dec 20, 1860 - South Carolina Secceds

Description:

South Carolinians perceived a threat to their slave system that Congressional compromise could not pacify. One South Carolina writer observed, “the Secessionist Party of 1860 is literally and emphatically the State itself.” Buchanan attempted diplomatic repairs but nothing would satisfy. Attacks at Fort Sumter were ignored by the president leaving it to up and coming Lincoln. Many Southerners in Buchanan's cabinet resigned, and his administration was thrown into disarray. Hasty cabinet replacements were no help, and the administration fell apart. Buchanan's indecisiveness and willingness to compromise with the secessionists appalled Northerners, and South Carolina's example encouraged more states to rise. When Buchanan took office, there were thirty-two states in the Union; when he left there were only twenty-five.

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