JUNIOR ORDER UNITED AMERICAN MECHANICS
(JOUAM)
JOUAM was a nativist workingmen's organization founded in 1853 to resist the competition for jobs from immigration. See related quote for membership criteria. At its peak it had over 200,000 members. “Mechanics” was the term used for a wide variety of skilled craftsmen from plumbers to bricklayers. JOUAM is the oldest fraternal order in America.
JOAM was a nativist workingmen's organization founded in 1853 to resist the competition for jobs from immigration. See {584649} for an example. At its peak it had over 200,000 members.
The Junior Order of United American Mechanics is an American fraternal order. It began as a youth affiliation of the Order of United American Mechanics, but seceded to become its own organization and eventually absorbed its parent order. Originally, it was an anti-Catholic, nativist group.