Changes

There were other difficult transitions in US history, particularly the 1861 transition to the Lincoln presidency. As Lincoln was taking power, southern states had already declared their succession and James Buchanan had effectively refused to do anything direct on the issue without Congress. The inaction by Buchanan, and failure of Congress to pass anything other than appeasement measures, led to Lincoln taking power with the country literally falling apart. Lincoln, nevertheless, wanted to show unity on Inauguration Day, taking a carriage ride with Buchanan after he took his oath of office. Buchanan went on to write one of the first presidential memories to justify his actions, while Lincoln quickly moved to refuse any compromise with southern states, leading to the Civil War.

==Later History==