Slavery was an indirect cause of the civil war since it led to tensions between the north and the south in the union. The presidential campaign of 1856 was an example of a country divided. The Democrats chose James Buchanan of Pennsylvania as their candidate, a minister to England who had been out of the country during previous collisions between the two main political parties, making him the ideal candidate for the Democrats. The Republicans chose John C. Frémont as their candidate but Frémont had no political record or experience. Buchanan won with a narrow victory over Frémont and Fillmore, the Know-Nothing party. In his first year in office, there were already problems, “he became painfully timid and indecisive president at a critical moment
