Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1955-09-29

their political party history of
the $4,000 period, the Know
Nothing or American Party was
a secret society" dedicated to
hostility against recent immi-
grants and Catholics.
In the late 1865, Irish immi-
grants settled in the eastern
cities of the United States, while
German immigrants took up land
in the west. They competed with
native Americans in the labor
market or took lands which
Americans a couple of genera
tons from the immigrant steer
age thought they alone should
have
Many of the new immigrants
belonged to the Catholic Church
and they voted Democratic. A
4 number of nativist and anti
Catholic societies, expressing
Z alarm over the foreign invasion,
( gathered members among the
I ProtestantS and urban workers.
/ Soon they entered politics, and
before the politicians of the older
parties knew it, the Native
American secret societies won
victories at the polls.
Soon Wing and Democratic
politicians joined the know
Nothings' and organized the
American Party. The term
know Nothing" was applied to
the party because of its secret
character and the fact that, when
in court or on the public stump,
members We're faithful to their
secrecy oaths of membership and
said they knew nothing" about
any know Nothings".
In 1854 r the year before the
founding of the Sentinel ~ the
Know Nothings won complete
control of Massachusetts, carried
Pennsylvania and elected a num-
Der of Congressman. The next
year, however, the party split on
the slavery issue and fell into the
hands of Southerners. In 1856
thir candidate. Willard Fillmore,
polled $4,000 popular votes and
won Maryland's eight electoral
votes.
This, as we shall see. was over
and against the opposition Of the
4 SENTINEL. In the north, the
! Know Nothings joined the Re-
publican Party.
In his third issue, SENTINEL
Editor Matthew Fields declared
open war" on the Know Nothing
Party in Montgomery County.
The editorial in which the
declaration was made ran a full
two columns and started out
with definition of Know
/ Nothingism as opposition to inn
migrants AND Catholics. To this
was added a third Know Nothing
objective r. to defeat the Demo
cratic Party.
To Mr.. Field, a staunch Demo
crat, this last aim alone was
genough to insure his hostility to
the movement To his great
credit, though, he based his
EoppoSition on the sounder
grounds of defense of the u. S.
Constitution and the traditional
American and Maryland civil and
fireligious liberties.
ut comes them" he wrote,
to the question whether we
shall join in this crusade
against all naturalized citizens
and all Roman Catholics. We
submit to all candid minds that
what is proposed is clearly
against the Constitution; that IL
is a gross fraud upon those
numerous and patriot citizens;
that ii is fatal blow at
American liberty and stain
upon the American name.
THE foreign.bOrn citizen has
made himself a citizen upon the
faith of the Constitution, and
the Roman Catholic has con.
stitutional right 10 worship God
according to the dictates of his
own conscience"
Then followed a blistering de.
nunciation of the aims and
methods of the Know Nothings
which wound up with another
charge against them - that of
being friendly to the Northern
abolitionist movement. Abiding
to the fact that the Know Moth.
ings were strongest in Massa.
chusetts, Editor Fields observed
in tones Of dark foreboding:
"And where are the hosts OF
the Know Nothings? Where is
the native soil Of this rank weed?
Not the open sunny South. No,
indeed. II sprang up in a night,
and now most luxuriates where
ABOLITION, like the deadly
Upas tree, poisons all the air"
Massachusetts, Of course, was
one of the early centers of
abolitionist sentiment as well as
Know Nothingism and Matthew
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