Scalawags

Scalawags were white Southerners during the Reconstruction era (post-Civil War) who supported the Republican Party and the efforts to rebuild and reform the South after the Civil War. Many saw it as working with the federal governments to promote civil rights for newly freed slaves and implement political changes that favored rehabilitation of the South. The term was often used negatively by those who opposed Reconstruction or wanted to maintain the old social order, and it highlighted regional and racial tensions of the time. Essentially, scalawags were Southerners who aligned with Reconstruction policies for various political or economic reasons.