Uncle Sam's Youngest Son, Know Nothing, Citizen print

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Here Uncle Sam, the familiar personification of the nation, is recast as a family member, a "youngest son" who has taken up the Know Nothing cause. The Know Nothings, formally the American Party, rose in the mid-1850s on hostility toward immigrants and Catholics, and members were known for answering questions about their secret society with "I know nothing." Political prints of this kind used the Uncle Sam figure to comment on the movement's nativism and to speak to voters about who belonged in the nation. The listing does not name the artist, so the exact date and intent are best read from the image itself.

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