ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the Know-Nothing Party

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and their celebration of ignorance.

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Woo-hoo.

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All right, which of the following groups would most likely support

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the idea expressed in the image?

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And here are your potential answers.

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[ mumbles ]

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All right, well, at first glance, this flag looks

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pretty radical, since there weren't many groups

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standing up for Native Americans in the 19th century.

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Unfortunately, the Know-Nothing Party used

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"Native Americans" to refer to U.S. Protestants,

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not American Indians,

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who needed to be on the look-out for this so-called

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foreign influence.

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Well, could the idea expressed in the image have been supported by A -

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the abolitionist movement?

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Huh. Well, the abolitionist movement was

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fighting for freedom and citizenship for slaves, many of whom

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were not born in the U.S.

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So that frees up our support for A.

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Would the idea in the image have been supported by B -

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anti-slavery political parties?

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Well, anti-slavery political parties staked their, well,

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political careers on the idea that men brought over in chains

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deserved the same treatment as men who were born free.

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Huh. So they'd have been down to party with the Know-Nothings, either.

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Awesome people.

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Is this image similar to ideas supported by C -

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the Democratic Party?

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Well, actually the Democratic Party was the primary political home for

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Catholic immigrants during this period,

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so they would have not-so-politely declined an invitation

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to these festivities, as well.

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Which means that the sentiments expressed in the image

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would most likely have been supported by D -

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Anti-Catholic political groups.

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Groups like the Know-Nothing Party protested the influence of

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Catholics, as well as immigration, even though their ancestors

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had once been immigrants to the continent, as well.

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See hypocrisy dot com for details.

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So D is the correct answer here.

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The Know-Nothing Party might have been exclusive to a fault,

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but you have to at least give them credit for coming up with the

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perfect name.

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