Nativism in the United States

Overview

Significant elements of nativism began to appear in the mid-1800s when large numbers of German and Irish immigrants came to the United States. The Haymarket Riot in 1886 crystallized the nativists' fear of immigrants and provided them with a concrete reason for their antialien sentiments. The immigrants spoke alien languages and had political beliefs, religious practices, and cultural characteristics that were viewed as un-American. Moreover, their tendency to live together in ethnic communities and embrace their cultural characteristics was viewed with suspicion by nativists and seen as a rejection of American society.

In 1849, in an effort to stem the economic and political influence of German and Irish immigrants, nativists became politically active and organized The Know-Nothing Party, which was also known as the American Party. The Know-Nothing Party was unabashedly anti-Roman Catholic and anti-immigrant. Secret lodges, like the Order of the Star-Spangled Banner, were associated with the Party and organized to provide support for U.S.-born Protestant Americans.

Nativism reached its zenith in the early 1900s as a new influx of immigrants from Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe came to the United States. While there were probably more similarities than differences between the old and new immigrants, nativists believed that the new immigrants—who were uneducated, settled in urban areas, and were viewed by many U.S.-born individuals as being involved in criminal activity—posed a different and more significant threat to the nation than earlier immigrants. Nativists used the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, which overthrew the Russian Czar, to argue that the new immigrants were a threat to American values and institutions and jeopardized the White race.

Later in the 20th century, as immigration slowed, nativism became associated with organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which was anti-Catholic, anti-Jewish, antiforeigner, and anti-Black. The KKK was active throughout the United States, but was particularly active in the South [Page 1606]where it engaged in violent activities designed to instill fear and promote segregation.

By the end of the 20th century, the United States had seen its first Catholic president and the children and grandchildren of early immigrants had become part of mainstream America. However, nativist sentiments and fear of foreigners did not disappear from American society. As new immigrants from Mexico, Asia, and the Caribbean began arriving in the United States in large numbers after the Immigration Reform Act was passed by Congress in 1965, nativism began to resurface. Books such as The Death of the West: How Dying Populations and Immigrant Invasions Imperil Our Country and Civilization by Patrick Buchanan and Who Are We? The Challenges to America's National Identity by Samuel P. Huntington provided intellectual arguments for nativism and a rationale for a fear of immigrants. As fears of immigrants increased, organizations such as the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps began to patrol U.S. borders and coastal boundaries in an effort to prevent unlawful entry into the United States. Instead of Catholics, Muslims were the target religious group for nativists in the 21st century after the terror attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. In many ways, nativism in the 21st century reflects a recycling of perspectives and concerns that were raised about immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries. The groups have changed, but the language used to describe the groups and the ways in which they are vilified are eerily similar.

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