The escalating sectional crises over slavery in the 1850s contributed to the volatile tensions that arose during the 1860 presidential campaign. Abraham Lincoln's election in November of that year caused a fiery backlash in the southern states, which feared the abolitionist policies of the Republican Party. The result was a series of state secession conventions across the South, beginning with South Carolina's in December. The fifth such convention occurred in Georgia, a pivotal state in the debate due to its geographic importance to the region, the stature of its congressional delegation as leading voices for southern grievances, and its economic value as a major cotton producer. Summarize this paragraph from the NGE article. Remember that a summary will have fewer words than the original text while keeping the main ideas: The crisis was caused by….. The results of the 1860 election …. Georgia was an important state during the crisis because ….