Patriotic Order Sons of America

Patriotic Order Sons of America

The advertisement seen here was placed in the business ad section of the 1929 “Alligewi,” the Allegany High School of Cumberland, Maryland yearbook by Washington Camp No. 62, Patriotic Order Sons of America. The Patriotic Order was reaching out to high school graduates to join this organization as long as they were a “white male person” and “born on the soil or under the jurisdiction of the United States.” Additional membership criteria of the Order, which are several, are identified in the depicted advertisement.

According to Wikipedia the Patriotic Order Sons of American (P.O.S. of A.) was a fraternal organization originally founded in 1847. It was anti-immigration and anti-Catholic. At one point they had chapters, known as “camps” in twenty states, with Maryland having 2,648 members according to a 1900 report. As of today the P.O.S. of A. maintains a presence only in the state of Pennsylvania.

It should be noted that by 1934 the Order’s constitution had eliminated any reference to
race and today the Patriotic Order Sons of America is open to American citizens of all races. The main goals of the organization are to ensure free public education, the separation of church and state and avoid the interference of any foreign powers in the government.