Prussian Scheme
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The Prussian scheme refers to the rumor about a supposed suggestion in 1786 by Massachusetts politician
Nathaniel Gorham Nathaniel Gorham (May 27, 1738 – June 11, 1796; sometimes spelled ''Nathanial'') was an American Founding Father, merchant, and politician from Massachusetts. He was a delegate from the Bay Colony to the Continental Congress and for six months ...
that if the country adopted a constitutional monarchy like England it ought to invite Henry of Prussia, a German prince of the
House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...
, as the new king. There was no interest on Prince Henry's part, and no evidence of any action ever taken by anyone. __TOC__


Background


Post-revolutionary monarchist tendencies

The protracted disturbances created by the shortcomings of the
Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation, officially the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement and early body of law in the Thirteen Colonies, which served as the nation's first Constitution, frame of government during the Ameri ...
as the United States' constitution, which culminated in
Shays' Rebellion Shays's Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both in ...
, reportedly gave rise to a small "class of men in the community who gave very serious apprehensions to the advocates for a Republican form of government". p. 55, quoting a Massachusetts book from 1788. During the May 1787 convening of the Philadelphia Convention that met in secret to write a new constitution, rumors were heard that the convention might adopt the British system of a constitutional monarch. And if it did so, the rumor had it that there was a possibility of inviting
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (Frederick Augustus; 16 August 1763 – 5 January 1827) was the second son of George III, King of the United Kingdom and King of Hanover, Hanover, and his consort Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A so ...
to be king of the United States. The convention issued a public denial that any such proposal existed and the rumor died out.


American attitudes toward Prussia

American public opinion at the time generally regarded
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
warmly. Prince Henry's older brother,
Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...
, harbored an "immense hatred" toward
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
for having abandoned Prussia near the end of the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
. During the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
, Frederick had closed Prussian territory to passage by the army of the
Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst Anhalt-Zerbst was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania, with its residence at Zerbst in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subdivision of the Principality of Anhalt from 1 ...
, a British ally. This required military forces from the landlocked nation to make a circuitous journey to reach a seaport for deployment to North America, during which nearly half of Anhalt-Zerbst troops deserted. Similar restrictions were placed on troops from other British allies attempting to transit to North America, including the
Principality of Bayreuth The Principality of Bayreuth () or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (''Markgraftum Brandenburg-Bayreuth'') was an immediate territory of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty. Since Burgrave Frederi ...
, the Margraviate of Ansbach, and the
Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, also known as the Hessian Palatinate (), was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The state was created in 1567 when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided upon t ...
.


Proposal


Early allegations

According to
Rufus King Rufus King (March 24, 1755April 29, 1827) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate from Massachusetts to the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convent ...
in the 1820s, in 1786
Nathaniel Gorham Nathaniel Gorham (May 27, 1738 – June 11, 1796; sometimes spelled ''Nathanial'') was an American Founding Father, merchant, and politician from Massachusetts. He was a delegate from the Bay Colony to the Continental Congress and for six months ...
secretly corresponded with Prince Henry of Prussia regarding his availability as monarch of the United States. Henry had no interest and he did not believe the American public would be likely to submit to a king. Rufus King's story of Gorham's offer was long considered apocryphal, though
James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...
in the 1820s told
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
that he was aware some unnamed politicians who would later become members of the
Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservativeMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...
had "entertained principles unfriendly to our system of government".


Possible confirmation

In the early 20th century an unsent draft of a letter was discovered in the Prussian archives from Henry, addressed to Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. The letter refers to a vague proposal the prince had received substantially similar to that detailed in the original story. In it, Henry reports he is not interested in an American crown but suggests that a French candidate would be better than a Prussian. However Prince Henry never sent the draft to Steuben. At the convention no mention whatever was made of any sort of monarchy.


Influence

Some have attributed the
natural-born-citizen clause A natural-born-citizen clause is a provision in some constitutions that certain officers, usually the head of state, must be "natural-born" citizens of that state, but there is no universally accepted meaning for the term ''natural-born''. The c ...
in the
U.S. constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally including seven articles, the Constituti ...
as an attempt by the Philadelphia Convention to end the persistence of rumors of European royalty being invited to assume a hypothetical United States throne.


See also

*
Newburgh Conspiracy The Newburgh Conspiracy was a failed apparent threat by leaders of the Continental Army in March 1783, at the end of the American Revolutionary War. The Army's commander, George Washington, successfully calmed the soldiers and helped secure back ...
(a possible military coup rejected by Washington in 1783) *
Newburgh letter On May 22, 1782, the Newburgh letter was sent to George Washington who was camped at Newburgh, New York; written for the army officers by Colonel Lewis Nicola, it proposed that Washington should become the King of the United States. Washington r ...
(a private letter by
Lewis Nicola Lewis Nicola (1717 – August 9, 1807) was an Irish-born American military officer, merchant, and writer who held various military and civilian positions throughout his career. Nicola is most notable for authoring the Newburgh letter, which ur ...
to George Washington suggesting he could be king of the United States; Washington was outraged.)


References

{{reflist, 30em 1786 in the United States Conspiracy theories in the United States Constitution of the United States Monarchism in the United States History of the government of the United States Cover-ups Scheme Coups d'état and coup attempts in the United States