Which is it?
I'm not changing anything. Lincoln wasn't looking for war but what choices did he have? Of course, you would say he could have surrendered Sumter. But what would that have solved? Rebel focus would have immediately switched to Fort Pickens and then Fort Jefferson until there wasn't anything left to surrender. And at that point, having seized everything they wanted, what was left for the sides to talk about and what position could the U.S. have negotiated from? If there was going to be a negotiated settlement to the situation then Lincoln had to take his stand. He wasn't about to allow the garrison in Sumter to be starved into surrender, so he chose to resupply in the least provocative manner he could. He informed Governor Pickens of his intent and left the question of war or continued status quo in their hands. They chose war. So if anyone leaped into war with a shrug of their shoulders it was the South.