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term of contempt applied by the people of the Southern states mainly to Northerners who came to the South during the Reconstruction period following the American Civil War. They were called carpetbaggers because they often carried their belongings in satchels made of carpet. Some were representatives of the Freedmen's Bureau and other Reconstruction agencies; some were humanitarians intent on aiding the blacks; and some were adventurers who hoped to benefit themselves by questionable means. Those carpetbaggers who were unscrupulous came to control the black vote and in some instances to establish dishonest governments. The carpetbaggers did serve to broaden black voting activity, to improve education, and to aid in the restoration of Southern cities and roads. The carpetbaggers generally cooperated with their Southern counterparts, called scalawags, and both groups were bitterly resented by most white Southerners. Secret terrorist societies such as the Ku Klux Klan were formed to terrorize the blacks and drive the carpetbaggers out. Today the term carpetbagger refers to roving opportunists or politicians.
An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2006 World Almanac Education Group. A WRC Media Company. All rights reserved. Except as otherwise permitted by
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