American+Protective+Association+1887

__-Definition__ An anti-catholic organization that was mostly prominent from 1891 to 1897. The A.P.A wanted to prevent the support of sectarian schools(A school that is associated with a faith or religion). They also wanted to control other political parties even though they did not have their own political party. One of their goals was to restrict Catholics from coming into the United States. They wanted to stop Catholic immigration. They believed that one must have the ability to speak English in order to become a citizen of the United States. Members of the A.P.A pledged to never vote for, strike with, or hire a Catholic individual.



__**Historical background**__ As a secret anti-catholic organization, the American Protective Association was founded in 1887 by attorney Henry. F Bowers in Clinton, Iowa. It was especially active in the mid west from 1893 to 1896. However, its rapid expansion made it difficult to manage. The American Protective Association(A.P.A.) never formed a distinct political party and foreign born Americans were welcome to become members. By 1892, about 70,000 members had been recruited in the upper Mississippi Valley. In the following year, there was an increase in activity and strength in the A.P.A. This was primarily due to the fact that Apb. Francis Satolli was appointed as the first permanent papal delegate to the United States. Also, Bowers was replaced by William J. Traynor due to the fact that Traynor was considered more of a practical and politically astute leader. He blamed the depression of 1893 on the Catholics, and turned the A.P.A into a mass movement. Another reason there was such an increase in strength was because of the Panic of 1893, when A.P.A. propagandists ascribed to the papal plots. This occurred at a time when Irish political power was increasing in cities like New York and Boston, and the school controversy was irritating the anti-catholic people. The expansion of parochial schools after the Third Plenary council in 1884 caused several states to attempt public regulation of private schools. When there were attempts at compromise as a solution to the problems, further conflict occurred. The A.P.A reached its peak in 1896 when it claimed to have 3,500,000, but the A.P.A was known to inflate the amount of members it actually had. They claimed that they had 20 sympathizers in congress, yet only one member of congress actually admitted to being a member. The A.P.A made an attempt to thwart the election of William McKinley in 1896, and they failed. The incapability of the A.P.A became more evident in March of 1897, when McKinley's first cabinet appointment was a Catholic judge. Despite the losing much support, the A.P.A was able to linger around until Henry Bowers passed away in 1911.



__**Negatives-**__ -The fall of the A.P.A did not end anti-Catholicism. The amount of immigrants arriving in the United States, combined with the fact that many had the idea of certain races being superior to others, only strengthened the movement. -The members of the A.P.A were racist against Catholics, for example they set out to stop Catholic immigration and restrict them from entering the United States. -They considered Catholics inferior, and undesirable.

__**Positives-**__ -The Anti Catholic movement eventually ended, and even during the A.P.A movement, Catholics were still allowed in office, even though the A.P.A set out to stop that. For example, president William McKinley's first cabinet appointment was a Catholic judge in 1897 when the A.P.A movement was near its peak. -The A.P.A eventually faded away after the election of William McKinley, and completely vanished when Henry Bowers died in 1911.

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