in november of 1860, with lincoln the apparent winner, a crisis that had been smoldering for at least a decade erupted. southerners were outraged by the election of lincoln, who opposed slavery in territories and new states. they began to act almost immediately. james chesnut, jr., senator from south carolina, resigned just four days after the election. president james buchanan only made things worse. in december, he wrote a message to congress. in it he stated he thought secession was illegal. but he added that the federal government could not act to stop any states from leaving the union. northerners could not understand how buchanan could say such a thing. after that, buchanan's cabinet began falling apart. howell cobb, the secretary of the treasury who was from georgia, told buchanan he quit. a week later, lewis cass, the secretary of state (from michigan) left because buchanan had done nothing to stop the secession crisis.