Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - know-nothingism

 noun  Date: 1854  1. capitalized K&N the principles and policies of the Know-Nothings  2. the condition of knowing nothing or desiring to know nothing or the conviction that nothing can be known with certainty especially in religion or morality  3. often capitalized K&N a mid-20th century political attitude characterized by anti-intellectualism, exaggerated patriotism, and fear of foreign subversive influences