The Secession of the States: An Introduction
Prior to July 4, 1776, the colonies were united by their growing concern over the violation of their rights by the British government. Their representatives met in a Continental Congress, which eventually issued the Declaration of Independence and organized the Revolutionary War effort. Prior to 1776, no issue of secession from a union could have arisen since the colonies still considered themselves part of Great Britain. Neither was there any legal document agreed to by the Continental Congress, which directly or indirectly addressed the issue of secession. Hence, the "union" that existed prior to 1776 was of no importance at all to the issue of secession.
Next comes the union created by the Declaration of Independence. The most notable fact in this context is that the Declaration announces a lawful secession by the colonies from Great Britain based on the right of the people to alter or abolish their form of government. It is thus clear that the Declaration of Independence establishes that the right of secession is among the indisputable rights of men. The Declaration was thus literally the last place on earth one would hope to find legal justification for a war against secession. It was adopted by representatives of the thirteen colonies and declared that those colonies had become "Free and Independent States." The Declaration was not, nevertheless, a constitution, establishing a particular type of union among the states, or specifying any duties binding on them other than a moral commitment to mutually defend their newly declared independence.
Secessionists were susceptible to disapproval of their actions as unlawful. They believed themselves to be fully within their constitutional rights. They saw secession not as revolution, but as an alternate reading of Constitutional provisions. They subscribed to the "compact theory" first expounded.........
