nativism definition us history

nativism definition us history

The Evolution of Nativism in U.S. History

1. Introduction to Nativism

Although the historical roots of this particular contemporary problem of American life can be found in the country’s colonial past, the most salient period for the development of modern nativism is the culmination and end of that migration epoch which extended from post-Revolutionary times through the middle decades of the nineteenth century. That period was marked, of course, by the establishment of the United States as an independent nation whose lands, which had been cleared of aboriginal populations and later purchased from France and Spain and others or occupied by virtue of treaties with Native American tribes, were opened for exploitation, settlement, and immigrants. We turn first to an analysis of the phenomenon itself of nativism; following that discussion, the considered exploration of these intervening and contributory periods is undertaken in order to illuminate features of earlier nativist challenges to American society.

The subject of nativism in the United States is perhaps a less familiar one to many persons than it deserves to be, precisely because it is a recurring phenomenon, historically perennial, and today by no means yet dormant. Nativist movements have been repetitive both at national and local levels of the United States and are characteristic of various stages of the national development process. Nativism, it must be remembered, has always arisen during critical periods of transition and social change. For the historian, nativism is one phase of the social process that includes both social dissent and protest as well as reaction to that variety of protest movements. This reaction, of course, is most acute when the protest appears in forms that are violent, unappealing, or filled less with social concern than with plain misanthropy.

2. Nativism in Early U.S. History

After the War of 1812, a period of relative nativist or anti-immigrant sentiment occurred during the 1840s motivated by several factors. Growing Irish immigration due to the Irish potato famine, memories of previous Irish contract labor in the U.S. and a close identification with Britain where opposition to immigration was strong among the working class all coalesced to produce anti-Catholic sentiment combined with latent fears of the Crown Royalists. City machines profited from an expansion of the voting base and the alternative to supporting nativist policies was either a strong dose of morally based anti-slavery sentiment or socialist based reforms. By 1854, sufficient nativist sentiment had developed to organize the Party of the American Republic. This organization won a significant number of state seats, and, by 1856, had thrown its weight behind the Know-Nothing candidate for president. Although the party did not last long, the sentiments it embodied and expressed were a harbinger of the soon-to-occur Civil War.

Nativism in the form of the Alien and Sedition Acts was first established in the U.S. in 1798. The laws were a response to the potential for war with France, and the ruling Federalist Party hoped to suppress potential internal revolutionary activity. Passed under the reign of President John Adams, the incendiary legislation enacted a number of reforms including raising the requirements for naturalization of new citizens from 5 to 14 years, authorizing the President to deport any non-citizens who were considered dangerous, and imposition of fines or imprisonment on those who defamed Congress or the president. The laws are distinguishable for their early suppression of free speech in U.S. history, and marked the beginning of a wave of reforms that barely missed transforming the young republic into a moderate dictatorship. In response to the Acts, Thomas Jefferson, founder of the Democratic-Republican Party, rode into the presidency on a wave of anti-Federalist sentiment in 1800.

3. Nativism in the 19th Century: The Know-Nothing Party

These long-term changes, however, could not have occurred without some immediate conditions that had done much to aggravate the situation. For example, there was a failure to assimilate large numbers of foreign-born who were arriving on these shores, mainly from Ireland and Germany, but also emigrating from almost all parts of the world. In addition, there was the Irish famine of 1845. As a result, between 1847 and 1851, 914,119 Irish emigrants landed in Boston and 239,033 in New York. Many of the Irish were unskilled. In addition, unlike the Protestant Germans who were similar in their religion to many Americans, the Irish were mostly Roman Catholics who were rather bitter and sometimes violent in their religious controversies. By 1850, they made up five per cent of the U.S. population. Anti-alienism was not new to the U.S. in the 1840s. From time to time, there had been similar waves of prejudice, particularly against the Germans and French during the 1840s. However, this was the first time that nativism became a significant political force in the U.S.

4. Nativism in the 20th Century: Immigration Acts and Xenophobia

The U.S. has experienced numerous waves of increased tension when immigrants enter the country, and the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries were no exceptions. The restrictive measures passed by Congress at that time paralleled the broad anti-immigrant sentiments felt around the country. The restrictions on some ethnic groups and some countries during those years reinforced the racial, ethnic, and nationality prejudices that began during the 19th century. The specter of a “yellow peril,” inspired by the Japanese victory over Russia in 1905 and huge number of Japanese immigrants eventually led to the Japanese round-up and internment after the attack on Pearl Harbor. While Congress legislated against those ethnic groups entering America during previous years, no one was ever interned based on their nationality.

The 20th and 21st centuries witnessed new waves of nativism that led to restrictions on the number of immigrants entering America. The majority of those admitted to America during these years were either related to U.S. citizens or had needed skills or education to contribute to the U.S. economy. A boom in refugee immigration occurred in 1975 when the Southeast Asian migration comprised mostly persons fearing Communist governments. A similar wave of Cuban immigrants in the 1980s resulted from unrest between Cuban-American relations. In the 21st century, the floor debate at both the Senate and the House of Representatives explored fears that the Northern Triangle immigration needed more border control and homeland security more than the critical citizenship path and the amnesty provisions in the Senate Bill. In 2016, Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency running on a platform claiming that undocumented immigrants posed serious problems for the country. His administration passed executive orders to begin constructing the border wall, increase the number of deportees, raid places where undocumented workers work, and deny federal funding for sanctuary cities.

5. Contemporary Nativism and its Impact

Following the surge of immigration to the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century and up until the 1920s, opposition to immigration diminished and nativism became largely latent. During this period, the new immigrants began to apply for citizenship and to assimilate along with earlier immigrant groups. The United States became truly a melting pot of people from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds and with varying beliefs. Furthermore, to maintain a high level of economic growth, it was necessary for the United States, with its expanding industries and agriculture, to have a relatively open policy toward immigration. By 1921, however, the Congress became very apprehensive of the effect of heightened levels of immigration to the U.S. The country had grown from a population of 75 million at the time of World War I to 105 million by 1920, and it was feared that this increase in population, combined with large numbers of foreigners with foreign loyalties, would overwhelm the Anglo-American culture. In response, Congress drastically reduced the total number of immigrants allowed into the U.S. for the first time since colonial days.