Carpetbaggers
Definition
Carpetbaggers were Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War during Reconstruction to profit from the unstable situation.
Analogy
Imagine a group of people showing up at a garage sale, not because they care about the family hosting it or their history, but because they want to buy valuable items for cheap and sell them for a profit. That's similar to what carpetbaggers did in the South during Reconstruction.
Related terms
Sharecropping: This was a system where landowners allowed tenants (often freed slaves) to use their land in exchange for a share of crops produced on it. It often led to economic exploitation.
Reconstruction Acts: These were laws passed by Congress that outlined how Southern states would be readmitted into Union after Civil War.
14th Amendment: This is an amendment to US Constitution granting citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans and slaves who had been emancipated after Civil War.
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