Nativism and Slavery: The Northern Know Nothings, and the Politics of the 1850s

Tyler Anbinder has written the first comprehensive history of the Know-Nothings, and his book represents a major revision of historiography in the years leading up to the Civil War. Political protest against immigrants has come to a head several times in American history. The most famous and influential such protest was exemplified by the Know-Nothing Party, founded in 1854 and directed especially against Catholic immigrants. By the end of 1855 the party had elected eight governors, over one hundred Congressmen, and thousands of local officials.