carpetbaggers

Cultural  

1. Northerners who went to the South after the Civil War to take part in Reconstruction governments, when persons who had supported the Confederacy were not allowed to hold public office (see Fourteenth Amendment). Some of them arrived, according to legend, carrying only one carpetbag, which symbolized their lack of permanent interest in the place they pretended to serve.

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Carpetbagger is still a general term for nonresident politicians who exploit their districts.

Example Sentences

Do voters really still punish carpetbaggers and reward candidates with deep ties to their districts?

From Salon

“We don’t want carpetbaggers coming in here with lots of money,” Mr. Niceley told a local television station last month.

From New York Times

But Guzman also points out that the youngsters behind Keep El Monte Friendly — a play on the city’s slogan — are tapping into a long history of locals telling troublesome carpetbaggers to get out.

From Los Angeles Times

In this telling, Black Americans were dismissed as unprepared for the tasks of self-government and cast as props for regimes dominated by northern “carpetbaggers” and southern “scalawags.”

From Washington Post

A Texas Ranger sides with a woman’s righteous opposition to carpetbaggers.

From Los Angeles Times