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The Constitution can be changed only by amendment.

In order for a state to legally leave the Union it would at the least require law sanction.

Most of the Southern states were created by the federal government and it had property in all of them.

In order for a state to legally leave the Union it would at the least require law sanction.

Why? The Constitution doesn't mention anything about secession. The only parts that could apply would be, primarily, the Tenth Amendment, or, tangentially, creating new states out of existing ones. That is the closest occurrence actually delineated in the document, and would therefore lead to an idea of the approval of both the state Legislature and the Congress. But, without explicit methods delineated, all we have to go on is the Tenth, meaning any power of Secession is wholey retained by the people (states).

Most of the Southern states were created by the federal government and it had property in all of them.

Correct. And the farther west you go, the more state property the FedGov has owned. Way beyond a few docks or armories or needful buildings. However, once a territory or other becomes a state, it gains its own sovereignty, same as the 13 original colonies, same as Texas when we joined the Union. The only real argument to be made here is how legitimate Federal property is to be treated. Kept by US? Granted to the seceding state? Purchased by the state? Etc?

I guess you are unfamiliar with the Declaration of Independence. No, we didn’t need the United Kingdom’s permission to leave. We had God’s permission to leave. So said the Founders.