Today's modernists attempted to move away from the terrible prejudice against African Americans, but traditionalists prevented the new movement for equality for blacks. Many people are influenced by previous experiences and expect situations to continue endlessly without change, in the same way that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote: "So we continued, boats against the tide, brought back constantly in the past” (Fitzgerald). In a deeper sense, this quote means that as humans, we are constantly trying to relive what has already happened, and if we try a little harder or run a little faster, the events could have a different result. I think this is a major point of differentiation between Southern modernists and traditionalists. Throughout history, wealth was defined by the number of slaves one owned: the more slaves you had, the richer you were. However, in the 1860s, under President Lincoln, slavery was abolished and times changed in the United States. The proclamation declared “that all persons held as slaves” in the rebel states “are and hereafter shall be free.” United States Government; National Archives.) Southern plantation farmers were angered by the new law and seceded from the United States and formed a confederacy, resulting in the Civil War. Despite inclusive wording, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. applied only to states that had seceded from the Union. After years of fighting, the North won and rebuilding began was a difficult task and was not taken lightly, as after the defeat the South had much resentment and hostility towards the Union. ... middle of paper ......quals, gays, lesbians, Asians, Muslims, Mexicans, Italians and many other races, African Americans add diversity to the United States as a whole and constitute a wonderful people. .Works Cited Bryant, Jonathan M. "The Ku Klux Klan in the Reconstruction Era." New Georgia Encyclopedia. May 9, 2013. the web. May 21, 2014. Ginzburg, Ralph. 100 years of lynchings. Baltimore, MD: Black Classic, 1988. Printed “Reconstruction and Its Aftermath.” » Reconstruction and Its Aftermath, part of the African American Odyssey exhibit, focuses on the hardships free blacks faced during the Reconstruction period. Internet. May 21, 2014.Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday, Café Society, and an Early Cry for Civil Rights (Philadelphia: Running Press, 2000)United States. National Park Service. “Jim Crow Laws.” National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, May 12, 2014. Web. May 20 2014.