Know-Nothingism acted as a lightning rod for change once it came to life. The electric energy was provided by the citizens and their beliefs. Perhaps it was just too hot for American public schools to teach even in the 20th century.

The anger of the Know Nothings was set off by immigrants who were seen as destroying the "middling" people. The immigrants provided cheap labor. This compounded the problem of having to compete with slave labor in the South. Slaves are of course the cheapest of cheap labor. The final insult was Congress allowing the introduction of slave labor into yet more states. The latter was the deal called the Compromise of 1850.

The moral of this story is that cooperation at the local or county level can overturn national power structures almost overnight. Benjamin Franklin's words may hold the key:

"The good men may do separately is small compared with what they may do collectively."

Know-Nothingism, first just a movement, received scant attention in the modern school texts on American history. This overview relies mostly on Mark Voss-Hubbard's book   Beyond Party for both the tenor of the times before the Civil War and how the Know-Nothings played a pivotal role. The book is an in-depth look at Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts linking county activity and organization to state and national elections and legislation.

The Lead-Up to 1850

At the founding of the United States, the right to vote had these requirements: citizen, white, male, over 21, property owner. The ability to read and write was also imposed in some locations. Fast forward to the Panic of 1837, a genuine depression. The country was alive with "movements" and "issue clubs" and lively debate. These were the major ones as the country reached 1850.

The Role of Women

From reading "Beyond Party," women's right to vote was not at the forefront of the widespread dissatisfaction. However, women were seen as a moral force also opposed to "partisanship" and divisiveness. A movement not endorsed by the women was seen as not having sufficient moral authority. Voss-Hubbard states: "The organizational models on which they relied--particularly the voluntary association--led to a sophisticated grasp of organizational administration, money management, and ultimately government lobbying." Women utilized " . . . fundraising, leafleting, and canvassing; production of issue-specific pamphlets, broadsides, and newspapers; and petitioning of state and national legislatures." Thus, even without a single vote, women played a major, unrelenting role.

Excerpts from "Beyond Party"

To really study the movement, reading "Beyond Party" is the way to go. The following excerpts serve to provide you with the gist of the movement and the flavor of the times.

The Power of Principle and You

The frustrations of the mid-1800's came to a head in the 1850's. The Know Nothings were a secret male society of Protestant native-born Americans. Voss-Hubbard says the typical member was a thirty-something. However much they might sound kind of like the Rotary Club, Rotarians they were not. No other group has ever brought about such an American ballot-box revolution as the Know Nothings.

In four short years between 1852 and 1856, the predominant Whig party went poof. From landslide victories and/or contesting every election, the Whig Party simply could not run any candidates in many areas in 1856.

Second, the Republican Party came into existence, and the Democratic Party weakened. From nothing, the Republicans even won the presidency with Lincoln in 1860 in their first try. Then, the Civil War ended slavery. Awesome change in so few years.

In fact, all issues itemized above in "Lead-Up to 1850" were put into play. As a transformational era, the presidency of Andrew Jackson started it, and the era of FDR ended it 100 years later. Major legislation transformed the entire American landscape from the 1850's thru the Depression era of FDR in the 1930's. It was the Know Nothings who lit the fuse.

Anti-immigration laws were passed. Labor laws were strengthened. Free schools became wide-spread. Women got the right to vote. And, even prohibition finally passed. Know Nothingism was the vehicle that set it all off. Yet of course, the Know Nothings, as a party, were a short-lived catalyst. When the chemical reaction was over, the Know Nothing "party" was gone, too. Poof by the Civil War.

Imagine that the lessons of the Know Nothing movement were to be applied to 21st Century America. Imagine that the Democratic Party voters found a ballot box alternative. Poof! Likewise, the Republican voters. Poof! One lesson of Know Nothingism is that principle wins hands-down when a ballot-box alternative is present. Like electricity, principle needs only a conductor.

Walter Isaacson's biography of   Benjamin Franklin describes the man's obsession with associations. Franklin formed the Junto Club and recruited fellow tradesmen and civic-minded Philadelphians.

First, around 1744, England would not defend its colony from the real threat of attacks by the French, the Spanish, and the Indians. England was too busy fighting King George's War.

Second, the Quakers of the Pennsylvania legislature did not act. Franklin published: "Should we entreat them to consider, if not as Friends, at least as legislators, that protection is as truly due from the government to the people." In other words, if their pacifist religious beliefs kept them from military action, Franklin wanted the Quakers to get out of the way or resign. The Quaker legislators neither acted nor quit. Third, finally, with their American populist spirit, Ben Franklin and his network had to organize a private army to defend the people of Philadelphia.

The common defense of a community was also the first principle of each colonial Hundred. The Hundred was also the civil backbone of each locality. The community, i.e. The Hundred, could simply not survive without cooperation of its citizens acting in unison. If an Indian war party wanted to cut off your scalp, you wanted every man and woman defending the fort. You would not have stopped to ask: "First, pray tell, are you a Whig or a Tory?" Nonpartisan cooperation worked in the 1700's through The Hundred. It worked for the Know Nothing era of the 1800's. It is alive and well in the 21st century.

Isaacson says of Ben Franklin: "This gregarious outlook would lead him, as a twenty-something printer during the 1730's, to use his Junto to launch a variety of community organizations, including a lending library, fire brigade, and night watchmen corps, and later a hospital, militia, and college."

To finally grasp the success of the Know Nothings, Benjamin Franklin's words may hold the key:

"The good men may do separately is small compared with what they may do collectively."

The key, a "kite," plus a storm full of lightning bolts.

-- Review by The Hundred Network.

Additional Resources

Know Nothing Movement in wikipedia.
Whig Party in wikipedia.
Know-Nothing Movement at factmonster.
Free Soil Party in 1848.
Beyond Party
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life