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The Know-Nothing Party was a short-lived but significant political party in the US during the 1840s and 1850s, focused on nativism and opposing immigration. They had some political victories, but declined after their presidential candidate lost in 1856 and anti-slavery members left for the Republican Party. They ceased to exist by 1860.
The Know-Nothing Party, officially known as the American Party, was a particularly prominent political party in United States politics during the 1840s and 1850s. Its moment in the spotlight was short-lived and would cease to exist when the American Civil War broke out . Nonetheless, he remains one of the most significant agents of nativism in US history.
The origin of the Know-Nothing Party can be traced back to June 1843, when a political organization, alarmed by the growing presence of immigrant voters and officials, formed the American Republican Party in New York. By 1845, the movement had spread nationwide and became the Native American Party. By 1855, the name had been changed once again to the American Party. The origin of the term “Know Nothing” comes from the answer that members gave to non-members when asked about the party’s activities: “I know nothing”.
Most of the Nowhere Party members were white, middle-class or working-class, and Protestants. They favored their group’s interests over others, in this case, immigrants or newcomers to their nation. They were not happy with the influx of Irish and German Catholics, believing they would be more loyal to the head of the Catholic Church, the Pope, than to their new country. That kind of allegiance would mean that they failed to abide by the Anglo-Saxon Protestant values upon which the party of not knowing believed the United States was built. Thus, party members strove not only to end immigration but also to prevent newly arrived foreigners from becoming citizens, a process known as naturalization.
The height of the Party of Not Knowing’s power occurred in the mid-1850s. In 1854, the party swept the Massachusetts legislature in what would become their greatest political victory. Additionally, they had mayoral candidates elected in cities such as Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. The Know-Nothing Party was especially strong in the state of Ohio, where members were actually able to win over non-Catholic Irish and German immigrants, and contributed to the election of Salmon P. Chase as state governor. By late 1855, the Know-Nothings had exerted considerable influence in the northeastern United States, perhaps reinforced by the fact that most immigrants came to this area of the country; moreover, the party boasted a strength of about a million.
After these successes, however, the importance of the Party Who Doesn’t Know declined sharply. It began with their presidential candidate, Millard Fillmore, losing the 1856 election. Also, the party was indecisive about its stance on slavery, with its anti-slavery members starting to leave the organization for the Republican Party. By 1860, the mass defection was nearly complete and the Nothing Party ceased to exist.
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