“Generally speaking they (secession and insurrection) are not synonymous.”
When I wrote, “If secession was not legal . . . then the actions of the South should have been put down as an insurrection” you wrote “Congratulations, you’ve just seen a glimpse of reality.”
Seems you have your rump in two saddles. Do you have an explanation?
Speaking of rumps, that's obviously where jeffersondem keeps his head, and refuses under any circumstances to remove it therefrom.
What can we say?
jeffersondem: "If secession was not legal . . . then the actions of the South should have been put down as an insurrection"
Once again: Union leaders like Presidents Buchanan and Lincoln believed that Deep South Fire Eaters' declarations of secession where not constitutional, since they came from neither mutual consent nor "necessity" caused by oppression.
Unionists did not, however, believe the Federal government could use force to stop secessionists, unless Confederates started war, which is what Lincoln said in his First Inaugural.
So, it was not the declarations themselves which brought on Federal responses, but rather the violence started by secessionists against Union property, officials and troops.
Regardless, it seems to me jeffersondem's real concern here is whether he, legally, can write up his own little declarations and then he and DiogenesLamp can declare themselves to be the New Confederacy and set up shop on, oh, who knows, maybe a Florida Key?
The answer is: it's still a free country where you can say almost any cockamamie nonsense you wish, just so long as you don't break any laws, you & your buddies can declare yourselves to be anything you want -- New Confederacy, Islamic State, whatever floats your own little, itsy bitsy boats.
Of course, penalties will then be severe if you ever get caught jay-walking or overstaying your parking meter time...