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What was the one thing that Lincoln would not do in order to avoid the Civil War?

Lincoln would not agree to let the Confederate states leave the Union without a fight.  This is in contrast with his predecessor, James Buchanan, as secession actually started with South Carolina in December 1860, and Lincoln did not take office until March 1861. Lincoln also would not sign off on the Crittenden Compromise, which would have added amendments that would protect slavery in order to placate the South. Lincoln felt that this would further tear the country between abolitionist and slaveholder.  Lincoln would not fire the first shot in the Civil War; rather, he hoped that a calm response would let the secession crisis blow over as it had in the past--the South had threatened to secede a few times, most notably South Carolina under the Nullification Crisis.  The issue came to a head when South Carolina forces under P.G.T. Beauregard wanted to take Fort Sumter --Lincoln gave orders for the Fort Sumter defenders not to surrender, though he did not send any reinforcements or war supplies.  When the Confederates fired upon the fort in April 1861, Lincoln could claim that the South had fired the first shots in the war and that he was morally justified in using force to bring the states in rebellion back under federal control.  

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