But leaving things to "people's discretion" leads us directly to the Obama-nation we have today, FRiend.
In today's world, the Pelosi's and Reed's define whatever words they want by whatever meanings they wish, and so there is, in practice, little if any limitation on Federal Government.
And there is only one way to defeat "people's discretion", and that is by focusing on Founders Original Intent.
It's an anchor which says: here's how far government can go without exceeding its limits, and requiring something major like a constitutional amendment.
But if you throw away "Original Intent" in order to justify 1860s unilateral declarations of secession, at pleasure, then you just can't get it back when you really need it, to fend of the Pelosi, Reed & Obama people who wish to make Federal government the be-all, end-all of everything.
So, bottom line: you need Founders Original Intent, and for that, you have to apply it to 1860s secessions, and say, they weren't legitimate.
Your comment is self-contradictory. You can’t restrain the federal government by taking power away from the states and the people. The only way to restrain the federal government is by limiting it to its enumerated powers, and the power you want to give them is not one of those.