when did south carolina secede

South Carolina seceded from the United States on December 20, 1860. This action was taken by a state convention in Charleston, which voted unanimously to secede. The secession was primarily in response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as president, whose views were seen as hostile to the institution of slavery. Four days after the secession vote, South Carolina issued a declaration explaining its reasons, emphasizing the "increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to the Institution of Slavery." South Carolina was the first state to secede, leading the way for other southern states and eventually to the outbreak of the Civil War less than four months later in April 1861.