What were Know-Nothing political views?

The Know-Nothing Party, formally called the American Party, was a nativist political movement of the 1850s that opposed mass immigration (particularly from Ireland and Germany) and Catholic influence on American politics, advocating restrictions on naturalization, exclusion of Catholics from public office, and preservation of what they considered the country's Protestant character. The movement grew from secret societies including the Order of the Star Spangled Banner, founded in 1849 by Charles B. Allen in New York City. Members were instructed to answer questions about the organization with "I know nothing," which gave the movement its nickname.

The Know-Nothings became a major political force during the early 1850s as immigration from Ireland after the Great Famine of 1845 to 1852 and from Germany after the failed revolutions of 1848 transformed the demography of American cities. About 3 million immigrants, mostly Catholic, arrived between 1845 and 1855. Native-born Protestants worried about Catholic loyalty to the Pope, the perceived dependence of immigrants on Democratic Party patronage, and the cultural impact of large foreign-born populations.

Know-Nothings advocated specific policies. Their platform called for extending the naturalization period from five years to 21 years; restricting officeholding to native born Protestants; supporting Protestant Bible reading in public schools and opposing public funding of Catholic parochial schools; restricting saloons and the alcohol consumption associated with Irish immigrants; and excluding immigrants from voting until they had been in the country for many years.

The Know-Nothing Party reached its peak between 1854 and 1856. In 1854 it elected the governors of Massachusetts (Henry Gardner) and Delaware along with about 75 members of Congress. In 1855 it controlled the legislatures of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and California.

The party split over slavery in 1855 and 1856. Northern Know-Nothings opposed slavery's extension while Southern Know-Nothings did not, mirroring the broader sectional crisis. The party nominated former president Millard Fillmore for the presidency in 1856. He won 21.5 percent of the popular vote and only Maryland's 8 electoral votes. After 1856 the party rapidly disintegrated.

Most northern Know-Nothings joined the Republican Party. Most southern Know-Nothings joined the Democrats or the Constitutional Union Party in 1860. Anti-Catholic and nativist sentiment did not disappear but channeled into other movements including the American Protective Association of the 1880s and 1890s, the Immigration Act of 1924 imposing national origin quotas, and various twentieth century groups. The Know-Nothing Party's brief prominence shows the durability of nativist anxieties in American politics and the way mass immigration has consistently produced political backlash.