The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-12-13

ulHCulIleS tnlCkeneQ AROUND MIN. Gul
none but Americans on guard tonight"
That Americans should rule America"
was the fundamental doctrine of the
new organization. Its immediate and
practical aims were that foreigners and
catholics should be excluded from all ma
tiOnal, state and local offices, and that
the naturalization laws should be
changed so that an immigrant could not
become a citizen until after a residence
of twenty-One years in this country
The methods were more Objectionable,
however. than the aims. The organiza-
ton was vast secret society with ram
ifications in every state. Secret lodges
were instituted everywhere. with pass
words and degrees, grips and signs. The
initiation was supposed to be solemn and
the Oaths formidable. The candidate Tor
the first degree was obliged, on present.
ing himself, to place his right hand on
the bible and the cross and take
solemn oath of secrecy. Then, II ne
could satisfy his inquisitors that he was
twenty-one years of age, that he was
born in the United States, that he be-
1ieved in God, that neither himself nor
his parents nor his wife We're Roman
catholics, and that he had been reared
under protestant influences, he was con-
sidered a proper applicant and was con-
Quoted to an inner room, where, IN the
presence Of the presiding officer, with
his right hand on the bible and the
en-, he swore not to vote for any man
unless he was a protestant. an Ameri-
can-born citizen, and in favor of ATnerl-
cans ruling America Then the pass
words were impaired to him and the
sign of recognition and the grip eX-
planned. When he challenged brother
he was to ask What timer" The re-
Spouse would be- Thine for work. Then
he was 10 say. Are you?" The answer
would be, We are and then the two
would be in a position to converse about
the interests of the order. The new
member was also told that notice of
meetings would be given by means or
triangular pieces of white paper thrown
carelessly on the sidewalk or in other
public places. If he wished TO know the
object of the meeting he must ask some
undoubted brother Have you seen sam
today?" and the information would be
impaired. If the notice was on red pa
per, danger was indicated and the new
member must come prepared to meet II
After a sufficient probation the men,
Der could be admitted to second de-
gree when more oathS were taken ana
another password and countersign given.
But the great mystery was the name OF
the organization, which the president
alone was entitled to communicate. AT
the proper time in the initiation cere-
monies he soiemnly declared: Brothers,
you are members in full fellowship OF
Banner" The name by which the order
was commonly and publicly known, how
ever. was know-nothings, which arose
from the fact that whenever member
was asked to state the principles and
objects of the society the invariable re-
ply was, Il know nothing"
The number that Joined these secret
lodges was very large. 1t was made up
partly Of men who were incensed and
alarmed at the power Of foreign-born citi-
zens in politics, partly of those whose
daily horror and nightly specter was the
pope" and very largely, it is probable, OF
those for whom the secret ceremonies and
mysterious methods w Hsz.agI, istfs;sScttnnx
The more potent reason, however, for
the transient success of the order was
the fact that. though the old parties in
the North were rent into fragments,
there was no ready-made organization to
take their place Men" says Rhodes
were disguised and dissatisfied with
their political affiliations and yearned TO
enlist under a banner that should display
positive and sincere aims" The know
nothing movement was born in, and TO
some extent from, a time Of political I'M
rest. 1t was a period of excitement and
lawlessness. Riots were frequent every
where, some aroused by the violent
raids OF temperance women on bar
rooms and some by extreme abolition
lists, with their injudicious acts and talk
Blu the worst disturbances grew out Of
the know-nothing crusade. A mob
forced its way into q shed near the
Washington monument and broke to
pieces a beautiful block Of marble which
had come from the temple of Concord at
Rome, and which the pope had sent as
his tribute 10 the memory OF Washing
ton. In Chelsea, Mass, a street preacher
who called himself the Angel Gabriel. >"
melted crowd to such deeds of violence
hi ffaa
church, tearing the cross from it's gable
and shivering IL to atoms; and here in
Providence, II is related, a misguided
mob was one evening collected together.
with pick. crowbar and hammer, to pull
down the convent building, which still
stands at the corner of Broad and Clay
erick-sts. Happily the plan was not ex-
ecuted. but in other parts Of the country
the extreme violence Of bigotry was very
common.
BY the year 1852 the organization had
developed enough strength In secrecy
10 feel ready for political activity on an
extended scale, and IL consequently be-
gan to make its influence felt in cleo
tons. At first its nominations were
made by secret conventions Of delegates
from the various lodges and were voted
FOR by all members, under penalty Of
expulsion. They were not so much in
dependent nominations as selections Of
satisfactory men from the rival whig
and democratic tickets. No public no
tice of such Endorsement was given. but
its effects were visible in the returns,
and threw political calculations into
chaos in many places. Thus even be-
fore the order actually appeared in pol
itics, 1t was in many instances the real
arbiter OF elections. At first most OF the
know-nOthings devoted most of their
attention TO municipal politics, Just as
Is now said Of the A. p. As But by
October, 1854. they were strong enough
20 obtain the balance OF power in the
Pennsylvania legislature, and at the
same time their support gave victory To
the anti-NebTaska party I'm Ohio and In
diana. In New York In the same year,
grand council of know-nothings. con-
Quoted with the utmost secrecy, nomin-
ated conservative whig. Ullman. for
governor, and when the November cleo
ton came round. to the surprise OF
everybody except the know-nothings
themselves, their candidate polled 1872
2S2 votes. The regular whig candidate
was elected with 156,SO4 votes, but the
unexpected strength shown by the
know-nothings startled the politicians.
In Massachusetts,, in the same year the
know-nothings by their secret methods
put Gardner I'm the field for governor
and though his candidacy was regarded
as "a huge joke" by the regular poll
ticlans. he was easily elected all the
congressman chosen in that state were
know-nothlngs and the legislature was
almost wholly made up of members of
the American party. Delaware was
also carried by the new organization In
that year.
The native Americans, as secretly or
I