[Non-Sequitur]

Secession, the forts, avoiding a war, or AT THE VERY LEAST maintaining the status quo by inaction on both sides in hopes that time would allow cooler heads to prevail.

Nonsense. That wasn't part of their charter. They were instructed to negotiate the establishment of relations between governments. To obtain recognition of the legitimacy of the southern rebellion. And only then to negotiate "for the settlement of all questions of disagreement between the two governments..." Status quo wasn't part of the picture.

[GOPcapitalist]

The only nonsense was on Lincoln's part. He was offered several opportunities to negotiate and he knowingly shunned them, just like he knowingly shunned the cooler heads in congress and in the border states who were trying to stop secession by compromise. The pattern to his behavior is certain: Abe Lincoln wanted war.