The term came to be associated with opportunism and exploitation by outsiders.
What is a carpetbagger slang.
Carpetbagger in the united states a derogatory term for an individual from the north who relocated to the south during the reconstruction period 1865 77 following the american civil war.
A carpet bag by the way isn t a bag for carrying carpet but a soft sided suitcase or satchel made out of carpet.
They were called carpetbaggers to imply that they were such poor transient characters that they merely moved south carrying all their possessions in a carpet bag.
A northerner who went to the south after the civil war and became active in republican politics especially so as to profiteer from the unsettled social and political conditions of the area during reconstruction.
Carpetbagger definition is a northerner in the south after the american civil war usually seeking private gain under the reconstruction governments.