Gist was bitterly opposed to the presidential candidacy of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860, and Gist had discussed with governors of other Southern states what course of action they would take if Lincoln were elected. Gist believed that because the United States of America was created through a compact among sovereign states, the states retained their sovereign powers and could leave the Union if the federal government failed to protect their rights and privileges. Receiving assurances from the governors of Florida and Mississippi that they would follow South Carolina's lead, Gist called for a secession convention to be held in Columbia on December 17, 1860. The convention was moved to Charleston because of a smallpox outbreak in Columbia, and Gist was one of the signers of the Ordinance of Secession on December 20, 1860. Florida and Mississippi signed their own Ordinance of Secession in January 1861.