 At first there was no urgency to the convention's deliberations as all sides felt that time only aided their cause.In addition, there were hopes that the Peace Conference on January 19 led by former President John Tyler, might resolve the crisis by guaranteeing the safety of slavery and the right to expand slavery into the southwest territories.With the failure of the Peace Conference at the end of February, moderates in the convention began to waver in their support for unionism.