After the Civil War, the slaves were set free. The people of the United States lost interest in slavery and forgot Jacobs and her book. But in the second half of the 20th century, people began to show new interest in the history of slavery. Professor Jean Fagan Yellin did a lot of research work and wrote the book "Harriet Jacobs. A Life. The Remarkable Adventures of the Woman who Wrote Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl". Today, people call Jacobs's book an "American classic", meaning that it is one of the most important books written in the United States of America. 