Section #1 - The Life of Abraham Lincoln
Chapter 57: In Response, Seven States Secede Before Abe Is Inaugurated
December 1860
(Charles O. Paullin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
The South’s response comes quickly. On December 20, 1860 the streets of Columbia, South Carolina erupt in cheers as the state declares its secession from the Union.
They are soon joined by six others — Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas – and on February 4, 1861 these seven declare themselves the Confederate States of America in a Birmingham convention. This is a full month before Lincoln even takes office.
The delegates choose Jefferson Davis as their President with Alexander Stephens as his second. Even though Davis wishes to lead the army, he appears well qualified having been a hero in the Mexican War, a Mississippi Senator, and Secretary of War under Pierce.
Among his first acts is the call for 100,000 volunteers should the North choose to fight rather than let the South go peacefully.