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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." HISTORY Many active Protestant s 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 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 in Indiana and Henry Wilson in Massachusetts, both of whom became Republicans and were elected Vice President . The leading historian of the party concludes: p 95
In spring 1855, Levi Boone was elected Mayor Of Chicago for the Know-Nothings. He barred all immigrants from city jobs. Statewide, however, Republican 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. In Alabama , the Know-Nothings were a mix of former Whigs, malcontented Democrats, and other political misfits who favored state aid to build more railroads. In the tempestuous 1855 campaign, the Democrats convinced state voters that Alabama Know-Nothings could not protect slavery from Northern Abolitionist s. The party declined rapidly in the North in 1855-56. In the 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 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 Election Of 1860 , they were no longer a serious national political movement. Some historians argue 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; southern Know-Nothings were mostly old Whig s who were worried about both the pro-slavery extremism of the Democrats and the emergence of the anti-slavery Republican party in the North. In Louisiana and Maryland the Know-Nothings enlisted Catholics. Historian Michael F. Holt, however, argues, "Know Nothingism originally grew in the South for the same reasons it spread in the North--nativism, anti-Catholicism, and animosity toward unresponsive politicos--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." Holt ''The Rise and Fall of the American Whig Party'', p. 856. USAGE OF TERM The term "Know Nothing" is better remembered than the party itself. In the late 19th century Democrats would damn the Republicans as "Know Nothings" in order to secure the votes of Catholics. Since the early 20th century the term has been a provocative slur, suggesting the opponent is both nativist and ignorant. Thus in 2006 an editorial in the conservative magazine ''The Weekly Standard'' by Bill Kristol attacked populist Republicans for not recognizing the danger of "turning the GOP into an anti-immigration, Know-Nothing party." by Craig Shirley, "How the GOP Lost Its Way" ''Washington Post'' April 22, 2006; Page A21in PLATFORM The platform of the American Party called for, among other things:
TRIVIA In 1854 alleged members of the American Party stole and destroyed the block of granite contributed by ''. The American Party was represented in the 2002 film Gangs Of New York , led by Daniel Day Lewis as William Cutting, aka Bill The Butcher, the fictionalized version of real-life Know-Nothing leader William Poole . SEE ALSO NOTES |