How it's Still Relevant

In America today, the ends of the political system are again bitterly divided, and there is palpable acrimony towards each side from the other. The history of Reconstruction, both its successes and its failures, should inform us in how we chart the course for the future. Though the term ‘carpet-bagger’ is still applied to politicians, it holds little weight in the collective consciousness. That does not mean that studying this word does not inform us about the political and social world today. The construction and deployment of crafty epithets always has been, and always will be, an important tool in guiding the public’s perspective on certain groups and their beliefs. Epithets do not create perceptions from thin air, as with ‘carpet-bagger’, which drew on a rich pre-existing history of associations with the item, but they are a useful tool in galvanizing large swaths of people into thinking a certain way about something. The sitting President is famous for his epithets, which he is keen to apply to any and all opponents, sometimes to great effect. How deep a chord did the term ‘Sleepy Joe’ strike with the American people? What was the effect of the ‘Bernie Bro’ reputation on Bernie Sanders’ presidential aspirations in 2016, and again in 2020? To answer these questions well, we must look to the past, and investigate these terms’ predecessors, not on the merit of their accuracy, but on the tangible and intangible effects they have on the world.