Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
Know-nothing movement
*** Shopping-Tip: Know-nothing movement
The '''Know-Nothing movement''' was a
nativist United States American political movement of the
1850s. It grew up as a popular reaction to fears that corruption was overcoming the major cities because of the political activity of Irish Catholic immigrants. It was a short-lived movement mainly active 1854-56; it demanded reform measures but few were passed. There were few prominent leaders, and the membership, mostly middle class and Protestant, apparently was soon absorbed by the
Republican Party (United States) Republican Party in the North.
It is sometimes thought that in the South the Know-Nothings were fundamentally different from their northern counterparts, and were motivated less by nativism or anti-Catholicism than by conservative Unionism; according to this interpretation, southern Know-Nothings were mostly old Whigs who were worried about both the pro-slavery extremism of the Democrats and the emergence of the anti-slavery Republican party in the North. It is true that in Louisiana and Maryland some Know-Nothings attempted to attract members of those states' long-established Catholic communities. But according to historian Michael F. Holt, "Know Nothingism originally grew in the South for the same reasons it spread in the North--nativism, anti-Catholicism, and animosity toward unresponsive politcos--not because of conservative Unionism." He quotes ex-Governor William B. Campbell of Tennessee, who wrote in January 1855, "I have been astonished at the widespread feeling in favor of their principles--to wit, Native Americanism & anti-Catholicism--it takes everywhere." (The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party, p. 856.)
The official name of the movement was the '''American Party'''. The origin of the "Know Nothing" term was in the semi-secret organization of the party. When a member was asked about its activities, he was supposed to reply "I know nothing."
Many active Protestants feared that the
Pope planned to undermine American democracy by creating a political network, controlled by him through his bishops and priests. Some Protestants argued that the strong allegiance of Roman Catholics to the Pope and priests ran counter to the values of independent voters that was required by republicanism. Pope
Pius IX was increasingly a leader after the failed liberal
Revolutions of 1848 of intransigent European reaction and opposition to liberty, democracy and Protestantism. These concerns encouraged
conspiracy theories regarding the Pope's purported plans to subjugate the United States through a continuing influx of obedient Catholics controlled by Irish priests and by bishops personally selected by and responsible directly to the Pope, who (until 1860) ruled the
Papal States in and around Rome with an iron hand. In
1849, an oath-bound
secret society, The
Order of the Star Spangled Banner, was created by
Charles Allen in
New York City. It became the nucleus of some units of the American Party.
The growing sentiment against
Irish Americans led to a dissatisfaction with the dominant party, the
History of the United States Democratic Party Democrats, who were closely allied to Irish politicians in most major cities. Thus activists formed secret groups, coordinating their votes and throwing their weight behind candidates sympathetic to their cause. When asked about these secret organizations, members supposedly were to reply "I know nothing," which led to them popularly being called ''Know-Nothings''. This movement won elections in major cities from Chicago to Boston in 1855, and carried the
Massachusetts legislature and governorship.
In spring 1854 they carried Boston, Salem, and other New England cities. They swept the state of Massachusetts in the fall 1854 elections--their biggest victory. The Whig candidate in Philadelphia was editor Robert Conrad, soon revealed as a Know-Nothing; he promised to crack down on crime, close saloons on Sundays, and to appoint only native-born Americans to office. He won by a landslide. In New York, the largest state, in a four-way race the Know Nothing candidate ran third with 26%. After the fall 1854 elections they claimed to have exerted decisive influence in Maine, Indiana, Pennsylvania and California, but historians are unsure because of the secrecy, because all parties were in turmoil, and because the anti-slavery and prohibition issues overlapped with nativism in complex and confusing ways. They did elect the mayor of San Francisco. They were still an unofficial movement with no centralized organization. The results of the 1854 elections were so favorable to the Know-Nothings that they formed officially as a political party, called the '''American Party''', and swallowed many members of the now nearly-defunct Whig party, as well as a significant number of Democrats and prohibitionists. Membership in the American Party increased dramatically: from 50,000 to over one million in a matter of months in that year, it is estimated. The same member might also split tickets to vote for Democrats or Republicans, for party loyalty was in confusion. Simultaneously the new Republican party emerged as a dominant power in many northern states. Very few prominent politicians joined the party, and very few party leaders had a subsequent career in politics. The major exceptions were
Shuyler Colfax in Indiana and
Henry Wilson in Massachusetts, both of whom became Republicans and were elected vice president.
The leading historian of the party concludes: [Anbinder p 95]
The key to Know Nothing success in 1854 was the collapse of the second party system, brought about primarily by the demise of the Whig party. The Whig party, weakened for years by internal dissent and chronic factionalism, was nearly destroyed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Growing anti-party sentiment, fueled by anti-slavery as well as temperance and nativism, also contributed to the disintegration of the party system. The collapsing second party system gave the Know
Nothings a much larger pool of potential converts than was available to previous nativist organizations, allowing the Order to succeed where older nativist groups had failed.
In spring 1855,
Levi Boone was elected
Mayor of Chicago for the Know-Nothings. He barred all immigrants from city jobs. Statewide, however, Republican leader
Abraham Lincoln blocked the party from any successes. Ohio was the only state where the party gained strength in 1855. Their Ohio success seems to have come from winning over immigrants, especially German Lutherans and Scottish Presbyterians who feared Catholicism.
The party declined rapidly in the North in 1855-56. In the
U.S. presidential election, 1856 Election of 1856, it was bitterly divided over anti-slavery; one faction supported
Millard Fillmore who won 22% of the popular vote and Maryland's 8 electoral votes. However he did win enough votes in Pennsylvania to block Republican
John C. Fremont from the White House. Most of the anti-slavery members of the American Party joined the
History of the United States Republican Party Republican Party.
The pro-slavery wing of the American Party remained strong on the local and state levels in a few southern states, but by the
U.S. presidential election, 1860 Election of 1860, they were no longer a serious national political movement.
Platform
The platform of the American Party called for, among other things:
*Severe limits on immigration, especially from Catholic countries.
*Restricting political office to native-born Americans
*Mandating a wait of 21 years before an immigrant could gain citizenship.
*Restricting public school teachers to Protestants.
*Mandating daily Bible readings in public schools (from the
Biblical canon#Protestant OT canon Protestant version of the Bible).
*Restricting the sale of
liquor.
Trivia
In 1854 alleged members of the American Party stole and destroyed the block of granite contributed by
Pope Pius IX for the
Washington Monument. They also took over the monument's building society and controlled it for four years. What little progress occurred in their tenure had to be undone and remade. For the full story, see ''
Washington Monument#History Washington Monument: History''.
See also
*
Second Party System
*
Third Party System
*
Philadelphia Nativist Riots
*
James Greene Hardy
Notes
#{{note|nar}} Lind, Michael Free Press (Reprint)
References
* Anbinder; Tyler. ''Nativism and Slavery : the northern Know Nothings and the politics of the 1850's'' (1992). Online at ACLS History e-Book
* Baum, Dale. "Know-Nothingism and the Republican Majority in Massachusetts: The Political Realignment of the 1850s." ''Journal of American History'' 64 (1977-78): 959-86. **also in ''The Civil War Party System: The Case of Massachusetts, 1848-1876'' (1984)
* Ray A. Billington, ''The Protestant Crusade, 1800-1860: A Study of the Origins of American Nativism'' (1938)
* Gienapp, William E. ''The Origins of the Republican Party, 1852-1856'' (1938)
* Clifford S. Griffin; ''Their Brothers' Keepers: Moral Stewardship in the United States, 1800-1865''Rutgers University Press. 1960
* Melton, Tracy Matthew. ''Hanging Henry Gambrill: The Violent Career of Baltimore's Plug Uglies, 1854-1860'' (2005)
*
Allan Nevins Nevins, Allan. ''The Ordeal of the Union'' (1947) v 2
* Overdyke, W. Darrell ''The Know-Nothing Party in the South'' (1950)
{{Wikisourcepar|Know Nothing Platform 1856}}
External links
-
Lager Beer Riot, Chicago 1855
-
American Party in Texas
Category:Historic United States political parties
Category:History of Catholicism in the United States
Category:History of immigration to the United States
Category:Anti-Catholicism Know Nothing
Category:Secret societies
no:Know-Nothingpartiet
sv:Knownothings
see :
Know-Nothing movement
*** Shopping-Tip: Know-nothing movement
