The term "Know-Nothing Riot" has been used to refer to several political uprisings in United States of America during the latter half of the 19th century. These included riots in St. Louis in 1854, Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 in 1857, and New Orleans in 1858.

Washington Riot

On June 1, 1857, a band of American Party rowdies traveled by train from Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

 to Washington, D.C. to assist local party members in controlling the polls at a municipal election. The band included members of the Plug Uglies

Plug Uglies

The Plug Uglies were a street gang that operated in the westside of Baltimore, Maryland from 1854 to 1860. The Plug Uglies coalesced shortly after the creation of the Mount Vernon Hook-and-Ladder Company, a volunteer fire company whose truck house was on Biddle Street, between Pennsylvania Avenue...

, Rip Raps

Rip Raps

Rip Raps is a small 15 acre artificial island at the mouth of the harbor area known as Hampton Roads in the independent city of Hampton in southeastern Virginia in the United States.-History:...

, and Shiffler Fire Company from Philadelphia. After word of their arrival spread and rioting began at several polls, President James Buchanan

James Buchanan

James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....

 called out United States Marines from the Navy Yard

Washington Navy Yard

The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...

 to quell the fighting. At one of the polls, the Marines clashed with citizens, most of them Washingtonians. They opened fire, killing ten men, only one from Baltimore. The violence drew sharp condemnation of Buchanan's resort to military force, but resulted in no significant criminal prosecutions. The bloody event soon became lost in the larger controversy over slavery

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

 and largely forgotten.

New Orleans Riot

The New Orleans Know-Nothing group began as a local movement in 1858 to reduce what residents considered a high rate of crime and violence in the city, primarily among Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 and German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 immigrants, who were among the poorest classes. A secret Vigilance Committee

Vigilance committee

A vigilance committee was a group formed of private citizens to administer law and order where they considered governmental structures to be inadequate. The term is commonly associated with the frontier areas of the American West in the mid-19th century, where groups attacked cattle rustlers and...

 was formed to monitor their activities, and in particular to prevent disruption of upcoming municipal elections.

On the night of June 2, 1858, armed men under the command of Capt. J. K. Duncan, who was an officer in the United States Army, marched to Jackson Square and occupied the court rooms in The Cabildo

The Cabildo

The Cabildo was the seat of colonial government in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is now a museum. The Cabildo is located along Jackson Square, adjacent to St. Louis Cathedral.- History :The original Cabildo was destroyed in the Great New Orleans Fire...

. For the next five days, a standoff existed between the Vigilance Committee and members of the Native American Party. On June 7, the elections were held and the Native American candidate, Gerard Stith, defeated the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 candidate, P.G.T. Beauregard. The Vigilance Committee disbanded with no further violence.