The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War

President James Buchanan’s top priority during his presidency was to keep the peace between North and South. Buchanan was against enslavement, but he did not object to Southerners making their own decisions on the issue. In late 1860, Buchanan began to prepare his final annual message to Congress. He hoped to prevent widespread conflict until at least the next March, when Lincoln would take office as President. Then “the nation’s crisis would become Lincoln’s problem” (84).

In South Carolina, Ruffin found the planters much more amenable to his calls for secession than those in Virginia, Kentucky, or Georgia. Immediately after Lincoln’s election in November 1860, the South Carolina legislature—with Ruffin in attendance—voted to hold a special convention to decide whether to secede from the Union. Ruffin continued to galvanize momentum for secession and was confident that he might succeed in South Carolina where he had failed elsewhere.

In Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln’s supporters were initially overjoyed that he won the election, but their enthusiasm quickly dimmed when considering the immense task awaiting the new President. Many doubted Lincoln’s ability to handle the challenges of enslavement and secession.

Lincoln, in Springfield, chose not to make any public announcements or speeches after his Election, suspecting that anything he said might fire up the South to rebellion.