In fact, Lincoln offered to surrender Fort Sumter, if only the Virginia secession convention would end its session without passing an ordinance of secession. "A state for a fort is no bad business," he said.
Lincoln had no intention of doing that, ever. That quip was made after Virginia's first vote about secession (which was on February 13th), where they chose not to secede. After that, the Confederacy sent a delegation to DC, offering to buy the fort and Lincoln and almost his entire cabinet turned them down outright, because they didn't want to be seen as legitimizing the Confederacy.
On April 4th a 2nd vote was taken by Virginia, which again failed (by a 2/3 to 1/3 vote). That was the same day the Union sent a supply convoy to resupply Sumter. (Note that this was the 2nd time the Union tried to reinforce and resupply the fort - Buchanan had sent a relief ship back on January 9th which was repulsed. The fact that the first effort failed likely - in my opinion anyway - led to Lincoln's decision to send an entire fleet - including warships - in the second resupply attempt).
After the fort was taken, Lincoln demanded troops from every state still in the union, "as follows: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Arkansas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, one regiment each; New York 17 regiments; Pennsylvania, 15 regiments; Ohio, 13; New Jersey, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, four regiments each; Illinois and Indiana, six regiments each; Virginia, three regiments,Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Tennessee, two regiments each."
That is what triggered Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia to go. Kentucky did not secede, but essentially told Lincoln to f*** off, and Missouri had its own miniature civil war about what they wanted to do (which resulted in Union forces sending the governor of Missouri into exile within a couple months).
Lincoln wanted to make sure to paint the South as the aggressors, not himself.
I'll agree there as that is what Lincoln wanted people to think. And the Confederate Secretary of State agreed as well, saying that attacking the fort "will lose us every friend at the North. You will only strike a hornet's nest. ... Legions now quiet will swarm out and sting us to death. It is unnecessary. It puts us in the wrong. It is fatal." But, while he was good at playing the optics angle, Lincoln had multiple opportunities to keep the peace and chose not to take it. He could have just had Anderson surrender the fort outright, and chose not to. He could have taken the deal to have the fort bought out, and chose not to. He could have decided not to try to resupply the fort. And even after the fort fell, he could have agreed with his "no bad business" line and just let it go, but pressed the issue directly causing 4 more states to secede. But at every turn, he decided to keep playing chicken with Beauregard, and eventually Beauregard blinked with artillery fire.
Was demanding the surrender of the fort justified, though? Obviously in hindsight it was a bad idea, but having a hostile power retain - and keep resupplying - a fort with 60 guns in the middle of your main harbor, when the owners of said fort refuse any negotiations, I don't see how that situation could have lasted any length of time without exploding. Especially when the Confederates knew there was a relief convoy on the way, and when they asked again for Anderson to surrender his response was, in essence "I'll surrender in a couple days, but only if the relief convoy doesn't arrive first"
Lincoln had no intention of doing that, ever. That quip was made after Virginia's first vote about secession (which was on February 13th), where they chose not to secede. After that, the Confederacy sent a delegation to DC, offering to buy the fort and Lincoln and almost his entire cabinet turned them down outright, because they didn't want to be seen as legitimizing the Confederacy.
On April 4th a 2nd vote was taken by Virginia, which again failed (by a 2/3 to 1/3 vote). That was the same day the Union sent a supply convoy to resupply Sumter. (Note that this was the 2nd time the Union tried to reinforce and resupply the fort - Buchanan had sent a relief ship back on January 9th which was repulsed. The fact that the first effort failed likely - in my opinion anyway - led to Lincoln's decision to send an entire fleet - including warships - in the second resupply attempt).
After the fort was taken, Lincoln demanded troops from every state still in the union, "as follows: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Arkansas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, one regiment each; New York 17 regiments; Pennsylvania, 15 regiments; Ohio, 13; New Jersey, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, four regiments each; Illinois and Indiana, six regiments each; Virginia, three regiments,Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Tennessee, two regiments each."
That is what triggered Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia to go. Kentucky did not secede, but essentially told Lincoln to f*** off, and Missouri had its own miniature civil war about what they wanted to do (which resulted in Union forces sending the governor of Missouri into exile within a couple months).
I'll agree there as that is what Lincoln wanted people to think. And the Confederate Secretary of State agreed as well, saying that attacking the fort "will lose us every friend at the North. You will only strike a hornet's nest. ... Legions now quiet will swarm out and sting us to death. It is unnecessary. It puts us in the wrong. It is fatal." But, while he was good at playing the optics angle, Lincoln had multiple opportunities to keep the peace and chose not to take it. He could have just had Anderson surrender the fort outright, and chose not to. He could have taken the deal to have the fort bought out, and chose not to. He could have decided not to try to resupply the fort. And even after the fort fell, he could have agreed with his "no bad business" line and just let it go, but pressed the issue directly causing 4 more states to secede. But at every turn, he decided to keep playing chicken with Beauregard, and eventually Beauregard blinked with artillery fire.
Was demanding the surrender of the fort justified, though? Obviously in hindsight it was a bad idea, but having a hostile power retain - and keep resupplying - a fort with 60 guns in the middle of your main harbor, when the owners of said fort refuse any negotiations, I don't see how that situation could have lasted any length of time without exploding. Especially when the Confederates knew there was a relief convoy on the way, and when they asked again for Anderson to surrender his response was, in essence "I'll surrender in a couple days, but only if the relief convoy doesn't arrive first"