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The Native Sons of the Golden West is a fraternal service organization founded in 1875, limited to native born Californians and dedicated to historic preservation, documentation of historic structures and places in the state, the placement of historic plaques and other charitable functions within California. In 1890 they placed the first historical marker in the state to honor the discovery of gold which gave rise to the state nickname "Golden State" and "Golden West." Former U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren were both past presidents of the NSGW. ==History== The Native Sons of the Golden West was founded 11 July 1875 by General A. M. Winn, a Virginian, as a lasting monument to the men and women of the Gold Rush Days. General Winn lived in California during the Gold Rush and was impressed with the spirit and perseverance of the "Forty-Niners." In speaking of his object in organizing the Order General Winn said "For twenty years my mind had been running on some lasting style of monument to mark and perpetuate the discovery of gold I could not think of anything that would not perish in course of time. At last it came to my mind that an Order composed of native sons would effect the object and be sustained by pride of parentage and place of nativity while it would be an imperishable memento an institution that would last through all time."〔The Overland Monthly, Volume 51 http://books.google.com/books?id=E7pUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=monterey+customs+house+native+sons&source=bl&ots=LD2eERUPhC&sig=1gAwnngCA4nVZ39O0NmkNnF-vB0&hl=en&ei=016LTuHGMMX-sQLosJSMBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=monterey%20customs%20house%20native%20sons&f=false〕 The chief objects of the Order as set forth in its constitution were, "To perpetuate in the minds of all native Californians the memories of the days of '49 to encourage a lively interest in all matters and measures relating to the promotion of the national interests and to the upbuilding of the State of California." Today, the Native Sons of the Golden West is open to membership from any native-born, current or former resident of California origin. The Native Sons of the Golden West is a charitable and fraternal organization. Organized locally into "Parlors," the group is perhaps best known for the large number of commemorative markers it has placed throughout the state. They have a sister organization, the Native Daughters of the Golden West. The term Golden West is a common colloquialism for California, popularly known as the Golden State. The Native Sons began as an organization "embracing only the sons of those sturdy pioneers who arrived on this coast prior to the admission of California as a state."〔''New York Times'', July 11, 1884〕 In the 1920s, the Native Sons took two very different stances; one on Japanese internment and one on rights for Native Americans. In 1920, then Grand President William P. Canbu of the Native Sons wrote that “California was given by God to a white people, and with God’s strength we want to keep it as He gave it to us.”〔''Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White'', Frank H. Wu, 2002〕 The Native Sons openly opposed Chinese, Mexican, and Japanese immigration and battled in the United States Supreme Court for Japanese-Americans to be disenfranchised during World War II.〔New York Times, July 27, 1942〕 However, by contrast, the Native Sons actively fought for California Native American rights. "The Commonwealth Club of San Francisco was looking into the matter of Indian rights under the 18 treaties as early as 1909. This resulted in a special section on Indian Affairs for the purpose of making a complete study of the rights, wrongs, and present condition of California Indians in 1924. The Native Sons was one of the groups that was active in this area. Study committees were formed and publicity as to the needs of the California Indians appeared in its magazine, the California Grizzly Bear. In 1922 and again in 1925, there were articles of real importance in arousing public opinion.〔'Five Views:An Ethnic Historic Site Survey for California', 1988 Johnson, Kenneth M., California Office of Historic Preservation〕 Today, the Native Sons welcome native Californians of all races. The current organization has many Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans and African American members, some of who have served in the order's highest offices.〔http://www.napa62.org Napa Parlor #62 website 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Native Sons of the Golden West」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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