The term Know-Nothing Riot has been used to refer to a number of political uprisings of the Nativist American Know Nothing Party in the United States of America during the mid-19th century. These anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic protests culminated into riots in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1844,

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

in 1854,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

in 1855,

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

in 1856,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and New York in 1857, and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

in 1858.

Know-Nothing Riots (1844-1858)

Philadelphia Riot

St. Louis Riot

Cincinnati Riot

The Election Day Riots of 1855 occurred in Cincinnati between April 2-7, 1855. The election was between

James J. Faran James John Faran (December 29, 1808 – December 12, 1892) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1845 to 1849. Early life and career Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Faran attended the commo ...

, the Democratic contender and editor of the ''Cincinnati'' ''Enquirer'', and James D. Taylor, rabid nativist editor of the '' Cincinnati Times''. Rumors of illegal voting, ballot-box stuffing, and naturalized voters preventing native-born citizens from voting sparked the events.

Louisville Riot

See

Bloody Monday Bloody Monday was a series of riots on August 6, 1855, in Louisville, Kentucky, an election day, when Protestant mobs attacked Irish and German Catholic neighborhoods. These riots grew out of the bitter rivalry between the Democrats and the Nat ...

Baltimore Riot

See Know-Nothing Riots of 1856

Washington D.C. Riot

Know-Nothing associated gang, the Plug Uglies, had travelled to Washington D.C. from Baltimore on June 1, 1857 in an attempt to prevent German and Irish immigrants from voting in the local election. The Plug Uglies linked up with allied members of the Rip Raps and the Chunkers and moved to

Mount Vernon Square Mount Vernon Square is a city square and neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The square is located where the following streets would otherwise intersect: Massachusetts Avenue NW, New York Avenue NW, K Street NW, and 8th ...

to harass anti-Know Nothing voters. They then returned to the square armed with pistols, clubs, bricks, and other weapons and charged into the crowd of voters. A brutal fight broke out which the police were unable to stop and by noon,

President Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

had called out two companies of Marines to stop the riot. By the time the Marines arrived at Mount Vernon Square, the Know-Nothings had set up a barricade and were armed with a cannon they had taken from the Navy Yard.

Archibald Henderson Archibald Henderson (January 21, 1783 – January 6, 1859) was the longest-serving Commandant of the Marine Corps, serving from 1820 to 1859. His name is learned by all recruits at Marine recruit training (Boot Camp) as the "Grand old man of th ...

, Commandant of the Marine Corps, marched up to the cannon and placed his body in front of it so it could not be aimed at his men. This allowed the Marines to advance on their position, but a fire fight soon broke out. 8 People were killed by the end of the day and many more were injured.

New York Riot

New Orleans Riot

The New Orleans Know-Nothing group began as a local movement in 1858 to reduce what residents considered a high rate of crime and violence in the city, primarily among

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

immigrants, who were among the poorest classes. A secret

Vigilance Committee A vigilance committee was a group formed of private citizens to administer law and order or exercise power through violence in places where they considered governmental structures or actions inadequate. A form of vigilantism and often a more stru ...

was formed to monitor their activities, and in particular to prevent disruption of upcoming municipal elections. On the night of June 2, 1858, armed men under the command of Capt. J.K. Duncan, an officer in the United States Army, marched to Jackson Square and occupied the court rooms in

The Cabildo The Cabildo was the seat of Spanish colonial city hall of New Orleans, Louisiana, and is now the Louisiana State Museum Cabildo. It is located along Jackson Square, adjacent to St. Louis Cathedral. History The original Cabildo was destroyed ...

. For the next five days, a standoff existed between the Vigilance Committee and members of the

Native American Party The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

. On June 7, the elections were held and the Native American candidate, Gerard Stith, defeated the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

candidate,

P.G.T. Beauregard Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 - February 20, 1893) was a Confederate general officer of Louisiana Creole descent who started the American Civil War by leading the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is common ...

. The Vigilance Committee disbanded with no further violence."New-Orleans Vigilance Committee - Tems of Settlements"
nytimes.com, June 4, 1858.

Notable Know Nothing criminal gang rioters

* American Guards (New York City) * Atlantic Guards (New York City) *

Blood Tubs The Bloody Tubs or Blood Tubs were a 19th-century gang of opportunistic street thugs in Baltimore, Maryland, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who worked primarily for Nativist Know Nothing politicians to commit election fraud. Formed in the mid- ...

(Baltimore and Philadelphia) * Bowery Boys (New York City) * Killers (Philadelphia) * O'Connell Guards (New York City) *

Plug Uglies The Plug Uglies were an American Know Nothing, Nativist criminal street gang, sometimes referred to loosely as a political club, that operated in the west side of Baltimore, Maryland, from 1854 to 1865. The Plug Uglies gang name came from the en ...

(Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City) *

Rip Raps Rip Raps is a small 15 acre (60,000 m²) artificial island at the mouth of the harbor area known as Hampton Roads in the independent city of Hampton in southeastern Virginia in the United States. Its name is derived from the Rip Rap Shoals in Hampt ...

(Baltimore) *

Roach Guards The Roach Guards were an Irish criminal gang in Five Points neighborhood of New York City the early 19th century. The gang was originally formed to protect New York liquor merchants in Five Points and soon began committing robbery and murder. ...

(New York City) * Shifflers (Philadelphia)

References

Sources

* * {{cite book, last=Smith , first=John Kendall , title=A History of New Orleans , year=1922, location=Chicago, publisher=Lewis Pub. Co 1854 in the United States 1857 in the United States 1858 in Louisiana 1854 riots 1858 riots Riots and civil disorder in Missouri Riots and civil disorder in Louisiana Political riots in the United States 1857 in Washington, D.C. 1854 in Missouri Crimes in New Orleans June 1857 events June 1858 events 19th century in New Orleans Riot