It was before the war.
As soon as Lincoln won the Election of 1860, South Carolina called a convention where everyone voted for secession. They claimed that slavery was protected by the Constitution, and Lincoln was likely to prevent the creation of any new slave-states.
Other Southern states joined them, and soon the war was on.
South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina on December 20, 1860
The first state to secede from the Union was South Carolina, and it did so on December 20, 1860.
South Carolina was the first to secede.
South Carolina seceded prior to the start of the American Civil War, but it was the first state to do so.
South Carolina
The capital of South Carolina, the first state to secede from the Union before the Civil War, is Columbia.
South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860
South Carolina.
South Carolina on December 20, 1860
The first state to secede from the Union was South Carolina, and it did so on December 20, 1860.
South Carolina was the first to secede.
Secede
South Carolina.