The Know Nothings were a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party".
Though the Know Nothings were originally a secret society of men who opposed Roman Catholicism, Irish and other Roman Catholic immigration, in many respects, they were a populist and xenophobic movement. The party was progressive in its stances on "issues of labor rights and the need for more government spending.
