10.5 In 1860, the United States faced a deepening national crisis as the presidential election approached, revealing irreconcilable divisions between the North and South over slavery. The Democratic Party split into Northern and Southern factions, nominating Stephen Douglas and John C. Breckinridge, respectively, while moderate Southerners formed the Constitutional Union Party with John Bell as their candidate. The Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the spread of slavery but held moderate views. Lincoln won the presidency without any Southern electoral votes, which outraged the South and led to the secession of South Carolina and six other Lower South states, forming the Confederate States of America under Jefferson Davis. Efforts at compromise failed, and tensions escalated when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in April 1861, prompting Lincoln to call for troops and leading to further secessions by the Upper South states. This marked the start of the Civil War, raising the pivotal question of whether the Union could be preserved by force.