gentlemen, among whom was Zachariah Chandler,
of Michigan, then in the vigor of early manhood. We made
arrangements for getting large contributions of money and
arms with which the Northern emigrants were equipped, and
which undoubtedly enabled them to maintain successfully their
resistance and establish their free State.

CHAPTER XI
THE KNOW NOTHING PARTY AND ITS OVERTHROW

The political history of Massachusetts from 1846 to 1865
is, in general, the history of the share of the Commonwealth
in the great National contest with Slavery; the beginning
and growth of the Free Soil or Republican Party and the putting
down of the Rebellion. The rise and dominion for three years,
and the final overthrow of the Know Nothing Party is an episode
which should not be wholly omitted, although it is an episode
which might be omitted without injury to the sense.

There have been, ever since the Irish immigration which begun
somewhere about 1840 down to to-day, a great many worthy people
who have been afraid of the Pope and the influence of Catholicism
in this country, and have been exceedingly jealous of the
influence of foreigners, especially of those of the Roman
Catholic Church. Self-seeking political adventurers and demagogues
have not been slow to take advantage of this feeling for their
own purposes. They have, for some reason, always preferred
to make their political movement in secret societies. The
Catholic vote had generally been cast for the Democrats, and
was supposed to be largely influenced by the Catholic clergy.
It was thought that this influence had a good deal to do with
defeating Mr. Clay in 1844. A movement of this kind swept
over the country after the Presidential election of 1852.
It had nearly spent its force by 1856. It made little headway
at the South, except in two or three States. There was a
struggle with it in Virginia, where it was defeated by the
superhuman energy of Henry A. Wise. The party organized for
the purpose of excluding men of foreign birth from any share
in the Government, sometimes called the American Party, was
generally called the Know-Nothing Party, a name which came
from the answer each member was expected to make to any inquiry
from an outsider, "I know nothing about it."

This party swept Massachusetts in the autumn of 1854. It
elected in that year Governor, Lieutenant Governor, all the
officers of the State Government, every member of both Houses
of the Legislature,