And because this topic has got some history buffs reading it, could someone direct me to some information about the legality of secession? This thread has jogged my memory about a question I had as a history student reading the Constitution. If the Southern states could not legally dissolve the Union, then why were they readmitted by Congress after the war? And how could West Virginia become a state? Breaking up a single state into more than one is prohibited in the Constitution. This has always bugged me about simple descriptions of the war and its causes. Here we have clear evidence that politicians at the time considered the Union dissolvable. Anybody have some thoughts or reading suggestions?
If Secession Was Illegal - then How Come...?
Let's Ditch Dixie: The case for northern secession
President Lincoln's Legal Arguments Against Secession