Buchanan.
The secession of the first state (South Carolina) was a direct response to Lincoln's election win. But Lincoln was not inaugurated until March 1861.
The election of Lincoln as President
Southern states threatened to secede from the Union if Abraham Lincoln was elected as president.
The first southern state to secede from the Union was South Carolina, which did so on December 20, 1860.
South Carolina the first southern state to secede on December 20, 1860, and James Buchanan was President, and Abraham Lincoln was the President elect.
Which event caused the Southern States to secede from the Union
South Carolina
The first state to secede was South Carolina in December 1860. The last to leave the Union was North Carolina in May 1861.
South Carolina seceded from Union December 20th, 1860
states rights and threat of invasion by federal gov't to southern states.
The first state to secede from the Union was South Carolina, and it did so on December 20, 1860.
The first state to secede from the American Union was South Carolina. Directly as a result of the election of Abraham Lincoln as the 16th American president, this southern state seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860.
They did not want Lincoln as their president because he wanted to end slavery.