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A wave of nativism occurred after the huge migration of Irish Catholics into the U.S. during the Potato Famine of the mid 19th century. Petitions from the northeastern states to Congress, including the one featured in this lesson asked Congress to pass laws limiting the new immigrants’ right to vote.

Fear of the negative influence of “foreigners” on society, especially from Roman Catholics, was hardly new in the mid 19th century. The Protestants who had settled in the northeast differed in church management and policies but they heartily agreed in the opposition to the Catholicism.Anti-Catholic feelings increased during the wave of famine induced Irish immigration between the 1820s and 1850s. Anti-Catholicism reinforced social, political, and economic concerns in New York and other points of entry. Some thought that other countries were dumping their poor and problem people on America. They blamed the uneducated, unskilled immigrants for the poverty, crime, and disease in New York and other major cities. Competition for scarce jobs, low wages, crowded and expensive housing were blamed on the newcomers.

From: http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/nativism/pages/historical_bg.html

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Read the brief passage about nativism and the domestic response to immigration and then comment on each political cartoon. In your comment you should include your interpretation based on your notes and information covered in class.

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What types of characters are in this image? What does it say about American identity?

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Who is depicted in the image? Why is it a perceived threat to democracy?

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Based on the image, what does society fear most about newcomers?

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What do the "alligators" represent? Why is this fear associated with immigrants?