Which of the following best describes scalawags during the Reconstruction era?

Scalawags were a term used during the Reconstruction era to refer to Southern whites who supported the Reconstruction efforts put in place after the Civil War. These individuals often aligned with the Republican Party and sought to promote civil rights and improved political conditions for freedmen and other marginalized groups in the South.

Scalawags were often viewed with disdain by their fellow Southerners, particularly former Confederates, who saw them as traitors to the Southern cause. Their support for Reconstruction policies, which were aimed at rebuilding the South and integrating formerly enslaved people into society as equal citizens, put them at odds with the more traditional Southern power structures.

The other options do not accurately capture the essence of scalawags. Northern abolitionists who moved to the South were generally referred to as carpetbaggers, while former Confederates who opposed Reconstruction were not scalawags but rather elements that resisted the changes being implemented. Military leaders in charge of Reconstruction were part of the federal strategy to enforce new laws and maintain order but were not categorized as scalawags. Thus, the best description of scalawags is indeed Southern whites who supported Reconstruction.