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Massachusetts State Seal
Commonwealth Museum   Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin
Commonwealth Museum Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin

The Election of 1854

Uncle Sam's youngest son, Citizen Know Nothing, an 1854 print

- Uncle Sam's youngest son, Citizen Know Nothing, an 1854 print

The Election of 1854
The Know-Nothing movement was a national American political movement during the mid 1850s, promising to purify American politics by ending the influence of Irish Catholics and other immigrants. After the election of 1854, the governor, all state officers, the entire state senate, and all but three state representatives were Know Nothings.