March 18: A Nativist Resurgence

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is March 18th, and our story is A Nativist Resurgence. For members of the American Protective Association, APA, no rumor about Catholics was too wild to believe. Catholics started the American Civil War? Of course they did. Catholic priests burned the American flag during Mass? Not surprising.

Catholics exercised secret control over the White House via blackmail and more nefarious means of manipulation. No news there. Founded in Clinton, Iowa, in March 1887, the APA was the late 19th century successor to the Know-Nothings, Nativists, and other American anti-Catholic groups. Like their predecessors, members of the APA believed Catholics threatened the prosperity and culture of their Protestant nation. Also, like their predecessors, they were determined to do something about it. Over the next ten years, the APA aggressively recruited members, claiming by the mid-1890s 2.5 million men among their ranks.

It also published over 70 different news weeklies, and sent men and women posing as ex-priests and nuns to Protestant revivals to spread rumors about the Catholic Church. With its fundraisers, who used the money they raised to put candidates that sympathized with their views into political office, the APA had its greatest success in the midterm and off-year elections of 1894 and 1895. In just two short years, its activity helped elect at least one governor, New Jersey, and as many as 100 congressmen, including 20 APA members.

What they wanted those newly elected officials to do was fairly straightforward. Impose stricter regulations on immigration, prevent non-native-born citizens from voting, impose literacy tests at the polls, strengthen public schools, weaken Catholic schools, tax church property, and inspect all religiously run hospitals, schools, and reformatory institutions, as well as monasteries, convents, and seminaries. In essence, they wanted to reduce the number of Catholic immigrants coming to the United States and make life difficult for Catholics already here. Unfortunately for them, more pressing national concerns arose before the 1896 election, and the APA's influence soon diminished.

Its demise was also helped along by our Sunday visitor's founder, Archbishop John Knoll, who worked to undermine the reputation of the group and its publications. After 1923, the APA was never heard from again. The APA's story reminds us how fear, prejudice, and misinformation can corrupt public life.

It also demonstrates the resilience of communities rooted in faith and truth. Catholics face discrimination, yet organized, advocated, and countered false narratives with courage and integrity. And it exemplifies how truth and charity can withstand even organized opposition. Identify a prejudice or misconception in your community or social circle.

Take one step this week to counter it with truth, compassion, or constructive conversation. Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, March 19th, for another story of faith and courage in America.