Nativism and Slavery: The Northern Know Nothings and the Politics of the 1850s [Paperback]

Tyler G. Anbinder (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195089227 | ISBN-13: 978-0195089226 | Publication Date: June 2, 1994

Politicians have used immigrants as scapegoats for the nation's problems throughout American history. No group achieved more success with this tactic than the Know Nothing Party, which directed its attacks primarily against Catholic immigrants. Within a year of its appearance in 1854, the party had elected eight governors, over one hundred members of Congress, and thousands of local officials. Prominent politicians of every persuasion joined the organization, which eventually became known as the American Party. Many observers predicted that the party would elect the next President. The Know Nothings experienced a precipitous decline, however, and in the 1856 election their presidential candidate, Millard Fillmore, carried only one state. The Know Nothings have not attracted much interest from historians, because the events involved in the coming of the Civil War eclipsed interest in a movement that was apparently only peripherally involved with Civil War issues. In this important new book, however, Anbinder argues that the Know Nothings's phenomenal success was inextricably linked to the firm stance their northern members took against the extension of slavery. Nativism and Slavery presents the first comprehensive history of the Know Nothings as well as a major revision of the political crisis that led to the Civil War.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A first-rate study of the political realignment patterns of the 1850s in general and the Know Nothing movement in particular....An essential book in the bibliography of antebellum U.S."--Gerald Michael Schnabel, Bemidji State University

"The main thrust of Nativism and Slavery, and what makes it both interesting and valuable, is the very powerful and convincing argument put forward by the author, and buttressed by numerous statistical tables, charts and maps, that the unparalleled success of the Know Nothings in the mid-1850s occurred because Northerners chose to express their intense antislavery sentiments through this party."--New York Times Book Review

"Perceptive....Tyler Anbinder has solved the mystery of how the antislavery tail could wag the nativist dog....This fine book steers the study of antebellum politics back on course from the diversion of ethnocultural historians."--The New Republic

"In his excellent new book, Tyler Anbinder presents the first detailed political history of the Northern Know Nothings....There is much food for thought in this stimulating book....Anyone interested in the causes of the Civil War should read this book not only for its own quantities, but also for its stimulating contributions to a continually interesting period in American historiography."--Civil War News

"Tyler Anbinder's impressively researched study provides the first book-length history of the northern Know Nothing Party. Retilling familiar ground, he unearths fresh and valuable information and makes a welcome contribution....Anbinder's book...contains important information and will deservedly become a standard source on northern Know Nothings."--American Historical Review

"An important and provocative book."--Choice

"This nicely crafted history of the northern Know-Nothing party fills in a gap in the literature of the much-studied 1850s....Tyler Anbinder captures much about the brief moment of Know-Nothingism....He makes important contributions to our knowledge."--The Journal of American History

"Tyler Anbinder has made a distinguished contribution to our understanding of the Northern Know Nothing movement....a study to which historians will react for years to come."--The Catholic Historical Review

"Nativism and Slavery makes a major contribution to our understanding of mid-nineteenth-century American politics. It is an absorbing account of the spectacular rise and fall of the Know Nothing party....Anbinder...not only tells the story; he makes sense of it--more sense, in fact, than any previous historian. Time after time he provides interpretive insights of the first order....The book is solidly researched, cogently argued, and a delight to read. It promises to be the standard work in its field for years to come."--Annals of Iowa

"Excellent....Professor Anbinder has done an outstanding job in presenting his thesis that the Know Nothings were successful not only because of their nativism but also because of their antislavery positions....Those interested in the use of religion in political contests will find this a most impressive study."--Journal of Church and State

About the Author

Tyler Anbinder is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Wyoming. He specializes in Civil War era politics and American immigration.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 2, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195089227
• ISBN-13: 978-0195089226
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #448,930 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Protestantism defined American society", May 25, 2005

By 

J. Martens (Winnetka, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nativism and Slavery: The Northern Know Nothings and the Politics of the 1850s (Paperback)

A new American political party, the Know Nothing party, appeared during the 1850s. Tyler Anbinder explores this party's sudden rise and fall in the northern United States. He offers the reader a meticulously-researched, clearly written book.

Anbinder's research draws primarily on original Know Nothing documents (not easily found, given the party's penchant for secrecy), local news accounts, manuscripts, and monographs on individual state Know Nothing parties. He admirably ties together the information from these sources into a coherent picture of general Know Nothing principles and an analysis of their impact on state and national politics.

Know Nothingism arose as North-South sectional stress marks appeared in the two major U.S. political parties, Democrat and Whig, and as growing Catholic immigration provoked century-old religious suspicions among American Protestants. Anbinder describes how political victories first occurred when Know Nothings backed Democratic or Whig candidates who promised to follow a nativist agenda. Afterwards, Know Nothings began fielding their own candidates, often winning the elections. The party failed, however, to repeat these successes at the national level.

This national-level failure, according to Anbinder, was partly a result of circumstances. Political events (the Kansas Nebraska Act, the caning of Senator Sumner and the "sack" of Lawrence, Kansas) hardened the fervently moral, anti-slavery views of many members. The anti-slavery issue began to dominate internal party politics, trumping nativism, and made compromise with more moderate and southern Know Nothings unworkable. As the Know Nothing party tried to move to the national level, its disgruntled members began to migrate to the newly-formed Republican party, which proved more adept at political maneuvering.

Anbinder's discussion of Know Nothing principles makes fascinating reading. Although nativist, or anti-immigrant, sentiments motivated its founding members, Anbinder reveals that these sentiments were deeply rooted in its members' devout Protestant religious beliefs. Know Nothings believed that "Protestantism defined American society," a much narrower vision of America than that commonly expressed by some of today's politically-active Protestant figures, who only wish to exclude non-Judeo-Christian believers from high-level offices in the United States.

Increased Catholic immigration, especially Irish, evoked the fervent Protestant Know Nothings' anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant views. In addition, the nineteenth-century Protestant fervor of the Know Nothings aroused their northern members to restrict voting rights for new immigrants, oppose the immorality of slavery, agitate for temperance legislation, champion political morality, demand restrictions on Catholic Church property and insist on using the King James Bible in public schools.

For the Know Nothings, America was not just a Christian nation, but a Protestant one. They imagined themselves fighting for the soul of the nation; yet, strangely their burning moral issues no longer move crowds. A civil war, fought by Protestant, Catholic and Jewish soldiers, ended slavery. We worry about immigrants, but not their religions. A Constitutional amendment ended the temperance experiment, and there seems to be no mandate to return to prohibition. Most Americans are likely unaware of the different versions of the Bible. We hear little today about the Pope telling Catholics how to vote and more about direct political interference from some of today's Protestant clergy.

Learning about Know Nothingism in 19th century American politics provides an excellent perspective from which to ponder today's discussions about religion in politics and restricting immigration. Anbinder gives us an excellent picture of Know Nothingism. It's up to the reader to do the rest.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Know Something about the Know Nothings, June 16, 2004

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mrliteral - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Nativism and Slavery: The Northern Know Nothings and the Politics of the 1850s (Paperback)

For those familiar with American history - sadly, a relatively small group - the era of the Know Nothings is usually considered little more than a semi-amusing footnote in the chronicle of antebellum America. With their silly name and their lack of any sort of substantial contribution to the political scene, the Know-Nothings deserve their minor standing, but a history of this political party does impart some lessons, both in history and in the nature of politics.

The Know Nothings - a name used by both themselves and their foes - started out as a semi-secret fraternal organization in the 1850s that was distinctly anti-immigrant. In particular, an anti-Catholic sentiment united the Know Nothings, and in an era of high immigration rates, they were able to rise in popularity quickly. Outside their religious intolerance, they did hold some values that are easier to identify with, including a belief in temperance and most importantly, an opposition to slavery.

With the decline of the Whigs, the Know Nothings filled a void. They were also against political corruption, which combined with their anti-slavery views (at least in the North), elevated them a number of state and federal offices in 1854 and 1855. Unfortunately, once in power, they became just as political as those they once opposed, and the anti-slavery Know Nothings began to defect to the new Republican party. In short, by 1856, they were just another political party; their presidential candidate - the deservedly obscure ex-President Millard Fillmore - carried only one state. With a lack of organization and the loss of its core ideas, the party was gone by the time of the Civil War.

Even if the Know Nothings didn't directly contribute a lot in a historical sense, they do offer lessons in the difficulty of third parties in the United States. A party may be able to burst to a fad-like popularity based on the power of a single personality (such as Teddy Roosevelt with the Bull Mooses or more recently, Ross Perot with the Reform Party) or a single idea (such as the nativist Know Nothings), but eventually, like any fad, it fades away to obscurity. Sustained success requires a level of "selling out" which inevitably disillusions those drawn to the party in the first place and leads them back to a major party that may also be "sold out" but at least offers the opportunity of victory.

The book itself is well-written, although the overall significance of the Know Nothings is a little overstated. With a subject that could be tedious, we instead get something that - while it may not be a beach read - is both readable and informative. Nativism and Slavery is a good book on the era leading up to the Civil War.