<P> Nativism gained its name from the `` Native American '' parties of the 1840s and 1850s . In this context `` Native '' does not mean indigenous Americans or American Indians but rather those descended from the inhabitants of the original Thirteen Colonies . It impacted politics in the mid-19th century because of the large inflows of immigrants after 1845 from cultures that were different from the existing American culture . Nativists objected primarily to Irish Roman Catholics because of their loyalty to the Pope and also because of their supposed rejection of republicanism as an American ideal . </P>
why did nativism increase during the early 19th century
because of the large inflows of immigrants after 1845 from cultures that were different from the existing American culture