E. J. Castello, of the Seventh Missouri infantry. They were challenged by Conservatives, who opposed Reconstruction and the Republicans. In its earliest usage in the American South, the term was considered quite negative and was leveled as an insult. 2019. "Creating 'the Propaganda of History': Southern Editors and the Origins of Carpetbagger and Scalawag". Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. Others invested in businesses or banks. Carpetbaggers got their name from their . Today, the term Carpetbagger is used to describe a political candidate that is new to a region for which they are running for political office. They used their money toward private ends rather than public investment. The revisionist school in the 1930s called them stooges of Northern business interests. Get started for free! A carpetbagger was portrayed as a lower-class schemer with little education who could carry everything he owned in a cheap carpet bag.These new arrivals supported the Republicans (the party of Abraham Lincoln) and were said to be corrupt profiteers who took advantage of the financial and political instability in the devastated postwar South. Since the end of the Reconstruction era, the term has been used to denote people who move into a new area for purely economic or political reasons, despite not having ties to that place. - Biography, Facts & Quotes, Bartolome de Las Casas: Biography, Quotes & Timeline, Who Was Stephen Douglas? Background Paper for an Address on "Succession and Continuance of Mutuals", "New king's decree favours 'democratic' way", "Radical Routes plans to free housing co-ops from the mortgage trap", "Carpet-baggers 'exploiting' Indigenous artists", "White ignorance about indigenous issues fails everyone", "Four Corners ABC Interview - John Ioannou", "Keep out flood carpetbaggers, says reconstruction inspectorate John Fahey", "West Virginia Newcomer Battles Carpetbagger Label", "Perspective | In the Pa. Senate race, will it matter that Dr. Oz is a carpetbagger? But in the South after the Civil War, Republicans often won political office, especially where the formerly enslaved people were allowed to vote. After the Civil War, the South was badly in need of investment capital, and a large influx of Northerners sought economic opportunity there. Examples of modern Carpetbaggers would be Robert Kennedy and Hillary Clinton, who both ran and won elections to the U.S. Senate for the State of New York. A. Vietnam is still divided into a communist north Vietnam and a democratic south Vietnam. "[3], In the United Kingdom at the end of the 20th century, carpetbagger developed another meaning: in British English it refers to people who join a mutual organization, such as a building society, in order to force it to demutualize, that is, to convert into a joint stock company. Carpetbaggers moved to southern states for economic, political, and social opportunities; Scalawags were politically motivated. ThoughtCo. The correct option is B. Scalawag referred to radicals born in the South, whereas Carpetbagger alluded to Republicans who had lately emigrated from the North. In reality, most Reconstruction-era carpetbaggers were well-educated members of the middle class; they worked as teachers, merchants, journalists or other types of businessmen, or at the Freedmans Bureau, an organization created by Congress to provide aid for newly liberated Black Americans. Many Carpetbaggers even experienced problems with the Ku Klux Klan as a result of moving to the south. 1909. His political battles with the Southerners and African Americans ripped apart his party. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/carpetbagger-definition-4774772. [40] Japanese Imperialism: Territorial Acquisitions & Wars. Contemporarily speaking, the term carpetbagger refers to roving financial opportunists, often of modest means, who spot investment opportunities and aim to benefit from a set of circumstances to which they are not ordinarily entitled. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/carpetbaggers-and-scalawags. C. Vietnam is split into several small states of different political structures Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. - Facts, Debates & Timeline, Working Scholars Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community. 29 chapters | [34][35][36], In 1873 the state passed a civil rights law. That legislation divided the South into five military districts and outlined how new state governments based on universal (male) suffragefor both whites and Blackswere to be organized. To White southern Democrats, scalawags were perhaps even worse than carpetbaggers, as they were viewed as betraying their own people. Meanwhile, white Southerners who supported Reconstruction-era Republicans were called scalawags by their political enemies, who considered them traitors to the South and just as bad, if not worse, than carpetbaggers. Many carpetbaggers were said to have moved South for their own financial and political gains. This is only one of the many means these unprincipled demagogues have devised to perpetuate the intellectual bondage of my people. side-out. While some carpetbaggers supported African American equality and worked to protect their voting rights, others were motivated primarily by financial gain or political power. Democrats held most of the economic power and cooperating with them could make his future. This sum, enormous for the time, aroused great concern." And organizations like the Freedmen's Bureau, which sought to help the millions of the formerly enslaved people gain basic education while transitioning to life after enslavement, were often met with resentment and even violence. These groups were aligned behind Republican goals. "[24], Escott notes that extravagance and corruption increased taxes and the costs of government in a state that had always favored low expenditure. Lindsay has taught high school and middle school history for the last 17 years. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. "Carpetbagger: Definition and Origin of the Political Term." Literally describing an unwelcome stranger with no more property than could be carried in a satchel (carpetbag), the epithet later came to refer to anyone perceived as an interloper who came to a region to exploit it against the wishes of the inhabitants. [1] Sixty men from the North, including educated free blacks and slaves who had escaped to the North and returned South after the war, were elected from the South as Republicans to Congress. [citation needed], Francis Lewis Cardozo, a black minister from New Haven, Connecticut, served as a delegate to South Carolina's 1868 Constitutional Convention. Many Carpetbaggers were able to buy land in the south because former plantation owners no longer had a workforce to tend the lands. Defeated Confederates, embittered by the loss of the war, deeply resented northerners. The earliest specific Australian reference is a printed recipe from between 1899 and 1907.[59]. It indicated members of the public who joined mutual societies with the hope of making a quick profit from the conversion. Election of 1860 Candidates, Summary & Significance | Who Won the Election of 1860? [28] While serving in South Carolina, Chamberlain was a strong supporter of Negro rights. His 1872 reelection campaign in Alabama opened him to allegations of "political betrayal of colleagues; manipulation of Federal patronage; embezzlement of public funds; purchase of votes; and intimidation of voters by the presence of Federal troops." The combination of beef and oysters is traditional. 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. governments are given power by the people? A carpetbagger is an individual that moved from the north to the south during the period of Reconstruction (1865-1877). a Carpetbaggers were able to capitalize on southerners' economic troubles and begin a new business. Of the 142 men who served in the 12th Legislature, some 12 to 29 were from the North. C. separation of powers The dispute weakened both factions and the entire Republican Party, enabling the sweeping Democratic victory in the 1874 state elections.[33]. Which statement is true about Vietnam today? Today an individual that runs for political office in a region they are not normally from can be called a carpetbagger. It is likely that the actions of most of them were motivated by a combination of the pursuit of personal advancement and a desire to participate in the process of transforming the South from a slavery-based society to a more egalitarian one. Following the American Civil War, if someone called you a carpetbagger or scalawag, it wasnt meant as a compliment. succeed. side-out. [24], Escott claimed, "Some money went to very worthy causesthe 1869 legislature, for example, passed a school law that began the rebuilding and expansion of the state's public schools. The Black Codes and Why They Still Matter Today. This is in reference to the taxes that are rung from the labouring class of people. Carpetbagger was a pejorative denomination used by US citizens from the Southern states, former Confederates, to refer to people from the North who came to live in the South after the US Civil War. Some corrupt characters did descend on the South, seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of the defeated Confederates. Initially, these Northern migrants were well received. In most cases, the carpetbaggers won out, and many scalawags moved into the conservative or Democratic opposition. Once in the south, Carpetbaggers bought up cheap land and businesses. Carpetbaggers were able to buy property and businesses cheaply because southerners needed the money to pay Civil War debts; the Confederate States of America (CSA) had borrowed a great deal of money from citizens but could not pay any of it back. Kennedy had lived in suburban New York for part of his childhood, and could claim some connection to New York, but he was still criticized. They pushed Republicans from political positions, were responsible for the Coushatta Massacre, disrupted Republican organizing, and preceded elections with such intimidation and violence that black voting was sharply reduced. These carpetbaggerswhom many in the South viewed as opportunists looking to exploit and profit from the regions misfortunessupported the Republican Party, and would play a central role in shaping new southern governments during Reconstruction. [23], Elza Jeffords, a lawyer from Portsmouth, Ohio who fought with the Army of the Tennessee, remained in Mississippi after the conclusion of the Civil War. Revels denounced Ames and Northerners for manipulating the Black vote for personal benefit, and for keeping alive wartime hatreds: Since reconstruction, the masses of my people have been, as it were, enslaved in mind by unprincipled adventurers, who, caring nothing for country, were willing to stoop to anything no matter how infamous, to secure power to themselves, and perpetuate it. During the period of Reconstruction, another group of people were greatly disliked by former Confederates; Scalawags. Some scalawags were established planters (mostly in the Deep South) who thought that whites should recognize Blacks civil and political rights while still retaining control of political and economic life. "Southern Railroad Leaders, 18651893: Identities and Ideologies". Mathematics, 07.12.2020 17:00. [5] Although "carpetbagger" and "scalawag" were originally terms of opprobrium, they are now commonly used in the scholarly literature to refer to these classes of people. The new state legislatures formed in 1867-69 reflected the revolutionary changes brought about by the Civil War and emancipation: For the first time, Blacks and whites stood together in political life. Foner wrote that the term, as an insult, was used mainly by "white supremacist opponents of Reconstruction" policies. We strive for accuracy and fairness. [31], George E. Spencer was a prominent Republican U.S. End of Reconstruction Era Overview & Causes | When Did Reconstruction End? He was instrumental in organizing African-American dockworkers into the Labor Union of Colored Men, to gain them jobs at the docks after 1870. Thomas Nast: The Man with the (Carpet) Bags, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/carpetbagger, Texas State Historical Association - Carpetbaggers, United States History - Scalawags and Carpetbaggers. https://www.thoughtco.com/carpetbagger-definition-4774772 (accessed May 1, 2023). As a result, many southern governments were controlled by Carpetbaggers who were able to maintain their position in southern governments due to the federal governments' restrictions on former Confederates. One year of residence in a state in the Reconstruction South brought the right to vote and hold office, and many transplanted Northerners then ran for and held political office, especially representing largely black constituencies. d What Is A Poll Tax? They wanted their own land to farm and believed they had already paid for land by their years of uncompensated labor and the trials of slavery. The term carpetbagger was a nickname for Answer: Northerners who came to the South and supported African American equality. Omissions? SUNY Press. "William Hines Furbush: African-American Carpetbagger, Republican, Fusionist, and Democrat". A Republican county commissioner in Alamance eloquently denounced the situation: "Men are placed in power who instead of carrying out their duties form a kind of school for to graduate Rascals. d Being called a carpetbagger didn't seem to hurt, however, and he won election to the U.S. Senate in 1964. A. Vietnam is still divided into a communist north Vietnam and a democratic south Vietnam. Carpetbaggers were the Northerners who cam e to the South. Southern states had no public school systems, and upper-class white Southerners either sent their children to private schools (including in England) or hired private tutors. 3rd. Tunnell, Ted. Later, however, as Reconstruction governments began to alter the reality of Southern political life, the newcomers were characterized by white Southerners as the dregs of Northern society preying upon the misfortune of the defeated South. Responding to a brief news item in the newspaper which noted the negative connotations of the term, Foner said that many of those who went southward after the end of the Civil War did have good intentions. Northerners who came to the South and supported African American equality. double hit "Carpetbagger: Definition and Origin of the Political Term." They portrayed "liberty" in 1896 as the right to rise above the rising tide of equality. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Congress passage of the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 marked the beginning of the Radical Reconstruction period, which would last for the next decade. [37], Carpetbaggers were least numerous in Texas. The modern usage of the term is far removed from the deep bitterness and racial aspect of the Reconstruction era. In fact, most of the Northern migrants came from middle-class backgrounds. In general, the southern state governments formed during this period of Reconstruction represented a coalition of African Americans, recently arrived northern whites (carpetbaggers) and southern white Republicans (scalawags). The term "carpetbagger" referred to Northerners who went to the South after the Civil War to participate in the region's political and economic reconstruction. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! [29], Henry C. Warmoth was the Republican governor of Louisiana from 1868 to 1874. This site is using cookies under cookie policy . Davidson, Gienapp, Heyrman, Lytle, Stoff. Weegy: "Bleeding Kansas" was the name given to the fight over slavery in the Kansas territory in the mid-1800s. [citation needed], Following the end of his 1873 legislative term, Furbush was appointed as county sheriff by Republican Governor Elisha Baxter. After the war, southern states were required to be readmitted back into the Union. According to Oliver Temple Perry in his 1912 book, "Notable men of Tennessee, from 1833 to 1875, Their Times and Their Contemporaries", Tennessee Secretary of State and Radical Republican Andrew J. Fletcher "was one of the first, if not the very first, in the State to denounce the hordes of greedy office-seekers who came from the North in the rear of the army in the closing days of the [U.S. Civil] War" within his June 1867 stump speech that he delivered across Tennessee for the re-election of the disabled Tennessee Governor William G. Brownlow: "No one more gladly welcomes the Northern man who comes in all sincerity to make a home here, and to become one of our people, than I, but for the adventurer and the office-seeker who comes among us with one dirty shirt and a pair of dirty socks, in an old rusty carpet bag, and before his washing is done becomes a candidate for office, I have no welcome. d New York: McGraw Hill, 2002. "Carpetbagger Rule in Reconstruction Texas: an Enduring Myth.". Selecting your Favorite Nicknames. [53] 2022 Republican nominee for Pennsylvania Senator Mehmet Oz was prominently attacked as a carpetbagger by his opponent John Fetterman for previously living in New Jersey until months before the election. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. [12][13], Initiatives such as the Southern Homestead Act, Sherman's field orders, and Reconstruction-era legislation by Radical Republicans aimed to strip the land, assets, and voting rights of Southerners believed, without evidence, to have supported the Confederates during the war. As its most basic level, the name derived from luggage common at the time, which resembled bags made of carpeting. The term scalawag was originally used as far back as the 1840s to describe a farm animal of little value; it later came to refer to a worthless person. Literally describing an unwelcome stranger with no more property than could be carried in a satchel (carpetbag), the epithet later came to refer to anyone perceived as an interloper who came to a region to exploit it against the wishes of the inhabitants. However, the Republican Party inside each state was increasingly torn between the more conservative scalawags on one side and the more Radical carpetbaggers with their black allies on the other. Republicans controlled the state government from 1867 to January 1874. Scalawags included non-slaveholding, small-time farmers; middle-class professionals and others who had stayed loyal to the Union during the war. Candeloro, Dominic. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. William Hines Furbush, born a mixed-race slave in Carroll County, Kentucky in 1839 received part of his education in Ohio. All Rights Reserved. Did you know? What was the term given to Northerners who tried to help educate freedman in the South? Industrial Workers of the World History & Goals | What is the IWW? Robert J. McNamara is a history expert and former magazine journalist. Wintory, Blake. [citation needed], Some historians of the early 1930s, who belonged to the Dunning School that believed that the Reconstruction era was fatally flawed, claimed that Chamberlain was later influenced by Social Darwinism to become a white supremacist. (Among other special features, they were painted a non-glossy black to make them less visible to searchlights.) 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. [citation needed], In Australia, "carpetbagger" may refer to unscrupulous dealers and business managers in indigenous Australian art. However, it is important to note that the term "carpetbagger" is now considered derogatory and is generally avoided in modern discourse. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Carpetbagging was used as a term in Great Britain in the late 1990s during the wave of demutualizations of building societies. Davidson, Gienapp, Heyrman, Lytle, Stoff. These individuals were often perceived as opportunistic and were sometimes accused of exploiting the South for their own gain. I feel like its a lifeline. , After a __________ in singles, a player loses the serve. In the modern era, the use of carpetbagger endures to denote someone who has moved into a region and run for office. Advertisement Advertisement ueydehddqw ueydehddqw Answer: A, Carpetbagger. ", Concluding his letter, Foner said that the concept of the carpetbagger was essentially rooted in racism. [43], The term carpetbagger has also been applied to those who join the Labour Party but lack roots in the working class that the party was formed to represent. Fetterman won the election, with some claiming that this attack was vital to his victory. B. social contract Scalawags were white Southerners who cooperated politically with black freedmen and Northern newcomers. This alliance pitted those who wanted the South to change against those who did not. For opponents of Reconstruction, scalawags were even lower on the scale of humanity than carpetbaggers, as they were viewed as traitors to the South. fault Historians suggest that Scalawags made up only about 20% of the southern population during Reconstruction, but that this population allowed Republican policies to control the period of Reconstruction. Active in the Republican Party and elected as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 18681869, Ruby was later elected as a Texas state senator and had wide influence. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. The victor in the end was the "Minstrel" faction led by carpetbagger Elisha Baxter over the "Brindle Tail" faction led by Joseph Brooks, which included most of the scalawags. [46][47][48][49], The term was also used by John Fahey, a former Premier of New South Wales and federal Liberal finance minister, in the context of shoddy "tradespeople" who travelled to Queensland to take advantage of victims following the 20102011 Queensland floods. The earliest specific reference is in a United States newspaper in 1891. The majority (including 52 of the 60 who served in Congress during Reconstruction) were veterans of the Union Army. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [25] General Milton S. Littlefield was dubbed the "Prince of Carpetbaggers", and bought votes in the legislature "to support grandiose and fraudulent railroad schemes". He once opined that "Jesus Christ was a carpetbagger. The bitter Civil War in the United States left the country physically destroyed. Carpetbagger was a pejorative denomination used by US citizens from the Southern states, former Confederates, to refer to people from the North who came to live in the South after the US Civil War. b To call someone a Carpetbagger today, is to note that they are not native to the region and are an outsider. Updated: August 29, 2018 | Original: March 3, 2015. But far too much was wrongly or unwisely spent" to aid the Republican Party leadership. "[26] Tourge later wrote A Fool's Errand, a largely autobiographical novel about an idealistic carpetbagger persecuted by the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina. An alternative explanation is that the northerners who ventured southward following the Civil War were, in many cases, bringing much-needed expertise and capital to the region. In recent years the best opportunities for carpetbaggers have come from opening membership accounts at building societies for as little as 100, to qualify for windfalls running into thousands of pounds from the process of conversion and takeover. Updates? Who were the Carpetbaggers? One of the primary problems the former Confederate States faced was the financial ruin the war had left them. The term carpetbagger was used by opponents of Reconstructionthe period from 1865 to 1877 when the Southern states that seceded were reorganized as part of the Unionto describe Northerners who moved to the South after the war, supposedly in an effort to get rich or acquire political power. A "Carpetbagger" was the name given to a person from the North who would move to the South in order to make money following the Civil War. Get the Brainly App Warmoth supported the franchise for freedmen. To make this move, the individual would pack their belongings in a large bag, called a carpetbag. ", Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877, http://docsouth.unc.edu/church/tourgee/summary.html, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "Looting the Mutuals: The Ethics and Economics of Demutualisation. Find and create gamified quizzes, lessons, presentations, and flashcards for students, employees, and everyone else. The post-war years in the south provided many Americans with an opportunity to benefit from the financial reconstruction of the south. Carpetbaggers packed all of their belongings into a bag and moved south. Carpetbaggers were able to vote and hold political office, unlike many southerners. In reality, many of the Northerners who migrated to former Confederate states during Reconstruction were middle-class professionals seeking economic opportunities; a number also were motivated by a desire to aid newly freed African-American slaves or participate in other efforts intended to reform Southern society. What Were the Top 4 Causes of the Civil War? Whats the difference between a carpetbagger and a scalawag. Southerners who supported Reconstruction and African American equality. The influx of such transitory 'token' members as carpetbaggers, took advantage of these nugatory deposit criteria, often to instigate or accelerate the trend towards wholesale demutualization. Answer: The term "carpetbaggers" refers to Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War, during Reconstruction. [37] He returned to Arkansas in 1888, setting up practice as a lawyer. "Scalawags" were white Southerners who supported the Republican party, "carpetbaggers" were recent arrivals in the region from the North, and freedmen were freed slaves. D. Vietnam is a united communist state, Which Enlightenment idea says that The Man with the (Carpet) Bags, Thomas Nast, 1872. Although the stated purpose of these initiatives was to empower freedmen politically and economically, many carpetbaggers were businessmen who purchased or leased plantations. However, as more northerners moved to the south and were able to buy land and businesses, former wealthy southerners found their social standing in the south quickly changing. He migrated to Helena, Arkansas in 1862. As reconstruction continued, southerners viewed Carpetbaggers as opportunistic northerners who were taking advantage of weakened southerners. C. Vietnam is split into several small states of different political structures There he was assigned to Galveston as an agent and teacher for the Freedmen's Bureau. [37], In 1878, Furbush was elected again to the Arkansas House. ThoughtCo, Nov. 1, 2020, thoughtco.com/carpetbagger-definition-4774772. He was narrowly re-elected in a campaign marked by egregious voter fraud and violence against freedmen by Democratic Red Shirts, who succeeded in suppressing the black vote in some majority-black counties. Sometimes carpetbaggers even took political office in southern states, because many former Confederates were prohibited from holding political office. The term "carpetbaggers" refers to Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War, during Reconstruction. 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. [25] North Carolina Democrats condemned the legislature's "depraved villains, who take bribes every day"; one local Republican officeholder complained, "I deeply regret the course of some of our friends in the Legislature as well as out of it in regard to financial matters, it is very embarrassing indeed.
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