Question

(Close reading) Based on this document, what were three reasons the Know-Nothings targeted Irish Catholics?

Answer 1

Answer:

The Know Nothing Party was a political movement in the United States during the 1840s and 1850s. The movement was reinforced by a general fear that the country would be taken over by Irish immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to US values and ruled by the Pope in Rome. In addition, another of the fears was that immigrants would take jobs away from Americans, and that they would install their own traditions and beliefs in society, making American values a minority. The movement was mainly active from 1854 to 1856, it tried to slow down immigration and naturalization, but the work had little success. There were some prominent leaders and the members, mostly drawn from the middle class and wholly from the ranks of the Protestants, were divided on the issue of slavery. Most eventually joined the Republican Party at the time of the 1860 presidential election.