AP US History

THE KNOW-NOTHING PARTY AND THE RISE OF NATIVISM

Preparing for the AP US History Exam

Over the years, College Board test writers have paid close attention to the rise of the Know-Nothing Party. You should to. Be sure to emphasize that the sudden influx of Catholic immigrants from Ireland sparked a surge in nativist sentiment. The Know-Nothing Party successfully capitalized on the political vacuum created by the collapse of the Whig Party. The rise of nativism in the 1850s is similar to the anxieties over the influence of radicals in the years after World War I.