carpetbagger
carpetbagger Lexical Profile
carpetbagger Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A political candidate who seeks election in an area or constituency where they have no genuine local connections, or any outsider perceived as exploiting a new community for personal or financial gain.
"Local voters dismissed the Senate candidate as a wealthy carpetbagger who had only bought a house in the state six months before the election."
American (Historical) A person from the northern states who went to the South after the American Civil War during the Reconstruction era to profit from the unstable political and economic conditions.
"The history textbook examined how Southern newspapers portrayed every Northern teacher and administrator as a greedy carpetbagger during Reconstruction."
Word Nuance & Usage
In historical contexts, do not confuse 'carpetbagger' (a Northerner who moved South during Reconstruction) with 'scalawag' (a white Southerner who supported Reconstruction policies). In modern usage, the term is strictly pejorative and most frequently applied to politicians running for office in a district where they have no genuine local roots.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the post-Civil War American South during the 1860s, referring to the inexpensive traveling bags made from old carpet fabric that many newly arrived Northern migrants carried.