I'm not sure what you mean by the "desire for dissolution". Except for a small number of fire-eaters, the "desire for dissolution" did not exist in the South - not until people read the election returns in early November. They were shocked. Nobody in this part of the country truly believed that Lincoln could win. This political catastrophe pushed citizens in large numbers to consider secession as a painful necessity. Still others, like Robert E. Lee, did not embrace secession until Lincoln called for troops 'to put down the rebellion.'

You have to make a real effort to think about things the way people did then - before secession, and before the war. It's not easy because of all the things we know. Newspapers and personal journals from that period are portals you can use to enter that time.