Beginning of the Civil War????

Question:When the 1st shots were fired at Fort Sumpter in South Carolina... what questions was Lincoln trying to answer? And why did he make the choices he made? What was Lincoln thinking and how did the Southern states feel??
I really need help on this.. Cause I'm super confused :(

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: When the 1st shots were fired at Fort Sumpter in South Carolina... what questions was Lincoln trying to answer? And why did he make the choices he made? What was Lincoln thinking and how did the Southern states feel??
I really need help on this.. Cause I'm super confused :(

Lincoln truly believed that he could keep the states united. When South Carolina seceded it was a huge blow to northern morale. Then several more states seceded. South Carolina was faced with a decision; fire on Fort Sumter (which lay in its own harbor) or look like a fool. Those in S.C. knew that they had to back up their first action with another. Lincoln also knew this and told S.C. that they (u.s) wouldn't give up the fort, they wold only provide food and water to the soldiers. S.C. had little choice but to fire upon the fort. The northerners weren't totally wanting a war, mainly because they were taking advantage of the south's cotton industry (shipping cotton to england for the textile industry). However, they changed their minds when the south threw the first punch. The south was bound by their concept of honor to defend their families. That was what they thought they were doing when they seceded. The south was scared that their system of social dominance would come to an end with Lincoln and the slaves would try to kill them to pay them back. They were very fearful that people like Nat Turner (from the north) would prompt the slaves to do just that....

This site should help you....
http://www.multied.com/CivilWar/Sumter.h...

Abraham Lincoln's strongest belief was that the States should not be divided. He opposed slavery and had other strong beliefs but was willing to sacrifice everything to keep the country united. When violence erupted in South Carolina he insisted upon strong action to support the Union.
The Confederate states believed their local interests were more important than the national interests of the United States. Some of the differences were moral, some were economic, and some might be classified as religious but they all folded into states rights against national rights.

The Civil War was initially called War of Secession, because 7 Southern states declared a separation from the Union, to form an independent nation. This happened before Lincoln was elected president. Slavery became the main issue years later, and Lincoln's first objective was to keep the country united.