Our country has gone through a similar period in history before, none more prominent than during the early to mid-nineteenth century. As immigration from Europe increased during the early 1800's, citizens who were born in the U.S., began to feel resentment at the new arrivals, which occasionally developed into violent encounters. In July of 1844 riots broke out in Philadelphia, when anti-immigrant, nativists, mobs battled Irish immigrants. Two Catholic Churches and a Catholic school were burned, and at least 20 people were killed.
With anti-immigrant sentiment running high, small political parties espousing nationalist doctrines shot up - among them the "American Republican Partry" (not to be confused with the current GOP) and the "Nativist Party." At the same time secret societies, such as the "Order of the United Americans," and the "Order of the Star-Spangled Banner", were formed. Members were sworn to keep immigrants out of America, or at least to keep them out of mainstream society once they arrived. Leaders would not publicly reveal themselves, and members, when asked about the organization, were instructed to say: "I know nothing." The name "KNow-Nothing" stuck, even though the party's original name was the "American Party," formed in 1849. It's basic platform contained a strong stand against against immigration and immigrants. It promised to "purify" American politics by limiting or ending the influence of Irish Catholic and other immigrants. "Know-Nothing" candidates had to be born in the U.S., and there was a concerted effort to agitate for laws stipulating that only immigrants who had lived in the country for 25 years could become citizens.
Many Americans were appalled by the "Know-Nothings." Abraham Lincoln expressed his own disgust with the party in a letter written in 1855. He noted that if the "Know-Nothings" every rose to power, the Declaration of Independence would have to be amended to say that all men are created equal "except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics." He went on to say that he would rather emigrate to Russia where despotism is out in the open, then live in such an America.
Even though many were appalled, ethnocentric tendencies were not new to us. In 1751 Benjamin Franklin warned that Pennsylvania was becoming a "colony of aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to germamize us instead of our anglifying them, and will never adopt our language or customs any more than they can acquire our complexion." Jefferson was equally worried about immigrants from "foreign monarchies who will infuse into American legislation their spirit, warp and bias its direction, and render it a heterogeneous, incoherent, distracted mass." (Peter Schrag, The Unwanted Immigratrion and Nativism in America. September, 2010.)
Donald Trump, the soon to be crowned nominee of the Republican Party, unscripted during the primary contest, mirrored many of the positions once held by the "Know-Nothing" party. Although he, imposed by the reality of the general election, recently transitioned into using a more sanitized vocabulary, he can't conceal the opinion of Mexicans, immigrants and Muslims he expressed to galvanize support for his "America First" xenophobic movement. Unfiltered, resurgent nationalism, expressed stridently from a national platform can be dangerous and trigger a return of the 1930's in Europe. Mr. Trump has a following at his beck and call, part of which could be triggered into action without much effort. Concerned people are already envisioning a walled off southern border, eleven million undocumented migrants in deportation camps, and Muslim Americans required to carry documentation similar to what the Jewish pollution in Nazi Germany was forced to do.
We have laws in place that may prevent these extremes from becoming reality. However, the populist, Brexit, decision in Great Britain a few weeks ago, was followed by hundreds of assaults on immigrants - some of whom had lived in the UK for a decade or more - germinated by people who now apparently felt justified to do this. People were beaten, businesses burned, and entire neighborhoods threatened. After American Muslims became the target of Donald Trump's nationalist message, mosques were burned, people have been beaten, "patriot" groups organized hate demonstrations in which dozens of heavily armed white men stand outside of Islamic community centers with anti-Muslim paraphernalia, and people who have lived here their entire lives have been "encouraged" to go back to where they came from. During 2015, 174 incidents, including 12 murders, were reported . Of these, 53 occurred in December alone. Immigrant children are coming home crying after being told by classmates that they will be deported once Trump becomes President. The "Know-Nothings" were dangerous. The 21st century followers of a similar stripe need to be controlled before things get even further out of hand.. Ignorance is a curse. Imbecilic attacks on people totally removed from those implicated in attacks on our country are not only counter-productive, they are criminal. Imbeciles without compunction have generated support for horrendous atrocities throughout history. Donald Trump ignited these responses to his incendiary message to get through the primaries. Once the genie was out of the bottle, however, it has proven difficult to contain it. Just sanitizing his choice of vocabulary won't be enough. He needs to demonstrate leadership, and control the results before we slide into the abyss.
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