jan 1, 1887 - 1887: American Protective Association

Description:

Founded by Henry F. Bowers at Clinton, Iowa, in 1887. It was a secret society that played upon the fears of rural Americans about the growth and political power of immigrant-populated cities. an anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant group that briefly acquired a membership greater than 2,000,000 during the 1890s. By 1900 the APA no longer exerted any noticeable political power, and it had disappeared entirely by 1911