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 in 1844, St. Louis in 1854, Cincinnati and Louisville in 1855,

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

in 1856, Washington, D.C. and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1857, and 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, the Democratic contender and editor of the ''Cincinnati'' ''Enquirer'', and James D. Taylor, rabid nativist editor of the ''

Cincinnati Times ''The Cincinnati Times-Star'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, from 1880 to 1958. The Northern Kentucky edition was known as ''The Kentucky Times-Star'', and a Sunday edition was known as ''The Sunday Times-S ...

''. Rumors of illegal voting, ballot-box stuffing, and naturalized voters preventing native-born citizens from voting sparked the events.

Louisville Riot

See Bloody Monday.

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 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 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, 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 and German 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. For the next five days, a standoff existed between the Vigilance Committee and members of the Native 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. 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 American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

(New York City) * Atlantic Guards (New York City) * Blood Tubs (Baltimore and Philadelphia) * Bowery Boys (New York City) * Killers (Philadelphia) * O'Connell Guards (New York City) * Plug Uglies (Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City) * Rip Raps (Baltimore) * Roach Guards (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 A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...