The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, ...to provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress insurrections...
Keep reading that one over and over again. Congress has the expressly stated authority to call forth the military to execute the Laws of the Union.
I did read it over and over. It applies to states that remain in the Union, not to states that have exercised their right/power to withdraw from the Union. You know, those powers that were not delegated to the Federal government nor prohibited to the states under the Constitution.
You interpret the Constitution as though it were a giant bait and switch. In other words, in order to get the Constitution ratified, proponents of a "once in, always in" union said the Constitution meant states could reassume their own governance, but now that states are in, they can't leave.
Do you honestly think the Constitution would have been ratified if it had said a state could not leave or could only leave with the approval of states that might be oppressing it?
Yes. If only because the alternative was unthinkable.
Which, unfortunately for you, was an act of insurrection.
Never pick a fight with the dictionary, son. It just makes you look stupid.
Congress shall authorize a Union to force the Laws of the Union, but only if those people who refuse to obey the law call themselves insurrectionists instead of secessionists? Yeah, that makes a whole lot of sense. And again, by what means do such a people declare themselves secessionists, instead of insurrectionists?
"Say Mr. President, these people want to abandon the Union!"Or let's look back at the Constitution of Virginia of 1776, shall we?"Why that's terrible! Call in the army to put down these insurrectionists!"
"Well, they've called themselves 'secessionists' instead of 'insurrectionists,' and claimed ownership of all federal lands, fortresses, and wealth within their territory, and attacked our mutual army!"
"Oh, thank goodness; I thought we had a problem! Invite their ambassadors here to establish trade treaties with them!"
When Virginia was a separate state, owing no allegiance to any power whatsoever, they established that to secede from the state of Virginia, or invalidate any state law would constitute insurrection on the explicit basis that uniformity of Law was necessary for the proper exercise of Law. But you would suppose that Virginia would join the Union explicitly reserving their own right to sever their ties to the Union, and establish within the former boundaries of that Union an independent nation owing that Union no allegiance?