Page 3 - Johanna F. Cronin Biography

Hannah Cronin was born in a

difficult year for Irish immigrants.
The “Know-Nothing” movement
was a national American political

movement promising to purify

American politics by ending the in-
fluence of Irish Catholics and other

immigrants. In Massachusetts, the
election of 1854 saw the governor,

all state officers, the entire state sen-
ate, and all but three state represen-

tatives enrolled in the American
Party; the Know-Nothings. The

party believed that Protestantism de-
fined American society and Catholi-

cism was incompatible with basic American values. The politicians
were called “Know-Nothing” because when asked their party affilia-

tion they would respond “I know nothing”.

The Know Nothing movement was an American political movement that
operated on a national basis during the mid-1850’s