CARPETBAG JUDGES
Colloquial term used to describe northern judges during the post-Civil War era who traveled to the South to serve on southern courts, typically for personal gain. “Carpetbag” refers to the judges’s practice of carrying their possessions with them in carpetbags.
During the mid-1800s, judges were elected,
and IMPEACHMENT proceedings were at that
time an increasingly popular method for their
removal. After the Civil War and the Recon-
struction period, many judges – both black and white – served on the judiciary in the South. A large number of these judges were known as “carpetbagging” judges because they were
northerners who had relocated to the South for
personal gain, carrying all their possessions in a
carpetbag. They were reputed to be dishonest
and incompetent.
Threatened with impeachment, many of
these judges left the bench. Not all the charges
against the carpetbag judges were accurate, how-
ever, and a good number were not any worse
than the judges who lived in the area. Several
earned prominence, such as Moses Walker – a transient from Ohio – who contributed to the
prestige of the Texas Supreme Court. Albion W.
Tourgee, another carpetbagger, wrote several
books about his years in the South. His most
popular book was A Fool’s Errand, published in
1879. Tourgee was highly regarded for his pres-
entation of liberal opinions concerning interrelationships
between blacks and whites.
FURTHER READINGS
“Carpetbaggers.”Handbook of Texas Online. Available online
at (accessed June 14, 2003).
Carrington, Paul D. 1999. “Lawyers Amid the Redemption of
the South.” Roger Williams University Law Review 41.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Elections; Impeachment; Reconstruction.
