Chapter 10: Nativism
Nativists ensured that the membership was limited to native-born people, protestants born by Protestant parents and not married to Catholics. Their purpose was to protect American citizens as they resisted foreign influences against American institutions. Members were required to maintain the secrets of the movement. Criticizers named the party the Know-Nothing party because it was undisclosed to the majority of the public. When asked about the party, members replied that they knew nothing and refused to disclose the parties’ doctrines to outsiders. The Know Nothing party changed its name to the American Party in 1854, whereby they took charge of the Massachusetts legislature. The Know Nothing movement came up to oppose immigration. Immigrants opted to settle in the northern cities.
Nativists were worried because the immigrants who were mostly Catholics were loyal to the pope than the president. They feared that one day, the immigrants would rule America by placing the pope as their president. The know-nothing party had the intention of inhibiting Catholics and immigrants from being voted to occupy political offices. They believed that immigrants did not deserve jobs in the private sector because they wanted the country’s business owners to employ Americans. Most of the nativists came from middle and working-class origins. They were afraid of competing for jobs now that immigrants were streaming into the USA.
The religious differences between Protestant Americans and Roman Catholic immigrants created economic, social, and political struggles. Immigrants were mostly unskilled workers who competed with the working class for low-salary occupations. In 1837, there was fear on the nativist’s side because jobs were minimal and wages were low. This led to tension between the nativists and the immigrants. The majority of white protestants hated the Catholics because they were against the taxation of public schools. The Catholics, who were majorly immigrants, enrolled their children in Catholic schools as they believed that there was no need to support schools that their kids did not attend. As a result, they never thought about paying taxes.
The anti-Roman Catholic political organization took power in Ohio, and cities like Youngstown and Cleveland printed newspapers that contained the know-nothing beliefs. Nativism exists today in most countries globally, whereby the rights of the people of a nation are majorly considered, and the immigrants are overlooked in that they do not enjoy some of the merits. The nativist movement did not impact much on the current immigration because it still occurs, although some countries have put measures to minimize it.
References
Soule, Leon Cyprian. The Know Nothing Party in New Orleans: A Reappraisal. Louisiana Historical Association, 1962.
Mulkern, John R. The Know-Nothing Party in Massachusetts: The Rise and Fall of a People’s Movement. UPNE, 1990.
Levine, Bruce. “Conservatism, Nativism, and Slavery: Thomas R. Whitney and the Origins of the Know-Nothing Party.” The Journal of American History 88.2 (2001): 455-488.
Kymlicka, Will, and Keith Banting. “Immigration, multiculturalism, and the welfare state.” Ethics & International Affairs 20.3 (2006): 281-304.
