How did the South react to Abraham Lincoln as president?

The South didn’t react well to the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860. The South was convinced that Lincoln was going to end slavery, even though Lincoln had said he wasn’t going to do that. While Lincoln was against slavery, he stated that he would allow it to remain where it already existed, if doing so would keep the country together. However, many Southerners believed that their way of life would be destroyed, and many people in the South had a difficult time accepting the idea that the slaves would be treated as equals if President Lincoln actually ended slavery. Many Southerners doubted Lincoln would keep his word. As a result, seven states seceded from the union shortly after the election of 1860, forming the Confederacy. After the attack at Fort Sumter, four additional Southern states seceded and joined the Confederacy.
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