Fort Sumter and The War Conspiracy

It is necessary to state that the South wished for a peaceful separation from the Union and went so far as to include that fact very specifically in section 2, article VI of the Confederate Constitution: " The Government...hereby declaring it to be their wish and earnest desire to adjust everything pertaining to the common property, common liability, and the common obligations of that Union upon the principles of right, justice, equity and good faith".  Many Northerners at this time believed that secession was a legal, constitutional right. Therefore, working towards achieving this end, South Carolina Congressmen met with President Buchanan to discuss the disposition of several coastal forts, of which the most important were Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor and Fort Pickens near Pensacola.  An agreement was reached stating that Forts Sumter and Moultrie in Charleston would not be attacked by South Carolina forces unless reinforced or acting aggressively towards the Confederates.  Abraham Lincoln (having been elected the 6th of November) sent orders to Army Chief Winfield Scott to prepare to hold or retake the forts after his inauguration on the 4th of March.  Lincoln, as opposed to all the previous presidents and most Northerners, was strongly opposed to secession and did not believe it to be a legal right of the state.  After the Union commander at Fort Barrancas relocated to Fort Pickens, the Confederates reached an armistice with the Union Secretary of War, Holt, and Navy Secretary, Toucey, that Fort Pickens would not be reinforced.  However, during this time secretly and unbeknownst to President Buchanan, Maj. Robert Anderson relocated to Fort Sumter with a garrison of 84 men and General Scott prepared to reinforce the forts.  An attempt was made smuggle 200 soldiers into Fort Sumter but was unsuccessful. Nonetheless the Confederates did did nothing against the forts as they hoped for peace.  Several aggressive reinforcement plans were presented but were vetoed by President Buchanan who said that it would be an act of war to break the armistice with the Confederate states.  After his inauguration, Lincoln proposed a plan to reinforce Fort Sumter even while Secretary of State, William Seward was promising the Southern peace commission that Fort Sumter would be evacuated.  After proposing his plan 3 times, Lincoln finally convinced his cabinet to approve it, even though they all knew it was an act of war.  Lincoln planned everything carefully so that the Southern batteries in Charleston would have to fire the first shot and thus "cause" the war.  However, the North broke the armistice many times before the South attacked Fort Sumter and their only reason for attacking it was self defense against the union warships that the government had sent to reinforce the garrison.