"Shoddy" millionaires was a derogatory term for the

war profiteers A war profiteer is any person or organization that derives profit from warfare or by selling weapons and other goods to parties at war. The term typically carries strong negative connotations. General profiteering, making a profit criticized a ...

in the North during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Allegedly, they supplied the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

army with faulty uniforms made from reprocessed "shoddy" wool rather than virgin wool. Shoddy millionaires also allegedly made shoes from cardboard that would dissolve when the soldiers marched in water or mud.

References

Economic history of the American Civil War Class-related slurs {{AmericanCivilWar-stub