c4) immigrants & know-nothings Flashcards
1
Q
who were the Irish immigrants?
A
- failure of potato crops- famine- almost 2m ppl in Eu perished from hunger
- opted for new chance at life in US
- flocked to large N seacoast cities
- ## could not afford to move west & buy land to become farmers
2
Q
why did immigrants feel they had been rejected by A ppl?
A
- fear of a papal plot to subvert US
- RESULTED LARGE catholic voting powers- claimed Irish voted en masse as their priests/ bosses told the- a threat to democ & basis of what it means to be A
3
Q
what religion were molst immigrants from Ireland & Germany?
A
- catholic
- no of catholic bishops & priests & churches almost 2x from 1850-54
4
Q
who were the German immigrants?
A
- many from crop failures & hardship
- but most proffesionals, craftsmen & wealthier Gs come bc of collapse of the democratic revolutions of 1848
- G states had autcratic govs & required service in their armies- attracted to appeal of freedom/ urban US, tired of old fuedal ways of thinking#
- arrived w more material goods, move westwards to set up farms & businesses
5
Q
where were immigrants processed?
A
- Elis island, NYC
6
Q
why were ppl against immigrants?
A
- lose jobs to them- imms willing to work for lower wages & no benefits
- saw as a threat to trad A culture & values
- religious- backlash against Catholic Gs & Irish
- potential to change political balance
- feard increase in crim & poverty in cities- imms assoc w higher welfare costs
7
Q
who were Nativists?
A
- anti cath, anti imm
- able to org into potential pol P, but had trouble passing leg
- riots in N cities
8
Q
who were Know-Nothings?
A
- offshoot of the scret soc ‘order of the star spangled banner (nat soc)
- mushrooms in 1850s- increased mebership
- elaborate local, state & nat structure developed
- pledged to vote only for native-born prots
- innitiated to dif degrees of membership
- instructed to say KN when asked abt it
9
Q
how did KNs come into politics?
A
- began throwing support behind suitable candidates from existing Ps
- by 1854, selecting own- often men w little pol experience- now had 1mil members & could wield pol power
-^won 63% v in massachuchettes - 1855 won control of 3 more new eng states
10
Q
what precisely did most KNs want?
A
- checks on imm & a 21-year-probationary period before imms could become full A citizens (and so vote)
11
Q
who joined the KN party?
A
- anti cath
- anti est; power returned to ppl
- unpop of kan neb act assoc w dems; at first ppl thought it was an offshoot of Ws- so many Ws changing to KNs; butthen radical dems did too
12
Q
when did KNs est their own P?
A
- 1855
- now calling itself American Party
- ## held open conventions on state & national level
13
Q
what was the realtionship between abs and imms?
A
- some protestant ministers assoc w KN also ABOLITIONISTS, many imms= mistrustful of anti sl movement
- even G refugees from 1848 revs were alienated by abolitionist
- ‘puritans’ who refused to join forces w native born abs- forced to make own anti sl orgs
- more imms & urbanization dpur reform movements in order to move US to fundamentally perfect soc- temperance is a model for other movements
14
Q
who did imms usually vote for?
A
- democratic- Ds favour imms & rewarded w this v
- before 1840s, imms had largely split v among dif Ps
15
Q
what were the implications of KNs on the whigs?
A
- failed to respond to nativist concerns- 1852- actively pro cath in attempt to capture imm v
- ^ failed to convince I & some trad W voters wouldnt vote for p trying to appease caths
16
Q
what were many Northerners’ political alignments now?
A
- by 1850s, felt alienated from Ws & Ds- begun to look for new Ps to rep views- first at state & local level
- disintegration of loyalty to old Ps in 1853- little to do w sectional conflict between N & S; was bc of temp lull in that conflict
