American Party

THE AMERICAN PARTY, more commonly known as the Know-Nothings, was a nativist political party existing from 1853 to 1856. In that time, the party claimed 1.25 million members and was successful in electing many of its candidates to both state and national office. The party put forth Millard Fillmore as its presidential candidate in the election of 1856. Fillmore pulled in eight electoral votes and 874,534 popular votes.

The party began as a secret society in 1850, known as the Order of the Star Spangled Banner (OSSB), founded in New York City, a hub of immigration. The society's members took an oath of secrecy, agreeing to conceal the party's existence. Members pledged to use their votes to remove political power from immigrants [Page 512]and the politicians who courted them. By 1853, the society was no longer secret and became openly known as the Know-Nothings due to its members' legendary claim that they knew nothing of such an organization. In 1855, due to internal disputes, many Know-Nothings left the party and joined the newly organized Republicans. Those who remained reorganized and became known as the American Party.

At its inception, the original Know-Nothing Party organized against the boom of immigration. From 1845 to 1854, almost 3 million immigrants came into the United States, making up 14.5 percent of the total American population, the highest proportion in American history. Over 40 percent of these immigrants were Irish Catholic, a religion that many Americans considered at odds with the principles of liberty and equality. The Know-Nothings believed fiercely that Protestantism defined American society through its emphasis on individuality and democratic congregations. The system of hierarchy and autocracy within the Catholic Church seemed to challenge the very foundation of American government. Know-Nothings accused the Catholic Church of discouraging individuality and Bible reading, as well as the possibility of having a personal relationship with God, all of which were values they believed the founders held dear. They also believed that the Catholic system of intercession and hierarchy subverted the political system because priests held an enormous amount of power over their congregations in elections. This system, the Know-Nothings held, allowed a minority to wield disproportionate power.

The party is best known for its opposition to immigrant voting power. Its best-known slogan was “Americans Must Rule America.” Know-Nothing ideology held that professional politicians actively pursued the votes of ignorant immigrants. These demagogues lacked the virtue of the founding fathers, putting party interests before those of the nation.

The party structure needed to be dismantled in order to reestablish traditional political values. Specifically, the party proposed an extension of the naturalization period from five to 21 years and a permanent prohibition on the appointment of any foreign-born individual to political office. Know-Nothings also embraced temperance legislation, blaming alcohol consumption for immigrant immorality.

Few Know-Nothings proposed a restriction or end to immigration. Most party leaders only wished to keep the immigrant population politically powerless until individuals were fully Americanized. Their fear was that the founders' vision was being perverted due to party corruption and immigration. Their conservatism rested on a desire to return to the country's early days when political leaders valued virtue and true republicanism.

The American Party, or Know-Nothings, ran conservative Millard Fillmore for president in the 1856 election.

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