Early in the morning of November 7, nearly 100 people gathered in front of the city hall of Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, which was particularly lively.

The two brothers, Lu Ziyue and Lu Zimin, led several of their men and followed the slave owner John Harlan to the front of the town hall. In addition to being a large plantation owner in Colombia, John Harlan also has another identity, and that is a member of the South Carolina State Assembly. And today, it was South Carolina Governor William Gist who sounded the alarm bell at City Hall, convening all the members of the state legislature, as well as the government officials at City Hall, to discuss important matters.

Like all other lawmakers, John Harlan had long guessed why Governor William Gist sounded the alarm. Because they were business partners, and Lu Ziyue expressed great interest in the rally, John Harlan took the two brothers to the city hall.

Sure enough, when most of the congressmen arrived, Governor William Gist, who was standing in front of the City Hall, directly stated the reason why he rang the alarm bell to summon everyone: "Dear folks in South Carolina, I have the unfortunate news that Abraham Lincoln, a Republican who represents the interests of the Yankees, has been elected the 16th president of the United States of America, as we feared a month ago. ”

Although everyone had guessed that this was probably the case, they still couldn't help but exclaim.

"God, damn the Republicans elected president will definitely force us to abolish slavery. Our end has come, and we can't stop there! ”

"Folks, we're going to rise up against these damned Yankees! They are trying to prop up a Republican president to ruin our happy life and everything we have now, and they must not let their plot succeed! ”

"We don't want those high tariffs, we don't want those trade protections! We want a free market and don't take on the huge fiscal deficits caused by the Yankees! ”

"Mr. Gist, tell me what to do! We listen to you! ”

“........”

Governor William Gist was thrilled and pleased with the atmosphere he had created.

Standing on the doorstep of City Hall, he said to the state legislators and major plantation owners who were surrounding him, "Good! Since everyone trusts me, I'm looking for a way out for everyone! That's our South Carolina, secession from the United States of America! And Lincoln's election is a signal that our South Carolina is officially secessed from the Union. ”

"Republican Lincoln was a typical duplicitous politician, who was strong and who was good for him, he would listen to the other side. Two years ago, when he was running for the Senate with Stephen Douglas in Illinois, he gave a speech in Chicago in front of white representatives sympathetic to blacks in order to win the election, declaring that he was in favor of white and black equality and solidarity. And two months later, Charleston, in the face of a normal populace, declared that it had never been in favor of any social and political equality between whites and blacks; Never in favor of giving blacks the right to vote. Negroes are not allowed to be jurors, are not qualified to hold public office, and are not allowed to intermarry with white people'. It's a typical wall-to-wall plant. Therefore, we must respond strongly to his election. ”

"You may not know the details of the vote!" Gist continued: "Although Lincoln was elected president, the number of votes and the percentage of votes he received were the lowest since the founding of the American Union! Even, in our 10 southern states, he did not receive a single vote of support! In other words, he is completely a president elected by the Yankees! ”

His declaration drew even more exclamations and screams from everyone.

Some people may still be a little nervous and exclaim. But more people are screaming, they are screaming with excitement because their hometown, South Carolina, is going to secede from the United States of America, and their reaction is more psychologically prepared. And the details revealed by Gist made them feel that this Lincoln should not be elected, at least not the president of the Southerners. Let them feel that they have every reason to refuse Lincoln to be president, after all, not a single vote of the ten southern states has voted for him!

Governor William Gist was also a little agitated, and he continued: "As early as a month ago, I was worried that this Republican Lincoln would be elected president, so I wrote to the governors of the Southern states, except, of course, that old stubbornness of Texas Governor Houston. In the letter, I told them that they should discuss what they should do if Lincoln is elected. I told them plainly that as soon as the results of the general election were announced, we in South Carolina would convene a special convention of legislators and other popular representatives. If any other Southern state announces its withdrawal from the Commonwealth of America, we in South Carolina will certainly follow. Even if the other Southern states decide to remain in the Union, we in South Carolina will single-handedly become a republic of our own! ”

"The governors who received my letters, after consulting with their legislatures, wrote back to me. Alabama and Mississippi have said that they will not leave the Union alone, but that they are willing to follow us as long as South Carolina is independent. And Louisiana and Georgia claim that they will not leave the Union at first, but that they will leave the Union as long as the North takes action against the South. North Carolina's governor and Congress have not yet decided whether to secede from the Union, and discussions are still ongoing. So, for now, it seems that we in South Carolina are the only ones to lead. Ladies and gentlemen, if you do not object, I intend to convene a special convention on December 17, on a special day next month, on December 17, the day of our independence from the North American colonies of the British Empire, 72 years ago, to bring together representatives from all over South Carolina to decide whether or not to secede from the American Union. ”

Gist is still cautious. Although he openly declared that he wanted South Carolina to secede from the federal government, he knew that even though he was governor and even if the senators in these state legislatures were in favor of his idea, for the sake of prudence, and in order to fully mobilize the support of the plantation aristocracy throughout South Carolina, he decided to convene a general special convention to decide on the independence of South Carolina from the Union. He's confident that everybody will do it. And, in doing so, he could expand the influence of South Carolina and his own state, so that the entire rest of the Southern states would be shaken by it, and South Carolina would follow the example of secession from the Union.

The rally did not last long, and seeing that the desired effect was achieved, Governor William Gist soon declared the rally over.

Led by Senator John Harlan, Lu Ziyue and Lu Zimin went to the home of Governor William Gist and paid an official visit to the top governor of South Carolina.

The two sides had a friendly secret talk, and the specific discussion was unknown to people outside, but that afternoon, Governor William Gist sent Lu Ziyue and Lu Zimin out with a smile on his face, and specially arranged for personnel to send Lu Zimin to the train station in Columbia City to take the train to Richmond, the capital of Virginia.

.........

At the same time, there were several major events in Washington, D.C., that caused a stir throughout the D.C.

The first started with the Congress of the United States of America.

Congress is the highest legislative body in the United States and consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Among them, the senators are elected by the state legislatures of each state, with two from each state, and the principle of equal representation of each state is implemented, while the number of deputies is distributed according to the proportion of the population with the right to vote in each state of the federation, and is directly elected by the citizens of each state, with at least one from each state.

As soon as the news of Lincoln's election as the 16th president of the United States spread, that is, early on the morning of November 7, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives were surprised to find that only two U.S. senators from South Carolina and three U.S. representatives from South Carolina collectively announced their resignations.

Vice President and Senate Speaker John Cabell Breckenridge did his best to stay, but it became clear that the South Carolina lawmakers did not hesitate to resign and begin preparations to return to South Carolina.

A few days later, the top justice and a federal tax official, also from South Carolina, announced their resignations, along with their fellow congressmen.

For a time, the whole of Washington, D.C. was shaken.

The Washington Evening News even published a large section in a prominent position on the front page: Beware of South Carolina's secession from the Union! - Several members of Congress, justices of the Supreme Court, and federal tax collectors, all from South Carolina, resigned at the same time!

The Sun, the New York Times, and the Tribune, the largest circulation newspaper in New York, have all published articles warning the federal government to keep an eye on South Carolina's movements.

The comments claim that South Carolina's politicians are resigning and returning home, which means they are already making some preparations — preparations for secession from the United States.

Although these remarks caused a wide sensation in the political arena and among the people, they did not make the slightest movement in the US Congress and the presidential office building. The outside world can't help but feel very strange about the president and Congress.

It wasn't until a month later, on December 20, that the shocking news came: South Carolina had summoned all the state's legislators and local delegates to a special convention to withdraw from the Union. After a collective vote by hundreds of delegates attending the rally, all the delegates unanimously agreed to a resolution to withdraw from the Union written by the Assembly Committee, and South Carolina decided to terminate the contract of acceptance of the U.S. Constitution in 1788, officially ending the relationship with the Union and announcing its withdrawal from the Union.

As soon as this news broke out, it immediately set off a blatant wave.

Dozens of newspapers in the North, including The Sun, The New York Times, Le Monde, The New York News, The Washington Evening News, and The Philadelphia Times, competed to cover the story.

The Sun even publicly predicted that this would mark the beginning of the South's independence. It reported that since Lincoln's election as president, South Carolina and the United States have to break with the United States, and the resignation of the state's congressmen and federal government officials in Washington also proves that South Carolina must be on the way to secede from the Union.

"Le Monde" even predicted that this is not just a state of South Carolina to withdraw from the Union, as the development of events affects other Southern states, it is very likely that other Southern states will follow suit and follow South Carolina to secede from the Union. It has repeatedly warned that if the federal government does not act, the entire Yugoslavia will become independent from the United States of America.

At the same time, the Columbia Star, which had a small circulation in South Carolina that day, openly declared that South Carolina's secession from the Commonwealth of America was in accordance with U.S. law, and that all states had the right to peacefully withdraw from the Union, and South Carolina was no exception.

And a newly launched Richmond Times also helped the Columbia Star to claim that the United States of America is a federal state because it guarantees the complete freedom of choice of each state. Regardless of the state, as long as the vast majority of the citizens of that state choose to secede from the Union, they have the right to independence from the Union.

The Richmond Times even cited the 9th and 10th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America:

"The enumeration of certain rights in this Constitution shall not be construed as a denial or trivialization of other rights which the people retain."

"The powers which are not conferred upon the United States and are not prohibited from being exercised by the States in this Constitution shall be reserved by the States or by the people, respectively."

The author of the newspaper commentary argues that the power of "withdrawal", which has not been conferred on the Government of the United States and has never been forbidden to the states, is a reserved power of the states. One of the original intentions of the U.S. Constitution is to protect state rights and prevent federal infringement of state rights. Therefore, South Carolina has the absolute right to withdraw from the Union, and his independence is completely legal.

While the newspapers were engaged in a war of public opinion between the North and the South, the incumbent President James Buchanan could no longer remain silent, and five days after South Carolina declared its secession from the Union, he solemnly proposed to Congress that a special national convention be convened for the North and South states to negotiate a settlement of the dispute.