American Protective Association
- American Protective Association
The American Protective Association, or APA was an American anti-Catholic society (similar to the Know Nothings) that was founded in 1887 by Attorney Henry F. Bowers in Clinton, Iowa. It was most active between 1891 and 1897. Many members were Irish Protestants who belonged to the anti-Catholic Orange Order or German and Scandinavian Lutherans. The APA's goals included restricting Catholic immigration, making use of English a prerequisite to American citizenship, removing Catholic teachers from public schools and banning Catholics from public offices.
At its height in 1896, the APA claimed 2,500,000 members and 20 sympathizers in Congress, but both the APA and its enemies always inflated the membership totals. For example, only one member of Congress acknowledged membership. At a time when it claimed hundreds of thousands of members in Michigan, the association had an empty treasury and was unable to reimburse the train fare for its state leader. In actuality the APA never enacted any of its legislation, and there is little evidence it achieved any political influence. In 1894, the APA was a major target of Democratic campaigners and in 1896, the APA attacked Republican leader William McKinley, who was elected President that year. By 1900 the APA had almost wasted away.
Further reading
* Bennett, David H. "The Party of Fear: From Nativist Movements to the New Right in American History" (1988), ISBN 0807817724.
* Desmond, Humphrey J., " [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01426a.htm The American Protective Association] ", "Catholic Encyclopedia", 1911.
* Kinzer, Donald L. "Episode in Anti-Catholicism: The American Protective Association" (1964), 364pp. the standard scholarly history
* Lipset, Seymour Martin and Earl Raab. "The Politics of Unreason: Right Wing Extremism in America, 1790-1970" (1970), ISBN 0060126477.
ee also
* Anti-Catholicism
* Protestant Protective Association, a spinoff group in Canada
* Timeline of riots and civil unrest in Omaha, Nebraska
External links
* http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5351/
* http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/apa.html
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American Protective Association — A*mer i*can Pro*tect ive As*so ci*a tion A secret organization in the United States, formed in Iowa in 1887, ostensibly for the protection of American institutions by keeping Roman Catholics out of public office. Abbrev. commonly to A. P .A.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
American Protective Association — ▪ American political organization in U.S. history, an anti Catholic, anti immigrant group that briefly acquired a membership greater than 2,000,000 during the 1890s. A successor in spirit and outlook to the pre Civil War Know Nothing Party … Universalium
American Protective Association — (abgek. A. P. A., »Amerikanischer Schutzverein«), ein Geheimbund in den Vereinigten Staaten von Nordamerika, gegründet 1887 von dem Rechtsanwalt Bowers zu Clinton in Iowa. Die Zahl der Mitglieder soll 21/2 bis 3 Mill. betragen. Der Bund fordert… … Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon
American Protective Association, The — • A secret society which became a disturbing factor in the northern U.S. between 1891 1897 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 … Catholic encyclopedia
The American Protective Association — The American Protective Association † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The American Protective Association Usually known as the A.P.A., a secret proscriptive society in the United States, which became a disturbing factor in most of the… … Catholic encyclopedia
American Protective Association (APA) — Secret anti Catholic, anti immigrant society formed in Iowa in 1887. Its membership, consisting mainly of farmers who feared the growth and political power of immigrant populated cities, rose to more than two million in the 1890s. Membership… … Universalium
Protestant Protective Association — The Protestant Protective Association was an anti Catholic group in the 1890s based in Ontario, Canada, associated with the Orange Order. Originally a spinoff of the American group the American Protective Association, it became independent in… … Wikipedia
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association — associational, adj. /euh soh see ay sheuhn, shee /, n. 1. an organization of people with a common purpose and having a formal structure. 2. the act of associating or state of being associated. 3. friendship; companionship: Their close association … Universalium
