USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical term used by Southerners to describe opportunistic Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War, who were perceived to be exploiting the local populace for their own financial, political, and/or social gain.

Detailed explanation-2: -During the Civil War, the term “Yankee” was used derogatorily in the South to refer to Americans loyal to the Union, but in World War I the term was used widely abroad to refer to all Americans. “Yankee” is a word almost everyone has heard-but most of us don’t know quite what it means.

Detailed explanation-3: -In the context of U.S. history, carpetbagger was a term used to describe Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War, during Reconstruction (1865-1877).

Detailed explanation-4: -scalawag, after the American Civil War, a pejorative term for a white Southerner who supported the federal plan of Reconstruction or who joined with black freedmen and the so-called carpetbaggers in support of Republican Party policies.

Detailed explanation-5: -Carpetbagger is always a negative word, implying or accusing someone of exploiting a situation for personal gain. During the U.S.’s Reconstruction period, which followed the American Civil War, carpetbagger referred to white Northerners who moved to the South to easily win political offices.