carpetbagger

(-bag′ər)

noun

  1. any of the Northern politicians or adventurers who went South to take advantage of unsettled conditions after the Civil War: contemptuous term with reference to the luggage they used in traveling light
  2. any politician, promoter, etc. from the outside whose influence is resented

See carpetbagger in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
  1. A Northerner who went to the South after the Civil War for political or financial advantage.
  2. An outsider, especially a politician, who presumptuously seeks a position or success in a new locality.

Origin:

Origin: So called because they carried their belongings in carpetbags

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Related Forms:

  • carˈpet·bagˌger·y noun

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