The American Protective Association, or APA was an American anti-Catholic society (similar to the Know Nothings) that was founded in 1887 by Attorney Henry F. Bowers in Clinton, Iowa. It was most active between 1891 and 1897. Many members were Irish Protestants who belonged to the anti-Catholic Orange Order or German and Scandinavian Lutherans. The APA's goals included restricting Catholic immigration, making ability to speak English a prerequisite to American citizenship, removing Catholic teachers from public schools and banning Catholics from public offices. It sponsored countrywide tours of purported ex-priests and "escaped" nuns, who related horrific tales of mistreatment and abuse.