Define Carpetbaggers Us History

Carpetbagger in the united states a derogatory term for an individual from the north who relocated to the south during the reconstruction period 1865 77 following the american civil war the term was applied to northern politicians and financial adventurers whom southerners accused of coming to the south to use the newly enfranchised freedmen as a means of obtaining office or profit.

Define carpetbaggers us history.

Summary and definition of carpetbaggers summary and definition. To white southern democrats scalawags were perhaps even worse than carpetbaggers as they were viewed as betraying their own people. Civil war especially during the reconstruction era 1865 1877 in order to profit from the instability and power vacuum that existed at this time. A term often associated with carpetbagger was scalawag the term was used to describe a white southerner who worked with members of the republican party and supported reconstruction policies.

The term came to be associated with opportunism and exploitation by outsiders. In united states history a carpetbagger was a northerner who moved to the south after the u s. The term carpetbagger used exclusively as a pejorative term originated from the carpet bags a form of cheap luggage made from carpet fabric which many of these newcomers carried. Carpetbaggers was the highly derisive name given to northerners who went south after the fall of the confederate states of america csa seeking personal financial gain or political advancement during the reconstruction era following the american civil war april 12 1861 may 10 1865.

The term carpetbagger was a pejorative term referring to the carpet bags a fashionable form of luggage at the time which many of these newcomers. The term is now used in the united states to refer to a parachute candidate that is an outsider who runs.