1. why did south carolina secede from the union? a. the state’s leaders believed that lincoln was hostile to slavery. b. lincoln stated that he wanted to support slavery. c. the north no longer wanted the state in the union. d. people in the state felt the crittenden compromise had failed. 2. what was the main goal of the free-soil party? to promote freedom for all men to encourage the south to secede to divide the whigs and democrats to invoke popular sovereignty in the states