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Chapter VIII - The Deep South Secedes,
Buchanan Works for Compromise The Deep South Secedes, Buchanan Works for Compromise
On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union declaring that the "experiment" of putting people with "different pursuits and institutes" under one government as dreamed of by the founding fathers was now seventy years a failure. By February 1, 1861, five other Deep South states - Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Texas - followed the Palmetto State and seceded from the Union. A week later delegates met in Montgomery, Alabama and elected Mexican War hero Jefferson Davis as president of the Confederate States of America and Alexander Stephens of Georgia as vice-president. Even though the Deep South states seceded, the Upper South - Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas - flatly rejected any call for secession. Citizens of Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland and Delaware were miserably divided in sentiment over secession. A few Southern supporters of the Union harshly condemned the Southern radicals. One Louisiana man mourned, "Webster and Clay are gone and God has given us over to fools and madmen." Even Vice-President Alexander Stephens voiced his doubts, saying, "Revolutions are much easier started than controlled, and the men who begin them, even for the best purposes and objects, seldom see them end."
Meanwhile, the government in Washington led by lame duck President James Buchanan scrambled to fabricate some kind of compromise. Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky proposed a series of resolutions which recognized slavery in the territories south of the 36° 30’ line and guaranteed the maintenance of slavery where it already existed, but the Republicans fiercely objected since they were unwilling to renounce their stand against slavery in the territories. Buchanan further attempted to placate the Southern radicals by promising them that, even though he considered secession illegal, he would not use military force against them.
However, by the end of 1860 political pressures forced Buchanan to take aggressive action against the seceded states. On the day after Christmas he reluctantly decided to move a garrison of federal troops located at Fort Moultrie in Charleston Harbor to a mole secure location at Fort Sumter. When notified of this move, South Carolina leaders immediately demanded withdrawal of all federal forces, claiming that Buchanan had violated their "gentleman's agreement." Buchanan, who faced impeachment if he withdrew the troops, rejected South Carolina's ultimatum, declaring, "This I cannot do; this 1 will not do." To demonstrate his determination, he sent a steamer, the Star of the West, to Fort Sumter loaded with reinforcements and provisions. As the ship approached on January 9, South Carolina militiamen fired and drove it away. Firing upon a federal ship was, in fact, an act of war, but Buchanan ignored the blatant violation hoping for a compromise which would relieve the tense situation.
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