Who were the carpetbaggers and scalawags, and why did many Southerners view Reconstruction governments with suspicion?

• A. Carpetbaggers were Southern whites; scalawags were Northern newcomers; both were seen as undermining Southern traditions and politics.
• B. Carpetbaggers were Northern newcomers; scalawags were Southern whites who cooperated with Reconstruction; both were seen as undermining Southern traditions and politics.
• C. They were both African American leaders; scalawags and carpetbaggers were both misrepresented.
• D. Carpetbaggers were Northern newcomers; scalawags were Southern whites who cooperated with Reconstruction; Southerners viewed them with suspicion because they were seen as undermining Southern traditions and politics.

Answer: (B)

During Reconstruction, carpetbaggers and scalawags represented two groups who helped shape new Southern governance, and many white Southerners distrusted Reconstruction because they saw it as upending long-standing political power and social norms.

Carpetbaggers were Northern newcomers who moved to the South after the Civil War, often pursuing business, education, or political roles. Scalawags were Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and cooperated with Republican authorities to rebuild the South. The mistrust came from the belief that these groups, along with the federal-backed reforms, were undermining traditional Southern authority, race relations, and local control. Southerners feared loss of political power by the old planter class and were suspicious of outsiders and policies that expanded civil rights for freedpeople. While these labels carried stereotype-driven views, the underlying tension centered on who held power and how Southern society would be reshaped.