What was the Know-Nothing party of the 1850s?

Answer 1

The Know Nothing movement was a American political movement of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to U.S. values and controlled by the Pope in Rome. Mainly active from 1854 to 1856, it strove to curb Immigration and naturalization, though its efforts were met with little success. There were few prominent leaders, and the largely middle-class and entirely Protestant membership fragmented over the issue of slavery. Most ended up joining the Republican Party by the time of the 1860 presidential election.

Answer 2

The "know-Nothings were an anti-immigration political party whose main focus was to keep immigrants out of America during the 1850's. Members feared that the immigration of people into the United States was a threat to Americans by competing for the job market and since so many immigrants were entering the United States, they were concerned that to not stop the flow of immigrants a problem of overpopulation would result.