There is now a substantial and irrefutable body of historical evidence that peaceful secession was always a valid option for states should they reach a sufficient level of dissatisfaction with the federal government.
We only have to look to the Kentucky and Virgina Resolutions of 1798 as proof. Thomas Jefferson himself “...thought that any state government could nullify unconstitutional acts by the federal government, whereas Madison felt that the states needed to act in concert to do so. The crucial point is that they both regarded the states, not the courts, as the bulwark of the people’s liberties. It is highly instructive that, five years before the concept of judicial review was born in Marbury v. Madison, many Americans, including the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Father of the Constitution, looked to state governments as the remedy to federal usurpation of power.”
from:
Reclaiming the American Revolution
by George C. Leef, Posted December 30, 2005
revew of the book:
Reclaiming the American Revolution: The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions and Their Legacy by William J. Watkins Jr. (Independent Institute, 2004); 236 pages; $39.95.
at:
http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0509g.asp
Of these Resolutions, the wikipedia entry states:
“...The resolutions declared that the Constitution was a “compact.” That is, it was an agreement among the states. The federal government had no right to exercise powers not specifically delegated to it; should the federal government assume such powers, its acts under them would be void. Thus it was the right of the states to decide as to the constitutionality of such laws passed by Congress....”
see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_and_Virginia_Resolutions
Interestingly, I read that one of the lesser Republican candidates has stated he would support a Presidential Commission to study and publish a report on restoring the full power of the Tenth Amendment.
IMO, just the fact that this Amendment is obscure and almost ignored by the government and sadly by the Supreme Court, proves how far down the road we have come since the North invaded the South to enforce collection of the Tariff of Abomination.
The Tariff of Abominations was passed in 1828 and revoked in 1833. This was the high point of conflict between sections over tariffs, which diminished steadily thereafter.
To claim that the North invaded the South in 1861 to enforce a tariff that had been removed almost 30 years previously shows a remarkable lack of historical knowledge.
Absolutely true!
Were these men who had just recently freed themselves from an all powerful central government going to turn around and create a new central government with the power to determine for itself the limits of it's power?
I think not!