What is "american protective association"

American Protective Association \A*mer"i*can Pro*tect"ive As*so`ci*a"tion\ A secret organization in the United States, formed in Iowa in 1887, ostensibly for the protection of American institutions by keeping Roman Catholics out of public office. Abbrev. commonly to A. P .A.

The American Protective Association (APA) was an American anti-Catholic secret society established in 1887 by Protestants, especially Irish Protestants from Canada. It was strongest in the Midwest, and came under heavy attack from Democrats until its collapse in the mid-1890s.