Graphic of part of the Emancipation Proclamation
Rights and POwer: The POlitics of Reconstruction
Link to Part 1 of Section 4: Presidential Reconstruction Link to Part 2 of Section 4: Congress and Civil Rights Link to Part 3 of Section 4: The National Debate Over Reconstruction; IMpeachment; and the Election of Grant Link to Part 4 of Section 4: Reconstruction Government in the South Link to Biographies in Section 4

Carpetbag, tapestry wool, mid 19th century. (The Valentine Museum)

Carpetbag, tapestry wool, mid 19th century. (The Valentine Museum)

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Widely used as travel bags in the mid 19th century, carpetbags became associated with Northern white Republicans who moved South after the Civil War.

"Carpetbagger," a derisive term devised by Reconstruction's opponents, has remained part of the vocabulary of American politics
Copyright 2003
he Meaning of Freedom: Black and White Responses to Slavery From Free Labor to Slave Labor Rights and Power: The Politics of Reconstruction The Ending of Reconstruction Epilogue: The Unfinished Revolution Additional Resources Credits for this Exhibit Link to return to Digital History Home Link to return to Reconstruction Home Introduction