SH Archive Emperors of the USA: Norton I, and Aaron I

[KD Archive]

Emperor of the USA: Norton I

Well, the official history paints him as a coo-coo crazy guy, who was a citizen of San Francisco, California. He proclaimed himself "Norton I, Emperor of the United States" in 1859. He later assumed the secondary title of "Protector of Mexico".

Wikipedia continues with the following narrative:

• 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.

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• Though Norton received many favors from the city, merchants also capitalized on his notoriety by selling souvenirs bearing his name. “San Francisco lived off the Emperor Norton,” Norton’s biographer William Drury wrote, “not Norton off San Francisco.”
• Norton had no formal political power; nevertheless, he was treated deferentially in San Francisco, and currency issued in his name was honored in the establishments that he frequented. Some considered him insane or eccentric, but citizens of San Francisco celebrated his imperial presence and his proclamations, such as his order that the United States Congress be dissolved by force and his numerous decrees calling for the construction of a bridge and tunnel crossing San Francisco Bay to connect San Francisco with Oakland.

• On January 8, 1880, Norton collapsed at the corner of California and Dupont (now Grant) streets and died before he could be given medical treatment. Upwards of 10,000 people lined the streets of San Francisco to pay him homage at his funeral.

From above: currency issued in his name was honored in the establishments that he frequented.

• ...one too many to be a joke, don't you think? That's 5 banknotes below. I'm wondering how many more could be out there.

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But then we have a very old article like the one below. The guy sure does sound crazy. Or... is being presented as such.

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How much trust can there be allocated to the 19th century press, which produced the following pearls?

• 1906 San Francisco
• 1889 Seattle

Golden Gate Bridge?​

The construction of the Golden Gate bridge did not start until 1933. Naturally, this 1939 memorial plaque had to be some good-natured fun. Right?

KD: Essentially, We are being told that this Emperor Norton the First was just a local clown adorned by everybody in the 19th century San Francisco.

• But... was he some eccentric dude, or was he a real Emperor being portrayed as a clown?

Info and Links:

• The Strange Story of Emperor Norton
• On the Trail of the Elusive "Frisco" Proclamation
• Norton's Photographs
• Norton I, Emperor of the United States
• Emperor's Bridge Compaign
• Emperor Norton's Banknotes
• Emperor Norton - Wikipedia
• The Imperial Government of Emperor Norton-1, in Faith and Honor on the Internet: Bank of Norton and His Money

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Instances like the one above sure do appear funny, up to the point where we have another Emperor of the United States. In history, Aaron Burr is known as an "Outlaw Emperor", as well as the third Vice President of the United States. The story is not without a conspiracy of its own.

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Anyways, I think this is something to be looked into. When the Vice President of the United States is being charged with treason for assembling an armed force to take New Orleans and separate the Western from the Atlantic states... there has to be something there. At least it's my opinion at this point. So far we have a blanket historical opinion:

• According to some contemporaries, Burr had designs on founding a new western nation with himself as its emperor.
• FYI: Burr–Hamilton duel - Wikipedia

Note: This OP was recovered from the Wayback Archive.

Note: Archived Sh.org replies to this OP: Emperors of the USA: Norton I, and Aaron I

 

[zlax]

Discordians believe everybody should live like Norton.

Waitman Gobble wrote:

"WHEREAS, we issued our decree ordering the citizens of San Francisco and Oakland to appropriate funds for the survey of a suspension bridge from Oakland Point via Goat Island; also for a tunnel; and to ascertain which is the best project; and whereas the said citizens have hitherto neglected to notice our said decree; and whereas we are determined our authority shall be fully respected; now, therefore, we do hereby command the arrest by the army of both the Boards of City Fathers if they persist in neglecting our decrees.

Given under our royal hand and seal at San Francisco, this 17th day of September, 1872"

interestingly, the bridge and the tunnel both actually happened. "Goat Island" is called Treasure Island now, Lucas had film studios there at one point. (might still be there?) - EDIT: actually i guess Treasure island is a man-made island connected to "yerba buena island", which was called Goat Island for a period of time

...

https://hyperdiscordia.church/discordian_holydays.html

Positively the most ancient Discordian Holyday, Aaron Burr's Birthday was first celebrated in 1957, before there even was a Discordian Society, by Lord Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst, who may have used it as an excuse to ditch school. Of course it was presumably observed long before that by Burr himself, who was born on February 6th of 1756. Described in Volume Five (5) of The Encyclopedia Americana as ``A precocious youth who would rebel against authority throughout his life...,'' Burr is nevertheless classed by many Americans as a notorious traitor, second only in infamy to Benedict Arnold, on whose staff he in fact once served.
But, in actual truth, Aaron Burr was ``adroit rather than profound,'' according to the same volume (five), ``with a magnetic personality and a quick mind not overburdened with scruples.'' There is, of course, little that is worse than an overburdened mind.
Everyone, practically, knows about Tammany Hall and Boss Tweed, made famous by political cartoonist Thomas Nast. Few realize that it was originally Aaron Burr who converted the Tammany Society into a political machine. Most people have heard of the Chase Manhattan Bank, headquarters of the Rockefeller-Communist Conspiracy. Few realize that Burr was among its founders. Burr was also Vice President under Thomas Jefferson who, in turn, said that Adam Weishaupt, father of the Bavarian Illuminati, was ``a great humanitarian.'' But enough of these accolades.
On July 11th of 1804, Aaron Burr shot and killed in a duel Alexander Hamilton. For that alone, he deserves the everlasting gratitude of all but landlords and bankers. Moreover, contrary to what is asserted in school books, Hamilton did not first deliberately fire over Burr's head, in keeping with some gentlemanly custom. As was brought to public attention in the mid-1970's by the curator of the museum where Hamilton's pistol is on display, Hamilton had filed down a trigger mechanism (so the gun would have a hair trigger) in order to gain an unfair advantage over poor Burr! Hoisted, however, on his own petard, Hamilton accidentally fired before taking aim.
We celebrate Aaron Burr's Birthday secure in the knowledge that the man who shot Alexander Hamilton cannot have been all bad.

 

[emperornorton]

I say Emperor Norton I was Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III).

According to the terms of the Tilsit treaty dictated by Napoleon I in 1807, a large chunk of North America devolved on his younger brother Louis and thence by the course of primogeniture on Louis' son and namesake, Louis Napoleon (you'd think it would be "Louis Bonaparte") who later became Emperor Napoleon III of France.

The English translation quoted by Wikipedia refers to "Holland," but the official text of the treaty reads "Belgique et les Pays-Bas." There were a number of separate and secret treaties with various states of Europe behind the public articles as well, forming an extremely complex web of intrigues. But basically all of these treaties were unified in attempting to isolate Great Britain and deprive her of her possessions in America. Interestingly, right after the treaty was signed Great Britain sent a flotilla to California...

At any rate, Napoleon I passed from the scene and France spent a few years trying to decide whether it wanted a monarchy or a republic. Louis Napoleon Jr. had been pro-actively incarcerated at the time to keep him out of political trouble but he managed to escape and a few years later had wheedled his way into the French imperial seat.

Napoleon III failed to lead France back to the heights of imperial glory as promised and by 1859 was becoming a serious political liability. This was right around the time that Norton is said to have entered his delusion in San Francisco.

And he never did return to Paris! There is that Legion of Honor palace in San Francisco though and he probably visited that at least once.

Left: Louis Napoleon, Emperor of France. Right: Joshua Norton of San Francisco

 

[Fawkes]

Aaron Burr is known as an "Outlaw Emperor", as well as the third Vice President of the United States. The story is not without a conspiracy of its own.

Have you a link to that picture of "Emperor Burr"? I was wondering how he became "Emperor" in 1799, years before he became Vice-President, fought that infamous duel, and supposedly tried to form an empire from Southwestern territories & parts of Mexico. In 1799 he did form the Bank of the Manhattan Company, however, the predecessor of today's JPMorgan Chase & Co., which is intriguing in itself.

And he never did return to Paris!

??? Then who ruled France from 1859-1870, another imposter?

 

[Frostychud]

Napoleon III failed to lead France back to the heights of imperial glory as promised and by 1859 was becoming a serious political liability. This was right around the time that Norton is said to have entered his delusion in San Francisco.



And he never did return to Paris! There is that Legion of Honor palace in San Francisco though and he probably visited that at least once.

In the first clipping, the name "Louis Napoleon" looks cut out and pasted in in less bold type. Are you suggesting that it originally read "Joshua Norton"?

Norton supposedly died on January 18, 1880, or 1/18/1880, a perfect aces and eights date, which I have come to see as a spook code for fakery. I don't know what that means here, but it’s worth pointing out.

Also, regarding the confusion of Holland and the Netherlands, here's a weird I669 DISSOLVOR coin said to be a thaler from Hesse:

Here's another one:

(What's up with the last number in the date? Does it read I 6 6 19? And is that God's hand severing the connection between Earth and...an Egyptian winged solar disk? Is the chain passing through Moscow? DISSOLVOR is apparently the "first person singular present passive indicative" of the verb "to dissolve". What's a present passive? Does it mean "I dissolve" or rather "I am dissolved?" Is the date of I669 a reference to some cataclysm that severed Earth from Heaven and not the date of the coin? "I am dissolved in I669?")

More to the point, if you look closely, the continents listed are EVROPA (or VROPA, I see no E), ASIA, AFRICA, TARTARIA, and...HOLANND (or HOLAN•NO) for this land mass in the bottom right. I guess that's Australia. Not "New Holland" as they tell us...just HOLANNO.

Sorry if the coin is too off-topic, happy to move it somewhere else.

I'd love to hear more of your ideas on all of these subjects.