I do not think that my experience would be typical for Southerners living in the North. In business circles, usually conservative, this sort of atmosphere would hardly be found. But in our case -- and neither my wife nor I have extreme views on integration, nor are we given to emotional outbursts -- the situation has ruined one or two valued friendships and come close to wrecking several more. In fact it has caused us to give serious thought to moving our residence south, because it is not easy for the most objective Southerner to sit calmly by when his host is telling a roomful of people that the only way to deal with Southerners who oppose integration is to send in troops and shoot the bastards down.

Accounts have been published of Northern liberals in the South up against segregationist prejudice, especially in state-supported universities where pressure may be strong to uphold the majority view. But these accounts do not show that Northerners have been subjected to embarrassment or provocation by Yankee hatred displayed in social gatherings. From my wife's experience and other sources, this seems to be rarely encountered in educated circles. The strong feeling is certainly there; but there is a leavening of liberalism among college graduates throughout the South, especially among those who studied in the North. And social relations arising out of business ties impose courtesy, if not sympathy, toward resident and visiting Northerners. Also, among the latter a large percentage soon acquire the prevalent Southern attitude on most social problems.