The emperor of The United States

Reliable sources (thank you, Ryan!) tell me that a citizen of San Francisco, Joshua A. Norton, proclaimed himself Emperor of the U.S.A., back in the 19th century. And no one seemed to be bothered by that. It is very true, isn't it?, the U.S. are the Land of Freedom, they must be.

Here's his story
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/norton.html