Feeling the pressures of the unbearable tension between the North and South, Buchanan tried desperately to compromise, pleading with both sides of the issue. He repeatedly warned his countrymen, at every opportunity, of the imminent danger they were putting the nation in and advised them of the means to avoid the certainty of civil war. Despite these efforts, Congress rejected his recommendations. The result was the escalation of a conflict that led to the secession of the South and one of the bloodiest battles in our nation's history.