"That constitutional government did not prohibit secession"....
Nor did it allow for it.
The States were bound by Article VI to uphold the Constitution. Secession without Federal judicial approval of its Constitutionality, as well as the creation of an Amendment to validate it, is insurrection.
...and an insurrection they had...and now we live with the results.
Nor did it allow for it.
The Constitution does not enumerate our rights; it enumerates the powers of the federal government. Read the 10th Amendment. Besides, once a state secedes, it is no longer bound by the Constitution. According to your reasoning, American citizens shouldn't be able to eat meat because the Constitution doesn't specifically allow for it.
The States were bound by Article VI to uphold the Constitution.
And what about the federal government? The Southern states that seceded did so because they believed the U.S. government had violated the Constitution by interfering with the internal affairs of the states. You seem to believe that there should be no escape from federal tyranny. You may disagree with the South's arguments for secession - in fact, many Southerners at the time opposed it - but how oppressive would the federal government have to get before you would endorse breaking away for the sake of preserving liberty? The colonists declared their independence from the British Empire over much less tyrannical government interference than we have today.
Secession without Federal judicial approval of its Constitutionality, as well as the creation of an Amendment to validate it, is insurrection.
Ah, yes! It all makes sense now. You're one of those people who believe that nine people in black robes rule the country. The Constitutuion means only what they say it means. I guess Benjamin Franklin was wrong when he said, "It is every American's right and obligation to read and interpret the Constitution for himself."
Again, I will point out that Jefferson Davis was never tried for treason. If he was guilty of insurrection, then the case would have been a slam-dunk, and he would have been convicted and executed. But none of that happened because the constitutional case against secession could not be made.