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1. Thread: In 1854 the newly-formed nativist & populist "Know-Nothing" Party shocked Massachusetts' political establishment by electing Know-Nothings to the positions of Governor, every state officer, all 11 Congressmen, all 40 State Senators, & 376 of 379 State Representatives!
2. The Know-Nothing candidate for Governor, Henry Gardner, won 63% of the vote & carried every city & all but 20 of the state's over 300 towns. The Know-Nothing landslide swept away familiar political divides: Whig towns & Democratic towns voted Know-Nothing by the same margins.
3. The incumbent Whig Party, which had held the Governor's Mansion, 9 of 11 Congressional seats, 30 of 40 State Senate seats, & 198 of 310 State House seats, was reduced to only 21% of the vote for Governor & 1 State Rep. Before 1854 MA had been one of the strongest Whig states:
4. Along with the Whigs, the Know-Nothings swept aside the Democrats (who received only 11% of the vote for Governor) & the anti-slavery Free Soil Party (5%), who had worked together as coalition in the legislature but were now reduced to 1 seat in the State House (a Democrat).
5. Historian John Mulkern found that the Know-Nothing Party in MA was populist & highly democratic, hostile to wealth, elites, & expertise, & deeply suspicious of outsiders, especially Catholics. Only 35 of 396 Know-Nothing State Representatives had prior legislative experience.
6. The Know-Nothings expelled the traditional upper-class political leadership, especially the lawyers & merchants. In their stead, they elected working-class men, farmers, & many teachers & ministers. Replacing the moneyed elite were men who seldom owned $10,000 in property.
7. The Know-Nothing Party's huge success in the 1854 MA elections was in part a response to the large influx of Irish immigrants that had occurred through the 1840s & 1850s. By 1855 20% of MA's population was foreign-born, & immigrants & their children were a majority in Boston.
8. Textile manufacturers welcomed the immigrants as a cheap workforce, as the state was rapidly industrializing. By 1855 MA was the nation's most densely populated & urbanized state; & east/central MA stood 2nd only to Great Britain as the most industrialized region in the world.
9. The established parties failed to address the new issues created by modernization, such as the tyrannical factory system & the deteriorating quality of urban life. Instead, both Whig & Democratic elites tried to suppress & defuse calls for a 10-hour work day & other reforms.
10. Many voters felt like the old issues of the Whigs & Democrats were irrelevant to their lives, & so the door was open for a populist movement like the Know-Nothings, who promised to oust the corrupt parties & career politicians & turn the government back over to "the people."
11. Despite the ripe environment, the extent of the Know-Nothing landslide caught even their own supporters by surprise. The Whigs had felt confident in the days leading up to the election, calling the Know-Nothing slate a collection of "lying tooth-pullers & buggering priests."
12. The Whig vote had held up in the higher-income areas of major MA cities, but in working-class sections the Know-Nothings polled well over 60% of the vote, & over 70% in some areas. The Know-Nothing's best performance was in the industrial town of Lawrence, where they won 78%.
13. But it wasn't just working-class voters in industrial areas who voted Know-Nothing. Many voters in small towns also jumped on the bandwagon, frustrated with the old parties & hoping the populist movement could pass other legislation like anti-slavery provisions & prohibition.
14. The Know-Nothings did pass significant reforms while in government, including ending imprisonment for debt, lightening bankruptcy laws, limiting child labor, curtailing alcohol sales, mandating children’s vaccinations, letting women own property, & investing in education
15. However, along with these reforms the Know-Nothings attacked the civil rights of Irish Catholic immigrants; removing state courts' power to process citizenship applications, requiring the reading of the Protestant Bible in public schools, & firing Irish state employees.
16. They also tried to pass a constitutional amendment to restrict voting & office holding to men who had resided in MA for at least 21 years, but could not reach the required 2/3 vote in the legislature. Instead immigrant-voters had to be citizens for 2 years & residents for 7.
17. The Massachusetts Know Nothing legislature also appointed a committee to investigate sexual immorality in Catholic convents, but it was quickly disbanded when a committee member was discovered using state funds to pay for a prostitute, damaging the Know Nothings' reputation.
18. The Know Nothings popularity began to fade relatively quickly once they were in power. Governor Gardner was re-elected in 1855, but the Know-Nothings lost 11 seats in the State Senate & 108 seats in the State House, with the new & rising Republican Party making major gains.
19. Several issues contributed to the Know-Nothing's fall in popularity. For one, the legislature's increased spending on infrastructure, education, & a host of other programs led to a 45% overall rise in spending, & an unpopular 50% increase in the state's tax on cities & towns.
20. Their bills restricting alcohol consumption & gambling also proved unpopular in many areas. One bill mandated six months in prison for drinking a single glass of beer, but juries refused to convict violators. The party also gradually lost it's outsider image while in power.
21. Finally, the increased salience of the anti-slavery issue as sectional tensions rose led voters to defect to the Republicans, who were quickly becoming the dominant party in the North. The GOP won the legislature in the 1856 election, & defeated Governor Gardner in 1857.
22. The speed of the Know-Nothing fall in MA can be seen in the 1856 Presidential Election results. Only 2 years after the Know-Nothings won 63% of the vote in the MA governor election, their presidential ticket won only 11.5% in MA. The Republican ticket dominated MA with 63.6%.
23. So just 3 years after their stunning victory in 1854 the Know-Nothings were out of power in MA. By 1861 the party had completely disappeared, with no members left in the State Legislature.
Info for this thread from "The Know-Nothing Party In Massachusetts" by John Mulkern
Info for this thread from "The Know-Nothing Party In Massachusetts" by John Mulkern
