According to Wikipedia...
The Know-Nothing movement was a nativist American political movement of the 1840s and 1850s. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, who were often regarded as hostile to Anglo-Saxon values and controlled by the Pope in Rome. Mainly active from 1854 to 1856, it strove to curb immigration and naturalization, though its efforts met with little success.
If it sounds Tea Bag Friendly, you are probably not alone in those feelings. Here's a bit more of the history.
Membership was limited to Protestant males of British lineage over the age of twenty-one. 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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
The US Tea Party's first convention from February of this year. Age improves wine but not whining folk. Thanks for the memories...
The first national Tea Party convention took place last February but the for-profit company running the show has sparked controversy, even within the movement. http://www.newslook.com/...
Oh, and the scarring of the Washington Memorial was caused by the Know nothing party not the Civil war as Glenn Beck led some of us to believe while he was channeling Billy Graham on Saturday. Here's more...
http://www.associatedcontent.com/...