisher he could find. He was dressed in full military regalia, as well as a large top hat with many feathersattached. He sported a very full beard. Norton had toured several newspapers, but it was the editor of the Bulletin who decided to humor him. The following edict was published in the San Francisco Bulletin on September 17, 1859. "At the peremptory demand and desire of a great majority of these United States, I, Joshua Norton... declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these United States and directs the representatives of the several States of the Union to meet at the Musical Hall... forthwith to make such alterations in the existing laws of the Union, so as to alleviate the evils under which the country is suffering and thus to generate confidence, both at home and abroad, in our stability and our integrity. Norton I, Emperor of the United States. » However, Norton had never shown signs of mental illness, neither during his career nor before. This decree was, however, very sincere. The new sovereign emperor of the United States saw great recognition in his city, because it's San Francisco and no one has anything better to do. When he passed in the street (always wearing this outfit), people would sometimes bow to him. The city directory even changed his professional title to Emperor, as an ironic joke. Soon the story began to be picked up by all the other newspapers and his antics began to be published in the daily newspaper. The following month, Emperor Norton made another statement: "fraud and corruption prevent a fair and proper expression of the public voice." ...therefore, we hereby abolish Congress. The Emperor says there will be no more congresses! He argued that both the Republican and Democratic parties should be abolished, because their divisions had created a gap in the nation's productivity. A controversial opinion, I'm sure you'll agree. When Norton learned that Congress was still meeting, he ordered U.S. General Winfield Scott to march on Washington and clear the halls of Congress. I SAID NO. NO CONGRESS! Go home! On top of that, he declared that the governor of Virginia would be hanged for authorizing the hanging of an abolitionist. Now, according to a biographer I read, his decrees were published in several San Francisco newspapers. In fact, some even began writing their own decrees, putting his name on them to sensationalize the stories. This is an argument for how the title "Protector of Mexico" was added to his name, but those at the History Channel and the San Francisco Chronicle claim that Norton had complete control over his crazy honorifics. When civil war threatened to tear the country apart. Other than that, our gentle emperor decided that we had our chance, but now it was time to completely dissolve the union and reformat it into a monarchy, with him on the throne. GOD SHIT, THAT'S ALL! YOU DON'T STOP CONGRESS, YOU USE SLAVES, YOU'RE DONE! Meanwhile, when France began its invasion of Mexico during the Baking War, Norton didn't like it. In the spirit of not really helping since he had no army, Norton simply began calling himself the protector of Mexico. Meanwhile, back home, Norton's reputation only improved. He was, at this point, the mascot of San Francisco, essentially. And if I have to throw this out there, I guess I should ask what their mascot is now? The governor? L Ron Hubbard?? He and his outfit became something of a merchandising opportunity, and memorabilia began to circulate in his honor. Photos, drawings and even dolls were made of the emperor! Even local business owners started giving him a little luxury,,.