[PhilipFreneau]

>>>>The Constitution doesn't recognize the right to secede whenever a state feels its right to enslave its citizens is being abridged.

>>Lemme guess. Public school student?

Naw. Public schools don't discuss the constitution (and they teach that rights come from the government). Since this character believes rights have to be recognized by the constitution to be "rights", I would speculate a liberal college graduate: maybe Berkeley, Penn, or Wisconsin.

[x]

Since this character believes rights have to be recognized by the constitution to be "rights" ...

There are rights explictly guaranteed by the Constitution and those that exist without regard to explicit provisions. But when we talk about government entities we are more likely talking about "powers" than "rights." It's folly to think that the Constitution contains an implicit right to break the Constitution. Something so important would have been dealt with explicitly, and not left up to interpretation.

History shows that there was no consensus about this matter at the time. It's necessary to proceed cautiously and prudentially where constitutional questions are concerned. The rebels didn't, and there's little point in whitewashing their rashness and radicalism today.