Complications of the Secession Winter and Spring
1. What considerations made many Southerners discount the need or value of
secession before Lincoln's inauguration?
2. Why were leading South Carolinians convinced that immediate secession was
the only sure means of protecting Southern rights and interests?
3. Where was slavery most prominent in 1860? Did slavery's importance
shape acceptance of secession in 1860-1861?
4. Why didn't John J. Crittenden's proposed compromise succeed in reconciling the
contending interests after Lincoln's election?
5. How did Lincoln attempt to defuse the potentially explosive secession crisis
with his first inaugural address?
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