The carpetbaggers were people from the North who moved to the South during Reconstruction. They came to the South to help with the rebuilding of the South. They were negatively portrayed by some southerners as greedy northerners who tried to profit from Reconstruction. The word carpetbagger describes a person who came to a new region with a scraggly suitcase that had few possessions in it.

The carpetbaggers supported the Thirteenth Amendment. This amendment abolished slavery. Since the carpetbaggers were from the North, and since the North was fighting to end slavery, they would have been very supportive of an amendment to end slavery. They wanted to go to the South to help rebuild the area. They hoped to economically redevelop the South. They also hoped to bring about reforms or changes to the South. Many carpetbaggers were professionals from the middle class that wanted to make a difference in rebuilding the South.