On April 12, 1861, a confederate attack on Fort Sumter inspired the northern states to unite to form the Union. As leader of the moderate faction of the Republicans, Lincoln faced the most radical wing of his party, which demanded more harshness against the southern states, the anti-war democrats, who despised him, already irreconcilable secessionists, who conspired to kill him. Politically, Lincoln defended himself by pitting his adversaries against each other through carefully planned political patronage and appealing to the American people with his oratory ability.