| The American Nativism Movement is a movement in the history of the United States,which has a history of more than 170 years,taking the thought of exclusion as its theoretical basis and maintaining the mainstream culture of white Americans as its main goal.Its main task is to oppose immigrants from Catholicism,Judaism,Asia and Latin immigrants.The American Protective Association,founded in 1887 in Clinton Town,Iowa,is an influential nativist organization in the late 19 th century.It opposes immigration,foreign church forces,and supports non-denominational public schools,which has set off another anti-Catholic frenzy in the society.This thesis consists of three parts: introduction,text and conclusion.The text is divided into four chapters.The first chapter mainly introduces the background of the establishment of the American Protective Association.The American Nativism Movement has a long history.As an extremely important nativism organization at the end of the 19 th century,the American Protective Association inherited part of the concept and organizational structure of the "ignorant party",which is the inheritance and development of previous nativism activities.In the 1980 s,the influx of "new immigrants" aggravated the contradiction between the natives and immigrants,and the social xenophobia became more serious;The controversy between Protestant and Catholic schools and the serious economic crisis have provided a favorable social environment for the establishment of the American Protective Association.It is under the comprehensive effect of the above factors that the American Protective Association has been continuously bred,and entered people’s vision with the goal of being loyal to the American way of life and opposing foreign church forces.The second chapter discusses the establishment and preliminary development of the American Protective Association.With the efforts of Henry F.Bowers,the American Protective Association was formally established in 1887,and quickly drafted the articles of association,the relevant provisions of the admission ceremony,and the objectives and principles of the organization.After its establishment,the Association actively improved its organizational structure,expanded its influence and launched a ruthless attack on Catholicism.The third chapter discusses the struggle between the American Protective Association and Catholicism in detail.Due to the outbreak of the economic crisis and the strong anti-Catholic atmosphere in the society,the activities of the American Protective Association reached its peak.The activities of the American Protective Association mainly include: distribution of fabricated leaflets,distribution of newspapers,"Whisper Campaign",public speeches,funding of priests and fugitive nuns,etc.The Association maintains anti-Catholic enthusiasm through the combination of openness and concealment,and internal and external means.Taking the statue of Father Marquette,the event of Father York in San Francisco and the Spreckles scandal as examples,this thesis shows the process of the struggle between the American Protective Association and the Catholic Church.The fourth chapter introduces the decline of the American Protective Association,and summarizes and evaluates it.There were conflicts within the American Protective Association on the William Mc Kinley incident and the silver issue.With the change of the social environment and the division of the senior management of the Association,the Association gradually declined.The characteristic of the American Protective Association is that it relies on rhetoric propaganda to carry out anti-Catholic activities and advocates loyalty to the true American spirit.The American Protective Association attacks Catholicism on the basis that Roman Catholics’ loyalty to the Pope is higher than the obedience and loyalty required by the United States of America,Catholics should control the government in the name of the Pope,and American Protestant civilians have patriotic obligations.The American Protective Association,as a connecting chapter in the American nativism movement,has the nature of anti-immigration and protecting the American economy.From another perspective,it is also an organization with the nature of religious extremism,which has a profound impact on American society.Based on the analysis of the development process of the American Protective Association,this thesis tries to present the complete picture of its activities from 1887 to 1897.Finally,it is concluded that the issue of immigration is closely related to nativism.In order to overcome the impact of nativism,we must deal with the issue of immigration,expand the publicity of immigrants’ contributions in economic,social and cultural aspects,and arouse the resonance of the American people.The anti-Catholic activities of the American Protective Association are a destruction of American freedom and democracy,causing social panic and will be eliminated by history.To prevent the resurgence of nationalism,a complex multi-pronged approach needs to be adopted,including long-term political mobilization and more active public discussion on the issue of migration and globalization. |
