After the election, Douglas returned to the Senate, where he sought to prevent a break-up of the United States.
He joined a special committee of thirteen senators, led by John J. Crittenden, which sought a legislative solution to the growing sectional tensions between the North and South.
He supported the Crittenden Compromise, which called for a series of constitutional amendments that would enshrine the Missouri Compromise line in the constitution, but the Crittenden Compromise was defeated in committee by a combination of Republicans and Southern extremists.
As late as Christmas 1860, Douglas wrote to Alexander H. Stephens and offered to support the annexation of Mexico as slave territory to avert secession.
South Carolina voted to secede on December 20, 1860, and five other Southern states had done the same by mid-January.
In February 1861, Jefferson Davis took office as the president of the Confederate States of America, which consisted of several Southern states that had decided to secede from the United States.

Douglas unsuccessfully sought President-elect Lincoln's support for the Peace Conference of 1861, another attempt to head off secession.
Lincoln was unwilling to support the conference, but Douglas described his meeting with Lincoln as "peculiarly pleasant."
A long-time opponent of protectionism, he voted against the Morrill Tariff, instead calling for a customs union with Canada, Mexico, Cuba, and Central America.
Douglas praised Lincoln's first inaugural address, describing it as "a peace offering rather than a war message" to the South.
After the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861, Lincoln decided to proclaim a state of rebellion and call for 75,000 troops to suppress it.
Douglas met privately with Lincoln, looked over the proclamation before it was issued and endorsed it.
He suggested only one change: Lincoln should call for 200,000 troops, not just 75,000. "
You do not know the dishonest purposes of those men as well as I do," he said.
To a friend, he stated, "I've known Mr. Lincoln a longer time than you have, or than the country has.
He'll come out all right, and we will all stand by him."
In late April, Douglas departed Washington for the Midwest, where he rallied support for the Union cause.
After the election, Douglas returned to the Senate, where he sought to prevent a break-up of the United States. He joined a special committee of thirteen senators, led by John J. Crittenden, which sought a legislative solution to the growing sectional tensions between the North and South. He supported the Crittenden Compromise, which called for a series of constitutional amendments that would enshrine the Missouri Compromise line in the constitution, but the Crittenden Compromise was defeated in committee by a combination of Republicans and Southern extremists. As late as Christmas 1860, Douglas wrote to Alexander H. Stephens and offered to support the annexation of Mexico as slave territory to avert secession. South Carolina voted to secede on December 20, 1860, and five other Southern states had done the same by mid-January. In February 1861, Jefferson Davis took office as the president of the Confederate States of America, which consisted of several Southern states that had decided to secede from the United States.
Douglas unsuccessfully sought President-elect Lincoln's support for the Peace Conference of 1861, another attempt to head off secession. Lincoln was unwilling to support the conference, but Douglas described his meeting with Lincoln as "peculiarly pleasant." A long-time opponent of protectionism, he voted against the Morrill Tariff, instead calling for a customs union with Canada, Mexico, Cuba, and Central America. Douglas praised Lincoln's first inaugural address, describing it as "a peace offering rather than a war message" to the South. After the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861, Lincoln decided to proclaim a state of rebellion and call for 75,000 troops to suppress it. Douglas met privately with Lincoln, looked over the proclamation before it was issued and endorsed it. He suggested only one change: Lincoln should call for 200,000 troops, not just 75,000. "You do not know the dishonest purposes of those men as well as I do," he said. To a friend, he stated, "I've known Mr. Lincoln a longer time than you have, or than the country has. He'll come out all right, and we will all stand by him." In late April, Douglas departed Washington for the Midwest, where he rallied support for the Union cause.
Stephen A. Douglas