The excitement at the South had reached a pitch that rendered an effort to break up the Union inevitable. From the moment that Lincoln's election was known, active preparations were made in what were called the "cotton states"—South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas—to dissolve the Union of States.

From the beginning of the government there were two opinions in regard to the power of a State under the Constitution. The Federalists thought that nearly all the powers of government were vested in the United States authorities, but the Jefferson Republicans held that a State retained a considerable share of independence. At a later period the chief advocate for the sovereignty of the State had been John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, who thought a State could declare an act of Congress null—that is, not valid within its bounds. In 1832 the State of South Carolina declared the tariff law null, and forbade its citizens to pay the duties. This was called nullification; but President Jackson, who did not believe in the doctrine, threatened the nullifiers with the army and navy of the United States.

The States-rights doctrine—as the belief in the right of a State to act independently was called—had found a good many adherents in the South, and in the present excitement the extreme Southern States claimed that, by exercising the right of the individual State, they might lawfully secede from the Union. South Carolina first passed an ordinance of secession on December 20, 1860. By the 1st of February each of the seven "cotton states" had declared itself separated from the Union and independent.

Meantime the recollection of the success of the Missouri Compromise in 1820, and of the Compromise of 1850, led some members of Congress to try to settle the troubles once more by compromise. Many plans for changes in the Constitution and laws were proposed in Congress, but all without avail. A "Peace Convention," suggested by Virginia, assembled in Washington on the 4th of February, 1861. There were delegates from all but the seceded States. John Tyler, ex-President of the United States, was president of this convention. But the plan of compromise suggested by the Peace Convention failed, like all others. The time for compromises had gone by, and it was beyond the ingenuity of person to prevent a collision between the two sections which had opposed each other in politics, and were now about to try their strength and endurance in the deadly struggles of the battlefield.

It was a time of great trouble and division. Many people at the North sympathized with the secession movement; many people at the South were in favor of maintaining the Union. Part of the Cabinet of President Buchanan desired to help the seceding States, to which they belonged; the other Secretaries wished him to use force in putting down the rebellion against his authority. The President, for his part, did not believe that the States had a right to go out of the Union, but he also did not believe that he had an authority to compel them to stay in. So everything was in confusion, debate, and perplexity in that awful winter, during which a storm was gathering, the force and extent of which nobody could foresee.

All eyes were turned to Charleston harbor, where thousands of excited Southerners faced a little garrison under command of Major Robert Anderson. On the evening of the day after Christmas, Anderson suddenly moved his garrison in the dark from the weak Fort Moultrie into the stronger Fort Sumter. A ship sent with supplies and reinforcements was fired on by the South Carolina batteries and turned back.

On the 4th of February, the day that the Peace Convention met in Washington, there assembled in Montgomery, Ala., a convention of delegates from the seceded States. This convention proceeded to form a new government, under the title of "The Confederate States of America." Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, was elected President.

On the 4th of March Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated President of the United States. Measures were soon taken to re-enforce and supply the garrison of Fort Sumter. But the ships sent were detained outside the bar by a storm, and, as soon as their coming was known, all the Confederate batteries about the harbor opened on Fort Sumter, which, after a while, replied. For thirty-six hours the bombardment continued, setting fire to the woodwork of the fort and pounding its walls to pieces. At the end of this time Major Anderson, whose provisions were nearly exhausted, agreed to evacuate the fort. Curiously enough, nobody was killed on either side in this bombardment. But the bombardment of Sumter changed the whole situation. Doubt was at an end on both sides. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas, forced now to take one side or the other, soon joined the Confederacy. On the other hand, the Sunday morning on which Major Anderson marched out of Fort Sumter saw the Northern States also almost of one mind. People were wild with excitement, and political parties were forgotten. It was not for Congress or the President to decide on peace or war—the war burst uncontrollably from the pent-up feelings of the people.

In response to a call from the President, nearly a hundred thousand soldiers enlisted in the Northern States in three days. Trains loaded with volunteers began to move toward Washington. Money and ships without stint were offered to the government by the rich. The Southern people were equally enthusiastic and unanimous. Thousands of the young volunteers of the South eagerly poured into Virginia. The great civil war had burst upon the country in all its fury.