Know Nothing Movement

Know Nothing
"Citizen Know Nothing": the Know Nothing Party's nativist ideal
First Leader	Lewis Charles Levin
Founded	1844 (1844)
Dissolved	1860 (1860)
Preceded by	Whig Party
Succeeded by	Constitutional Union Party
Headquarters	New York, New York, U.S.
Secret wing	Order of the Star Spangled Banner
Ideology	American nationalism Right-wing populism Anti-Catholicism Republicanism Nativism
Political position	Right-wing
Religion	Protestantism (Temperance)
Colors	Red, white, blue (American colors)
Politics of United States Political parties Elections

The Native American Party, renamed the American Party 1855 and commonly known as the "Know Nothing" movement, was an American Nativist political party that operated nationally in the mid-1850s. It was an anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant movement, often taking the form of a secret society. The movement briefly emerged as a major political party in the form of the American Party. Adherents to the movement were to reply "I know nothing" when asked about its specifics by outsiders, thus providing the group with its common appellation.

The "Know Nothings" believed a "Romanist" conspiracy was afoot to subvert civil and religious liberty in America and sought to politically organize native-born Protestants in the defense of traditional religious and political values. In most places "Know Nothingism" lasted only a year or two before disintegrating because of weak local leaders, few publicly-declared national leaders, and a deep split over the issue of slavery. In the South, the party did not emphasize anti-Catholicism, but it is remembered for this theme because of fears by Protestants that Catholic priests and bishops would control a large bloc of voters.

The collapse of the Whig Party after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act left an opening for the emergence of a new major party in opposition to the Democrats. The Know Nothings elected Nathaniel P. Banks of Massachusetts and several other individuals in the 1854 elections, and created a new party organization known as the American Party. Particularly in the South, the American Party served as a vehicle for politicians opposed to the Democratic Party, regardless of their views in relation to immigration and Catholicism. Many also hoped that it would seek a middle ground between the pro-slavery positions of many Democratic politicians and the anti-slavery positions of the emerging Republican Party. The American Party nominated former President Millard Fillmore in the 1856 presidential election, although he kept quiet about his membership. Fillmore received 21.5% of the popular vote in the 1856 presidential election, finishing behind the Democratic and Republican nominees.