Lincoln’s electoral victory ensured that there was little chance of compromise; indeed, before his inauguration in March, while Democrat James Buchanan retained office, the first secessions took place. At the forefront of the pro-slavery states, South Carolina voted to withdraw from the Union on December 20, 1860. The rationale behind the decision was that, just as each individual state had voted in convention to join the Union, so a vote in a similar body could see the individual state withdraw. For a brief period, other southern states did not act so precipitously, hoping that some form of compromise could still be found. However, during January 1861, a further six southern states—Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas—also voted to secede. So far, all the secessionist states were those from the deep south. The more northerly pro-slavery states—North Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, and Tennessee—remained within the Union; indeed, they would not actually secede until after the fall of Fort Sumter.
On February 4, 1861, delegates from the seven secessionist states met in a convention at Montgomery in Alabama in order to establish the Confederate States of America and to agree a new constitution. At the convention, the moderates within the pro-slavery states held sway and many of the more extreme motions—such as a demand for the restoration of the transatlantic slave trade with Africa—were successfully resisted. The draft constitution, officially issued on March 11, 1861, was in most respects very similar to the original constitution of the U.S., save for the fact that it adopted a pro-southern interpretation of the contentious clauses within the original contract and also enshrined the position of slavery. The convention also selected Jefferson Davis and Alexander H. Stephens as provisional President and Vice-President respectively.