Welcome to my new TL! I hope you enjoy! I apologize for the seemingly death of the old one, but I thought this POD was more interesting, and so this happened.
The year is 1854, and the American Party is on the rise. Originally created in New York in 1843 in response to large waves of immigrants, this party quickly spread in popularity to neighboring states under names such as the American Republican Party or the “Native American” Party, and took many local and Congressional jobs after winning landslide elections. These parties were the embodiment of the “true and Protestant Americans”, came from middle-class families, and were generally very anti-Catholic, especially those of foreign beginnings. Forming of secret orders soon followed in the 1850’s, The Order of The Star Spangled Banner being of the most important. The different parties and secret organizations, who were essentially preaching the same thing, eventually merged together into a single party in 1855 in order to participate in national politics, naming themselves the Know Nothing Party. That brings us back to 1854, where the Know Nothing Party has swept up elections in cities like Boston, Salem, and other New England cities, and winning the entire state of Massachusetts in the Fall Elections of 1854, their greatest achievement yet. Know Nothing candidates became mayors of Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and San Francisco, promising things such as the appointment of Protestant and native-born Americans to official positions and to crack down on crime. Following the Elections of 1854, the party stated it had exerted much political pressure on the states of Maine, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and California, which was true, as the Know Nothing supporters had voted its members into the aforementioned local government positions, which were, most importantly, major cities. However, the party had little centralization or organization, and were not an official political movement. In order to participate in nationwide elections, the groups came together to form the American Party, which would be appraised by the most of the American public, which at the time were fueled by the extreme nationalism following the Mexican-American War. This party also attracted former members of the Whig Party, and many dissatisfied Democrats and prohibitionists. Soon, membership for the American Party jumped from 50,000 to about one million in a mere matter of months. That brings us to the spring of 1855, where our POD takes place.
It was a cool spring day in 1855, and an event occurred that would change America’s history forever. Elections in the city of Cincinnati for the position of mayor had caused great tensions between the German-American and “nativist” peoples of the city. These tensions were the result of the nomination of J.D. Taylor, an active anti-Catholic and nativist, for mayor, who would make things greatly difficult for the immigrants of the city. Despite efforts to calm down the opposing factions, fighting broke out and a mob of nativists marched on the nearby German-American neighborhood, of which its residents were fighting back. As the riot drew out longer than expected, the people requested the nominee J.D. Taylor be present for the attack to yell out encouraging words and speeches (including “Keep America for the Americans”, which would be the battle cry for not only the crowd but the American Party) while the German-American peoples rushed to form a make-shift militia. When they finally did, they had established barricades that had stopped the mob from going any further, and were now fighting back tooth and nail, eventually firing a cannonball over the crowd. Alas, this cannon was inaccurate, and the cannonball fell short of the originally harmless target. It landed directly in the tail of the crowd, killing 12 men, including the much idolized nominee J.D. Taylor. After a moment of confusion, the crowd reformed with more hate than ever, and pushed past the barricades, burning Catholic churches and neighborhoods along the way. The battle for the neighborhood continued for two days until federal troops were sent to disperse the two groups. In the end, three churches were burned and a combined casualty count of twenty-three people was reported. Although tragic, the American Party used this event to their advantage, spinning a tale as though the German-Americans were the instigators and the nativists the victims, emphasizing on the death of J.D. Taylor as “a sacrifice…for the greater good of America”. This propaganda unfortunately worked, boosting support for the American Party by 23%, mainly from former dissatisfied Democratic voters, leaving the percentage of support nationwide high, beating the Democratic Party by a margin. It also helped continue the election of American Party members to mayors of cities like Cincinnati and New York. Events like these would be a pivotal point for the American Party in national politics, especially now that key cities had been taken over by American Party or pro-American Party people. Another effect of the condemnation of the Cincinnati Riots by the American Party would be the carrying out of similar riots throughout the U.S., which ended either peacefully or enforced. Then came the Presidential Elections of 1856, which truly marked a change for American history. It resulted in a 24.3% vote for the Democrats, a 43.6% vote for the American Party and a 22.1% vote for the Republicans. This major victory, which put former Whig Millard Fillmore, a man who promised a stable compromise for slavery, the barring of immigrants from city jobs, and many other things in accordance to the nativist goal, in presidency, was the start of a nativist America, one that would put itself on the worldwide scene for many decades to come.
Defend Our Nation: A Nativist America
Chapter One
Chapter One
“I know nothing!” – The common response by American Party members when asked about the activities the member had participated in.
Prologue
Prologue
The year is 1854, and the American Party is on the rise. Originally created in New York in 1843 in response to large waves of immigrants, this party quickly spread in popularity to neighboring states under names such as the American Republican Party or the “Native American” Party, and took many local and Congressional jobs after winning landslide elections. These parties were the embodiment of the “true and Protestant Americans”, came from middle-class families, and were generally very anti-Catholic, especially those of foreign beginnings. Forming of secret orders soon followed in the 1850’s, The Order of The Star Spangled Banner being of the most important. The different parties and secret organizations, who were essentially preaching the same thing, eventually merged together into a single party in 1855 in order to participate in national politics, naming themselves the Know Nothing Party. That brings us back to 1854, where the Know Nothing Party has swept up elections in cities like Boston, Salem, and other New England cities, and winning the entire state of Massachusetts in the Fall Elections of 1854, their greatest achievement yet. Know Nothing candidates became mayors of Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and San Francisco, promising things such as the appointment of Protestant and native-born Americans to official positions and to crack down on crime. Following the Elections of 1854, the party stated it had exerted much political pressure on the states of Maine, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and California, which was true, as the Know Nothing supporters had voted its members into the aforementioned local government positions, which were, most importantly, major cities. However, the party had little centralization or organization, and were not an official political movement. In order to participate in nationwide elections, the groups came together to form the American Party, which would be appraised by the most of the American public, which at the time were fueled by the extreme nationalism following the Mexican-American War. This party also attracted former members of the Whig Party, and many dissatisfied Democrats and prohibitionists. Soon, membership for the American Party jumped from 50,000 to about one million in a mere matter of months. That brings us to the spring of 1855, where our POD takes place.
POD: Cincinnati Riots of 1855
It was a cool spring day in 1855, and an event occurred that would change America’s history forever. Elections in the city of Cincinnati for the position of mayor had caused great tensions between the German-American and “nativist” peoples of the city. These tensions were the result of the nomination of J.D. Taylor, an active anti-Catholic and nativist, for mayor, who would make things greatly difficult for the immigrants of the city. Despite efforts to calm down the opposing factions, fighting broke out and a mob of nativists marched on the nearby German-American neighborhood, of which its residents were fighting back. As the riot drew out longer than expected, the people requested the nominee J.D. Taylor be present for the attack to yell out encouraging words and speeches (including “Keep America for the Americans”, which would be the battle cry for not only the crowd but the American Party) while the German-American peoples rushed to form a make-shift militia. When they finally did, they had established barricades that had stopped the mob from going any further, and were now fighting back tooth and nail, eventually firing a cannonball over the crowd. Alas, this cannon was inaccurate, and the cannonball fell short of the originally harmless target. It landed directly in the tail of the crowd, killing 12 men, including the much idolized nominee J.D. Taylor. After a moment of confusion, the crowd reformed with more hate than ever, and pushed past the barricades, burning Catholic churches and neighborhoods along the way. The battle for the neighborhood continued for two days until federal troops were sent to disperse the two groups. In the end, three churches were burned and a combined casualty count of twenty-three people was reported. Although tragic, the American Party used this event to their advantage, spinning a tale as though the German-Americans were the instigators and the nativists the victims, emphasizing on the death of J.D. Taylor as “a sacrifice…for the greater good of America”. This propaganda unfortunately worked, boosting support for the American Party by 23%, mainly from former dissatisfied Democratic voters, leaving the percentage of support nationwide high, beating the Democratic Party by a margin. It also helped continue the election of American Party members to mayors of cities like Cincinnati and New York. Events like these would be a pivotal point for the American Party in national politics, especially now that key cities had been taken over by American Party or pro-American Party people. Another effect of the condemnation of the Cincinnati Riots by the American Party would be the carrying out of similar riots throughout the U.S., which ended either peacefully or enforced. Then came the Presidential Elections of 1856, which truly marked a change for American history. It resulted in a 24.3% vote for the Democrats, a 43.6% vote for the American Party and a 22.1% vote for the Republicans. This major victory, which put former Whig Millard Fillmore, a man who promised a stable compromise for slavery, the barring of immigrants from city jobs, and many other things in accordance to the nativist goal, in presidency, was the start of a nativist America, one that would put itself on the worldwide scene for many decades to come.
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