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In the North, individual states adopted May 30th as an official state holiday, but at a federal level, it was not recognized. Perhaps this was due to lingering bitterness between the North and South, where states in the South preferred to have their Decoration day. The bitter years of Reconstruction and white bitterness towards freed slaves did not help, and animosity such as derision of so-called Carpetbaggers from the North moving to the South reflected the years after the Civil War were difficult, where socially the country was still divided.
Decoration Day, nevertheless, developed as a specific holiday devoted to the lost in the Civil War rather than other conflicts, as because it war was by far the bloodiest in the United States' history.<ref>For more on the early traditions of Decoration Day, see: Jabbour, A., & Jabbour, K. S. (2010). <i>Decoration day in the mountains: traditions of cemetery decoration in the southern Appalachians</i>. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.</ref>
====Later Development====
====Summary====
The nature of conflict, from the Civil War to World War I and then the Vietnam War, in some way, changed the character of Memorial Day. It is true that the core celebration of the dead who served their country has never changed, but conflicts also began to be known for those who went missing, particularly the Vietnam War. Others also began to see the holiday as a time to reflect on their departed loved ones. What began as an unofficial springtime tradition for remembrance transformed into a public holiday and celebration after General Logan's declaration. The years after World War I finally saw the holiday gaining greater significance to in some Southern states and beginning to reflect the remembrance of the dead in all conflicts.
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