Carpetbaggers

Essential Facts

• Following the Civil War, some Northerners relocated to the South.
• White Southerners resented them and called them “Carpetbaggers.”
• They were part of the Southern coalition of the Republican Party, which included Southerners known as “Scalawags” and African Americans.
• Carpetbaggers helped establish public education systems in the South.
• They failed to effectively rebuild the railroads or distribute land to Freedmen (former slaves).
• Some Carpetbaggers were corrupt and involved in schemes that took advantage of Southerners.
• They were opposed by the Southern Democrats, who were called “Redeemers.”
• The negative perception of the Carpetbaggers affected the mission of the Radical Republicans, who sought to integrate former slaves into Southern society.

Key Events

• 1866 — The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was passed, requiring equal treatment for African Americans.
• 1868 — South Carolina established a land commission aimed at redistributing land.
• 1900 — African-American literacy rates exceed 50 percent in the South.
• Post-Reconstruction — Sharecropping became the dominant labor system in the South, leading to widespread poverty among poor African Americans and whites.
• Late 1800s — The Republican Party’s influence in the South diminished, largely due to white Southern resentment and the rise of Democratic political power.

Significance

Carpetbaggers are important to American History because of their involvement in the South during the Reconstruction Era. Although they established public schools in the South, they failed to advance Civil Rights due to corruption and opposition from the Southern Democrats, known as Redeemers.

Carpetbaggers History and Overview

Carpetbaggers and Reconstruction

• Carpetbaggers were Northerners who moved to or stayed in the South after the war.
• They were part of the Southern Republican coalition, along with Scalawags and African Americans.
• Carpetbaggers made up only 16% of this coalition but held significant power in the Republican Party.
• They were mainly responsible for addressing the challenges of rebuilding the South.
• Republican Party leaders wanted the Carpetbaggers to establish a strong Republican presence in Southern politics that would last.

Motivations of Carpetbaggers

Carpetbaggers had different reasons for moving to the South:

• Some, like Adelbert Ames, wanted to help the Freedmen — former slaves — adapt to freedom. Ames was a Union officer from Maine, a Reconstruction Governor, and a U.S. Senator from Mississippi.
• Others wanted to promote cooperation between the North and the South.
• Some Carpetbaggers used political and economic opportunities in the postwar South to take advantage of Southerners for profit.

Challenges Faced by Carpetbaggers

Carpetbaggers and their Republican allies faced significant obstacles during Reconstruction:

• The Republican governments established at the start of Reconstruction struggled due to a lack of political power.
• They relied heavily on support from African Americans and the presence of U.S. troops.
• White Southerners resented carpetbaggers, viewing them as intruders who were corrupt and self-serving.
• The term “carpetbagger” originated from a stereotype of them carrying cheap carpet suitcases.

Southern Perception of Carpetbaggers

• Southern narratives often portray Carpetbaggers as dishonest schemers.
• Some were corrupt and ignored the needs of their constituents.
• These corrupt individuals were exceptions rather than the norm.
• Most Carpetbaggers tried to help despite challenging conditions, and many were successful.

The Redeemers

• Redeemers were conservative Democrats who emerged in the South.
• Many of them were Southern Democrats who broke away from the Northern Democrats during the Presidential Election of 1860.
• They sought to restore white supremacy and the traditional social and economic order. 
• Also known as the Bourbons, they opposed Reconstruction and the advances made by African Americans.
• Redeemers used a variety of tactics, including violence and intimidation, to undermine progress made during the Reconstruction Era.
• Wade Hampton III was a prominent Redeemer.
• The Ku Klux Klan was associated with the Redeemers.

Carpetbagger Success — Public Schools in the Southern States

• The Civil Rights Act of 1866 mandated equal treatment for African Americans under the law.
• Civil rights protections were enacted, making discrimination illegal.
• Because of this, Carpetbagger-led governments worked to establish a public education system in every Southern State.
• This was a significant achievement because only North Carolina had a public school system before the war.
• By 1900, African-American literacy rates had surpassed 50%.
• Republican governments implemented additional anti-discrimination policies.

Carpetbagger Failure — Railroads and Infrastructure

The success of the Carpetbagger-led governments in establishing public schools was overshadowed by their failure to rebuild the railroads. Southern railroads were destroyed by Union forces during the war, especially during General William T. Sherman’s “March to the Sea” and his Carolinas Campaign.

• Carpetbaggers prioritized internal improvements, especially railroads.
• They believed railroads would help create a “New South” with a modern economy.
• Many railroad projects were poorly planned and executed.
• Corrupt corporations were often awarded contracts, sometimes violating state laws.
• By the end of Reconstruction, only 7,000 miles of new railroad tracks had been built in the South.

Carpetbagger Failure — Land Redistribution

• Carpetbaggers tried to redistribute land during Reconstruction but largely failed.
• The South Carolina Land Commission was established in 1868 but struggled due to poor organization and corruption.
• The shortage of land pushed most African Americans to go to work as laborers during Reconstruction.
• This contributed to sharecropping, which kept African Americans and poor whites in poverty.
• This continued into the early half of the 20th Century.

Legacy of the Carpetbaggers

• Carpetbaggers had a mixed record during Reconstruction.
• They expanded educational opportunities for Freedmen and supported civil rights legislation.
• Progress in internal improvements and land redistribution was minimal.
• Carpetbaggers failed to create a unified, viable Republican coalition in the South.
• Many white Southerners developed lasting resentment toward Republicans.
• This resentment contributed to the “redemption” of the South by white Democratic politicians.
• The decline of Carpetbaggers and Scalawags, along with restricted voting rights for African Americans, diminished the Republican Party’s presence in the South for nearly a century.
• The failure of Carpetbaggers to make significant improvements was lamented by Civil Rights leader W.E.B. DuBois, who said, “The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery.”

Carpetbaggers APUSH

Carpetbaggers are part of the following units and chapters in the AP US History Curriculum:

• APUSH Unit 5: 1844–1877
  • Topic 5.10 — Reconstruction
  • Topic 5. 11 — Failure of Reconstruction
• The Ordeal of Reconstruction

Carpetbaggers — Related Terms and Definitions

Ku Klux Klan — The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was a white supremacist organization that was active in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The organization, which was founded in Tennessee in 1865, promoted white supremacy and used violence and intimidation to suppress the rights and freedoms of African Americans and other minority groups. The KKK was active during the Reconstruction Era and again in the 1920s, and it has continued to exist in various forms to the present day.

Presidential Reconstruction — Presidential Reconstruction refers to the period of Reconstruction in the United States following the Civil War, which was led by President Andrew Johnson. During this period, Johnson implemented a lenient policy toward the former Confederate states, allowing them to rejoin the Union without significant punishment or reforms. This approach was criticized by many as being too lenient on the former Confederates, and it ultimately led to the failure of Presidential Reconstruction.

Radical Reconstruction — Radical Reconstruction refers to the period of reconstruction in the United States following the Civil War, which was led by the Radical Republicans in Congress. During this period, Congress implemented a more aggressive policy towards the former Confederate states, requiring them to make significant reforms and grant equal rights to African Americans before being allowed to rejoin the Union.

Reconstruction Acts (1867) — The Reconstruction Acts were a series of laws passed by the U.S. Congress in 1867 that established a new system for the reconstruction of the former Confederate states. The acts divided the South into five military districts, each governed by a military governor appointed by the president. The acts also imposed stringent requirements on the former Confederate states for their re-admission to the Union, including the granting of equal rights to African Americans.

Scalawags — Scalawags were Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party. One of the most well-known people associated with this group was James Longstreet, a former Confederate General.

Sharecropping — Sharecropping was a system of agriculture in which a landowner allowed a tenant farmer to work a piece of land in exchange for a share of the crops produced. Sharecropping was common in the South following the Civil War, as many former slaves and poor whites could not afford to purchase land or equipment to farm on their own. Sharecropping was often criticized as a form of economic exploitation, as it left many sharecroppers in debt and poverty.