But the Union is formed by the surrender by each of the States of
its individual sovereignty, and each State by its admission into
the Union surrenders its individual sovereignty, or binds itself
by a constitutional compact to merge its individual sovereignty
in that of the whole. It then cannot cease to be a State in the
Union without breach of contract. Having surrendered its
sovereignty to the Union, or bound itself by the constitution to
exercise its original sovereignty only as one of the United States,
it can unmake itself of its state character, only by consent of
the United States, or by a successful revolution. It is by
virtue of this fact that secession is rebellion against the
United States, and that the General government, as representing
the Union, has the right and the duty to suppress it by all the
forces at its command.
There can be no rebellion where there is no allegiance. The
States in the Union cannot owe allegiance to the Union, for they
are it, and for any one to go out of it is no more an act of
rebellion than it is for a king to abdicate his throne. The
Union is not formed by the surrender to it by the several States
of their respective individual sovereignty. Such surrender
could, as we have seen, form only an alliance, or a
confederation, not one sovereign people; and from an alliance, or
confederation, the ally or confederate has, saving its faith, the
inherent right to secede.
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