9 - The Imperial Crisis

Summary

The dual elections of the 1860 presidential campaign signified the political dissolution of the Union. Lincoln's victory at the polls initiated a process of secession by the states of the Deep South, beginning with South Carolina on December 20. As the secession crisis worsened, key members of Congress worked to construct a compromise that could stave off disunion, at least temporarily. In early December, a special Senate Committee of Thirteen, including Seward, Douglas, Benjamin Wade, and Jefferson Davis, introduced the most famous of these plans, named for Senator John Crittenden of Kentucky. The national government could not appear to be bullying the South. As war approached, Lincoln acutely understood that the way the war began would be critical both in gaining widespread Northern support and in constructing a narrative justifying federal action. The vision of a permanent Union, conceived by Franklin and fought for by Washington, had been finally realized by Lincoln.