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"I'm just reading the Constitution. Please explain to us how the act of secession -- and the actions of the seceeding states -- do not qualify as insurrection?"

Why does secession if done peacefully, consitute insurrection? The Constitution does not prohibit the states from withdrawing and thus that power is specifically left to the states. If the States peacefully decide to succeed, then the US Govt had no right to use force to prevent it in the first place.

Insurrections are not always unpeaceful. If you want an example, look at Mahatma Ghandi and his hunger strikes.

There's a lot of word parsing here, so let me be real specific. Here's the definition of "insurrection" (Oy, the old dictionary is getting a workout today!): "an act or instance of revolting against civil authority or an established government". To "revolt" is to "to renounce allegiance or subjection (as to a government)". So by combining the two definitions, we find that to insurrect is an act of renouncing allegiance or subjection against civil authority or an established government. No violence is expressly or implicitly implied.

Now, on to the real question: how exactly can a state secede without renouncing allegiance to the U.S. government?