American Party

or Know-Nothing Party, in American politics, an organization opposed to foreign-born voters and to Roman Catholic influence in national affairs. During the late forties of the nineteenth century there was a tremendous emigration from Ireland into this country. Irish laborers poured into the Atlantic cities. Our naturalization laws permitted them to become voters on short notice. They controlled the cities, and were a large factor in state politics. The agitation against the Irish centered in New York and Philadelphia. Both parties were guilty of mob violence and rioting. The native Americans went so far as to burn Irish Catholic churches. The Irish voters paraded the streets with banners bearing such mottoes as "Americans shan't rule us." Anti-foreign sentiment, chiefly against the French, led the Federalists in 1798 to increase the term for naturalization from five to fourteen years. The same sentiment was responsible for the passage of the Alien and Sedition Laws. Although the Republicans repealed the Federal naturalization law in 1802, agitation continued. In 1835 a vigorous anti-foreign political movement was started in New York City. In 1844 the American party cast six electoral votes for Clay. In 1852 increased Irish emigration following the potato famine of 1847 started up the Americans anew. The nucleus of the party was a secret, oath bound society. From a constant habit of answering all inquiries with the profession of not knowing, they were called the Know-Nothings. In 1854 the Know-Nothing party carried state elections in Massachusetts and Delaware. In 1855 they carried most of the New England states, New York, Maryland, Kentucky, and California. In 1856 the Know-Nothing national ticket received 874,000 out of a total of 4,000,000 votes, and actually elected six members of the electoral college. From this time on the party declined. The results of the Civil War, during which foreign-born citizens rendered signal service to the Union cause, gave the Know-Nothing party its quietus.