American Republican Party (1843)
The American Republican Party was a minor anti-Catholic, anti-immigration, and nativist political organization that was launched in New York in June 1843, largely as a protest against immigrant voters and officeholders.
American Republican Party | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Third District American Republican Watch Association Ribbon | |
| Founded | 1843 |
| Dissolved | 1845 |
| Preceded by | Whig Party |
| Merged into | Native American Party |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-right |
| Religion | Protestantism |
| Colors | Red White Blue (American flag colors) |
In 1844, the American Republican Party carried municipal elections in New York City and Philadelphia and expanded so rapidly that by July 1845 a national convention was called.[1] This convention changed the name to the Native American Party and drafted a legislative program calling for a 21-year period preceding naturalization and other sweeping reforms in the immigration policy of the United States, as well as mandating the use of the Protestant King James Bible in public schools.[2][3]
Despite some initial success of the party, it lost public support following the Philadelphia nativist riots of 1844 during which American Republican Party members were involved in burning down two Catholic churches.[2]
Its founders included Lewis Charles Levin, Samuel Kramer, "General" Peter Sken Smith, James Wallace, and John Gitron.[4]
See also
- Free Soil Party
- Know Nothing Party
- The Crisis!: An Appeal to Our Countrymen, on the Subject of Foreign Influence in the United States!, a book published by the General Executive Committee of the American Republican Party in 1844 to describe the organization's anti-immigrant message.
References
- LeMay, Michael. Transforming America: Perspectives on U.S. Immigration. ABC-CLIO. p. 220.
- Kurtz, William B. (2020). "The Mexican War and Nativism". Excommunicated from the Union. New York City, New York: Fordham University Press. p. 21. doi:10.1515/9780823267552-002. ISBN 978-0-8232-6755-2.
- Pinheiro, John C. (2014-04-02). "The Rise and Influence of Anti-Catholicism, 1834–1844". Missionaries of Republicanism: A Religious History of the Mexican-American War. Oxford University Press. pp. 32–35. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199948673.003.0002. ISBN 978-0-19-994867-3.
- Forman, John A. (1960). "Lewis Charles Levin: Portrait of an American Demagogue" (PDF). The American Jewish Archives. 12 (2): 150–194.
Sources
- Adams, James Truslow. Dictionary of American History, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940.
