![]() The term was later adopted by their opponents to refer to Southern whites who formed a Republican coalition with black freedmen and Northern newcomers (called carpetbaggers) to take control of their state and local governments. ![]() It has been speculated that "perhaps the original use of the word" referred to low-grade farm animals, but this meaning of the word is not attested until 1854. Its earliest attestation is from 1848 to mean a disreputable fellow, good-for-nothing, scapegrace, or blackguard. The word scalawag has an uncertain origin. The term is a derogatory epithet, yet it is used by many historians anyway, as in Wiggins (1991), Baggett (2003), Rubin (2006), and Wetta (2012). The term is commonly used in historical studies as a descriptor of Reconstruction Era Southern white Republicans, although some historians have discarded the term due to its history of pejorative connotations. Prior to the Civil War, most Scalawags had been opposed to the southern states' (the Confederacy's) secession from the United States. ![]() Scalawags were particularly hated by 1860s–1870s Southern Democrats, who called Scalawags traitors to their region (long known for its widespread chattel slavery). The post- Civil War opponents of the scalawags claimed they were disloyal to traditional values and white supremacy. In United States history, the term scalawag (sometimes spelled scallawag or scallywag) referred to white Southerners who supported Reconstruction policies and efforts after the conclusion of the American Civil War.Īs with the term carpetbagger, the word has a long history of use as a slur in Southern partisan debates. 1868 cartoon in Alabama's Independent Monitor, threatening that the KKK would lynch scalawags (left) and carpetbaggers (right) on March 4, 1869, predicted as the first day of Democrat Horatio Seymour's presidency (the election winner was actually Ulysses S. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |