Tea baggers in history : The Know Nothing movement

[Bosso 63]

A nativist American political movement of the 1840s and 1850s.


* Severe limits on immigration, especially from Catholic countries.
* Restricting political office to native-born Americans of English
and/or Scottish lineage and Protestant persuasion.
* Mandating a wait of 21 years before an immigrant could gain citizenship.
* Restricting public school teacher positions to Protestants.
* Mandating daily Bible readings in public schools.
* Restricting the sale of liquor.
* Restricting the use of languages other than English.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_Nothing

[CanonRay]

1. The Good Ole Days

just what the Freepers are longing for.

[mstinamotorcity]

2. Tea baggers are ridiculous

people with ridiculous signs,clothes,hats,and name.

[Historic NY]

3. History repeats itself.

[FBI_Un_Sub]

4. Cyclical (periodicity)

Racism/xenophobia is a periodic and cyclical phenomena.

[Bosso 63]

5. Yes it is.

I think they should go back to the original name. it seems to be a better fit.

[JaneQPublic]

6. Fascinating. Thanks for posting this. (nt)

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. And in 50 years history books will talk about the tea baggers

in the same general, undefined terms they now use with the know-nothings, leaving millions of school children to wonder what that paragraph was about and where did they get that stupid name.

That's all I got out of my text books about know-nothings - nothing. It didn't even get its own paragraph, but was buried in a larger paragraph about the Mexican war and the Polk administration.

Those who do not remember their history...

[pruple]

8. K&R

nice post

[ginnyinWI]

9. U.S. Grant on the difference between North and South

I'm reading his personal memoir right now. He comments on the difference in character between the forces in the South vs. the North (Civil War). Southerners, he says, had a lot of emotional fervor, were willing to attack against all sensible odds, were fierce flag-wavers and tolerated no dissent among their ranks. Any civilian voicing a dissenting opinion would be in deep trouble. Northerners were more tolerant of divergent views and as soldiers more likely to analyze and strategize. Cooler heads, it seems, did prevail. Under his leadership, at least, they were fair to the civilian population they ran into and even found a way to employ(and pay) the many African-Americans who were displaced by abandoned plantations and starving.

It strikes me how similar the tea partiers are to those Southerners over a hundred years ago.

[unc70]

10. You need to be more skeptical of Grant's memoirs -- biased

Remember who was writing it and justifying his own behavior, and who it was beeing written for -- which market, certainly not those in the South.

Hard to think of the Radical Republicans as being "cooler heads".

[ginnyinWI]

13. the cooler heads were the Northerners.

They did win the war.

[unc70]

14. The North winning was not based upon "cooler heads"

The Radical Republicans were hardly "cooler heads"

If you know anything about Grant, you would know that he was widely criticized and for cause during and after the war for his willingness to have his own armies suffer huge losses, in return for smaller losses by the Southern armies. Critics called him a "butcher" following battles like Spotsylvania.

Grant's memoir is a very interesting document, but should be approached with considerable care. Remember that he wrote it knowing he would soon die and desparate to provide financially for his wife and family (after repeatedly making and losing fortunes in dubious ventures and schemes with friends and family). He needed to write something that Twain would be able to sell in large number, and he wanted to rehab his own role from the attacks suffered since then (by Northerners).

BTW Grant and his wife continued to own slaves while the Civil War was being fought.

[Ishoutandscream2]

11. Excellent comparison

And the Know Nothings didn't last too long. Let's hope the same for our Teabagger friends. At least until they totally fracture the Republican party.

[Javaman]

12. tea ball licking baggers = retro post modern morons. nt