S.D. - Objective A

A. After the secession of the southern states and the formation of the Confederacy, there were only two forts in the South still under the Union’s control.  One of these was Fort Sumter, which was in desperate need of food and water.  Lincoln could either send supplies to the fort, start the civil war, and loose the critical border states, or do nothing and be seen as a weak leader.  Not liking either of his choices, Lincoln chose the middle path; he would notify the Confederacy that he was sending provisions to the fort, not reinforcing it, and send a small fleet with provisions to the fort.  However the South still saw this as an act of aggression and open fired on the fort when provisions arrived, and the fort surrendered.  This angered the northerners, who were previously indifferent to southern secession.  They felt their honor demanded an armed retaliation; in their minds, what they had done was not an act of aggression.  Therefore, when Lincoln called for volunteers, thousands upon thousands enthusiastically responded.  However, in the South’s point of view, both sending provisions to the fort and calling for volunteers was an act of aggression; they felt that the North had started the war.  When Lincoln called for 75,000 militiamen, the South felt they needed to defend themselves, and started making their own preparations for war.