A weak or irresolute person, especially a Northern politician who was sympathetic to slavery before the Civil War; anyone who lacks backbone.
Compound of 'dough' (soft, malleable) and 'face.' Used as political insult in 19th-century America to describe politicians perceived as spineless or easily influenced.
Doughface was a particularly stinging insult in pre-Civil War politics—it accused Northern politicians of having no principles, no fixed shape, just soft dough easily molded by Southern interests.
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