THE CONFEDERACY BREAKS AWAY After the election of Lincoln in November 1860, it was inevitable that the South was on a course to break away from the United States, because it would be impossible for them to stay in a union which would now forbid any slavery in the new states, and would probably also try and repeal slavery in the South also. "The government cannot remain half free and half slave" were Lincoln's words before his election to power. Carolina was the first to go on the 20th of December; by February 1st, another six had joined the state, and a new Confederate constitution was proclaimed on the 7th of that month. By the 18th, Jefferson Davis had been proclaimed President of the Confederate States of America. The country was on the road to war. Slavery The political pressures of immigration to America The Confederacy Breaks Away