Yet, while that Union was standing and in favor with the people, the right of secession therefrom was vehemently denied. The reason of this is well stated by Mr. Madison in “The Federalist.” Having explained and vindicated the right of the States, or any portion of them, to secede from the existing Union, he adds: “The time has been when it was incumbent on all of us to veil the ideas which this paragraph exhibits. The scene has now changed, and with it the part which the same motives dictate.” (“The Federalist” No. xliii.)
