jeffersondem:
"But that was not the case in 1861. Read what a leading historian has found: '. . . nearly all 1861 Unionists (including Lincoln) believed that had the Deep South Fire Eaters contented themselves with declaring secession and setting up a Confederacy, the Union could not use force to stop them.' " And that is exactly right.
In 1861 Unionists believed at the same time that 1) Fire Eaters had no constitutional authority to declare secession "at pleasure", but 2) also that the Federal government could not use force to stop them, unless they themselves started war.
In today's wording, we would say they operated under a "no first use of force" rule of engagement.
But once the Confederacy began using force (i.e., at Fort Sumter), then Unionists felt free to respond appropriately.
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government become destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
You keep reading the term “at pleasure” into the Declaration of Independence. Can you identify exactly where in the DOI it is found?