So what do you think James Buchanan’s response should have been to South Carolina’s succession?
I know what it was. He sent strongly worded orders to hold those forts. Should he have done this? I don't know his motivation or his thinking.
It is possible that he was one of those people that actually believed that States had no right to independence, or it could be that he wanted to make sure the problem fell into his successor's lap.
Much may have been avoided had Buchanan dealt with it one way or the other. All he did was attempt to preserve the status quo until the problem would be taken up by Lincoln.