"Carpetbaggers" were Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War to buy land from Southerners left bankrupt by the war. In this Reconstruction-era cartoon, the man sitting on the bag is President Grant. He sits atop a pile of weapons, with armed Union soldiers on either side helping keep the bag steady with their bayonets. Behind him is a ship sinking into the harbor, the chimneys and timbers of burned houses, and several tents which serve as shelters for those who have lost their homes. The woman carrying the bag is labeled "South." She wears cuffs on both wrists, and is chained to the bayonets of the Union soldiers. Not only does she struggle under the weight of the bag, but she also walks barefoot over sharp rocks, while the Union guards (wearing shoes) walk on smooth, level ground.
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