Between 1877 and 1891 several incidents served to link radicalism
with new immigrants. The Molly Maguires, for example, began as an
attempt to achieve better working conditions for miners. However, the
organization was soon taken over by corrupt men who used it for
criminal purposes. By 1880 nineteen members of the Molly Maguires had
been hanged after a long reign of terror in the Pennsylvania coal
mining district.
Italian immigrants arriving in New York circa 1900
The Haymarket affair of May 4,1886 also fueled anti-immigrant sentiment after several foreign-born anarchists were tried and convicted of killing seven policemen. In 1891 an incident in New Orleans was widely reported throughout the country and reflected anti-immigrant hysteria. The police chief of New Orleans had been murdered. Eleven Italian suspects were jailed but before they could be brought to trial an angry lynch mob stormed the parish prison and attacked the prisoners.
The events in the Pennsylvania coal mines, Haymarket and New Orleans were violent manifestations of anti-immigrant sentiment but were not truly representative of most nativist activity. Nativism was mostly an attitude toward foreigners which was indeed unfavorable for the newcomers. After the Haymarket affair many patriotic societies were established including the American Protective Association which was founded in 1887 in order to oppose Catholic influence in American life. At times it was violent but nativism can best be described by the efforts of the Immigrant Restriction League founded in 1894 by old guard New Englanders. Lurking behind the League's legislative agenda was a sense of Anglo-Saxon superiority.
As many as 4,000,000 immigrants entered the United States through
ports such as Ellis Island during the final decade of the 19th
century. The increasing numbers of new immigrants, many from southern
and eastern Europe, caused great concern among New England
intellectuals and politicians such as Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of
Massachusetts. His efforts , which closely resembled those of the
Immigrant Restriction League, to enact restrictive immigration bills
were defeated by a veto of President Grover Cleveland on March 2,
1897, two days before the inauguration of President
McKinley.
The above cartoon from Puck appeared in 1880. The sign on the door reads, Free Education, Free Land, Free Speech, Free Ballot, Free Lunch. A cheerful and friendly Uncle Sam welcomes new immigrants with a sign that reads, No Oppressive Taxes, No Expensive Kings, No Compulsory Military Service, No Knouts or Dungeons.
In contrast the cartoon below from Judge appeared in 1891. The paper at the feet of Uncle Sam reads, Mafia in New Orleans, Anarchists in Chicago, Socialists in New York. The sign on the building in the background reads, Entry for Immigrants -- Baggage the Only Requisite. Phrases are written on the bags and clothing of the immigrants. The man depicted in the center forefront is representative; his bag reads, Polish Vagabond.
The nativist sentiment that existed in the 1890's by no means represented the views of the majority of Americans, many of which were new immigrants themselves. Nevertheless, nativism was characteristic of a significant portion of the population and helps to explain some of the obstacles which confronted the immigrant population during this important decade in American history.