Prussian scheme

Last updated November 28, 2023

The Prussian scheme refers to the rumor about a supposed suggestion in 1786 by Massachusetts politician Nathaniel Gorham 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, as the new king.

Background

Post-revolutionary monarchist tendencies

Prince Henry of Prussia was reportedly suggested for the hypothetical throne if the Constitutional Convention of 1787 created a monarchy. HeinrichvonPreussenTischbein1769.jpg — Prince Henry of Prussia was reportedly suggested for the hypothetical throne if the Constitutional Convention of 1787 created a monarchy.

The protracted disturbances created by the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation as the United States' constitution, which culminated in Shays' Rebellion, 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".^[1] 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 the German Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany to be king of the United States. The convention issued a public denial that any such proposal existed and the rumor died out.^[2]^[3]

American attitudes toward Prussia

American public opinion at the time generally regarded Prussia warmly.^[4] Prince Henry's older brother, Frederick the Great, harbored an "immense hatred" toward Great Britain for having abandoned Prussia near the end of the Seven Years' War.^[4] During the American Revolution, Frederick had closed Prussian territory to passage by the army of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, 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.^[5] Similar restrictions were placed on troops from other British allies attempting to transit to North America, including the Principality of Bayreuth, the Margraviate of Ansbach, and the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel.^[4]

Proposal

Early allegations

According to Rufus King in the 1820s, in 1786 Nathaniel Gorham secretly corresponded to Prince Henry of Prussia regarding his availability as monarch of the United States.^[6] Henry had no interest and he did not believe the American public would be likely to submit to a king.^[6] Rufus King's story of Gorham's offer was long considered apocryphal, though James Monroe in the 1820s told Andrew Jackson that he was aware some unnamed politicians who would later become members of the Federalist Party had "entertained principles unfriendly to our system of government".^[1]

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.^[6] The letter refers to a vague proposal the prince had received substantially similar to that detailed in the original story.^[6] 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.^[6]

Influence

Some have attributed the natural-born-citizen clause in the U.S. constitution 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.^[7]

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References

1 2 Dunbar, Louise (1923). A study of "monarchical" tendencies in the United States, from 1776 to 1801. University of Illinois. p. 55, quoting a Massachusetts book from 1788.
↑ Kraul 1911, p. 49.
↑ Vile, John (2005). The Constitutional Convention of 1787: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of America's Founding. ABC-CLIO. p. 490. ISBN 1851096698.
1 2 3 Haworth, Paul (April 1904). "Frederick the Great and the American Revolution". The American Historical Review. 9 (3): 460–478. doi:10.1086/ahr/9.3.460. hdl: 2027/loc.ark:/13960/t4dn4jz77 . JSTOR 1833470.
↑ Lowell, Edward (1884). The Hessians and the Other German Auxiliaries of Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. Harper & Bros. p. 52.
1 2 3 4 5 Krauel, Richard (October 1911). "Prince Henry of Prussia and the Regency of the United States, 1786". The American Historical Review. 17 (1): 44–51. doi:10.1086/ahr/17.1.44. JSTOR 1832837.
↑ Nelson, Michael (2012). Guide to the Presidency and the Executive Branch. CQ Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-1452234281.

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[phd-1] 1 2 Dunbar, Louise (1923). A study of "monarchical" tendencies in the United States, from 1776 to 1801. University of Illinois. p. 55, quoting a Massachusetts book from 1788.

[2] Kraul 1911, p. 49.

[vile-3] Vile, John (2005). The Constitutional Convention of 1787: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of America's Founding. ABC-CLIO. p. 490. ISBN 1851096698.

[prussia-4] 1 2 3 Haworth, Paul (April 1904). "Frederick the Great and the American Revolution". The American Historical Review. 9 (3): 460–478. doi:10.1086/ahr/9.3.460. hdl: 2027/loc.ark:/13960/t4dn4jz77 . JSTOR 1833470.

[5] Lowell, Edward (1884). The Hessians and the Other German Auxiliaries of Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. Harper & Bros. p. 52.

[krauel-6] 1 2 3 4 5 Krauel, Richard (October 1911). "Prince Henry of Prussia and the Regency of the United States, 1786". The American Historical Review. 17 (1): 44–51. doi:10.1086/ahr/17.1.44. JSTOR 1832837.

[7] Nelson, Michael (2012). Guide to the Presidency and the Executive Branch. CQ Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-1452234281.

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