nativism Flashcards
(6 cards)
topic sentence
Some historians such as Alan Farmer argue the growth of nativism was the most significant reason for the breakdown of the two-party system and the rise of Republicans.
evidence 1 - ethnocultural issues due to the rise of nativism
Throughout the 1840/50s there was an extreme Northern rise of ‘ethnocultural’ issues, including temperance, anti-immigration and anti-Catholicism. For example, between 1845 and 1854 around 3 million immigrants entered the USA with over 1 million of these being Irish Catholics. With the growth of nativism came resentment from native-born Americans who feared that it was threatening traditional US value. Many of these Americans were Protestant and resented the power given to enfranchised Catholics, this appeared to be a significant issue in states such as Boston where the immigration vote increased by 195% in the five years after 1850.
analysis 1
Therefore, the growth of nativism contributed to the breakdown of the two-party system because majority of Catholics voted Democrat, as the Democrats opposed laws restricting immigration rights, and therefore, they lost significant support from native-born Americans. Additionally, the Whigs tried to gain immigration votes, which in turn also lost them support from Americans.
evidence 2 - know nothings
Against this backdrop, grew the ‘Know-Nothings’, a party who opposed immigration and restricted their votes to native-born protestants. Indeed, by 1854, the Know-Nothings had over 1 million members which showed that they were beginning to burst into the political scene and gain Northern support.
counter analysis + growth of republicans
Despite this, by the late 1850s the issue of nativism started to become less important, in line with the increased concern over the slave-power conspiracy. Future Republican President, Abraham Lincoln was openly critical of the Know-Nothings in 1855.
For that reason, the Republicans started to grow in prominence as they were anti-slave power. It is clear that by 1856, the Republican party were the most in line with Northern public opinion and were openly willing to put a stop to the slave power conspiracy.
evaluation
To evaluate, nativism was a significant reason for the breakdown of the two-party system as Alan Farmer argues that the collapse of political parties had little to do with the sectional crisis, but instead the growth of ethnocultural issues. However, it can’t be seen as the most important factor because nativism started to decline by the late 1850s while fear of a slave power conspiracy began to increase.
