What was lincoln’s dilemma regarding ft. sumter?

 Fort Sumter was running out of supplies, but an attack on the fort would appear as Northern aggression. States that still remained part of the Union (such as Virginia and North Carolina) might be driven into the secessionist camp. People at home and abroad might become sympathetic to the South. Yet Lincoln could not allow his troops to starve or surrender and risk showing considerable weakness.

from the conditions of the working class in england by friedrich engels,the main idea is :

manchester's leaders hoped to oppress its working class to benefit factory owners.