The Know Nothing Party
The Know Nothing Party was America’s first anti-immigrant political party. Its conception was a result of backlash to the wave of Irish Catholic and German immigrants.
Officially called the American Party, the Know Nothing Party achieved two firsts – as the nation’s first significant third party, opposing the Democrats and the Whigs; and as the first national party to focus on immigration as the central issue of their platform. At a time when slavery continued to be the foremost issue for the two dominant parties, the choice helped to distinguish the Know Nothings from their rivals. Fueled by a growing anti-Catholic sentiment and concerns over the threat to jobs posed by the wave of Irish and German immigrants, the party called for restrictions on immigration and a 21-year period before immigrants could become naturalized citizens.
The Know Nothings had split off from the Whigs in the 1840s and, at their height, were well represented in Congress and state and local government. The party enjoyed a brief period of influence into the 1850s, but its nativist views proved to be more lasting.
