CARPETBAGSCRIPT

CARPETBAGSCRIPT

This carpet bag dates to the time of Reconstruction, Louisiana. Carpetbags became the symbol of northern migrants who moved south after the Civil War to earn a living during the reconstruction of the southern society and economy. New Orleans, as the economic center of the South, and also the region’s largest city attracted many newcomers from the northern states. Some of the people called carpetbaggers were unprincipled and corrupt. But most were not, and many came to the South for honorable reasons. Some were Union soldiers who after the war decided to stay in the South to begin a new life as farmers or as operators of small businesses. Others worked in the South for the Freedmen's Bureau, a federal agency that aided former slaves. Another group consisted of people experienced in Northern politics who felt they could be useful and influential in the Republican Party in the South. Today, the term carpetbagger is still used to describe outsiders who try to exert influence where they are not wanted. Carpetbags, were essentially suitcases made of carpet material, and were widely used at the time. They had very intricate colorful patterns and different designs. They also had locks on them just like suitcases to keep all materials inside safe.