The Transitional Years and I: Atlanta and the Deep South 1965-1975

This fourth book of the series, The 20th Century and I is the love story of a recently graduated, immature, young man and his pursuit of both his true love and a successful career. Notably, his story is set in the backdrop of one of the most tumultuous decades in American history. In 1861, tensions that had existed since the founding of the United States between the north and south erupted in violent civil war. Four bloody years later the south capitulated in the military conflict. Faced with the choice of whether to bring the Confederate States of the south back into the Union as family, or to treat them as a conquered country. In many ways the United States chose the latter. While the shooting war had stopped, the underlying mistrust and tensions between the two regions continued. One full century later the conflict resumed with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. By God'ss grace, this time there were no serious calls for secession, or armies dispatched to the field. However, as the book notes, emotions were almost as high, and there were numerous episodes of violence. This time, though, the end result was successful. De facto slavery was finally ended, and African Americans had entered the mainstream.