Madison's letter does not seem to me to deny the right of revolution by secession, and he sporadically uses qualifiers like, whilst the Constitutional compact remains undissolved in his argument.
As for history being the judge of their justification, I would hold out declaring it final - as it's not over yet. If you believe, as I do, that (perceived?) abuse of power was the reason for secession, then we are clearly living the legacy of the war in extraconstitutional federal actions by all three branches of government: Roe, Brady Bill, Assault weapons import ban, affirmative action, on and on.
Clearly at some point along the line of usurpation of power, the level of abuse is no longer justified; nor will it be tolerated by a free people. I would have to say, "Jury's still out on this one."
I don't think that's what I said. I said it takes less than the unanimous will of states to change their government. Look at the amendment process. Look at judicial appeals. The Constitution provides many avenues for change.
You speak of the role of states as a check on the national government, but what about the reverse? If all the states agreed to violate the Constitution, what then? The Constitution is the law. The men who exist under it will do a varying job of enforcing it. State and Federal governments will fail from time to time. I am fairly certain the Framers knew this. That is not cause for revolution. It is a fact of life.
Madison's letter does not seem to me to deny the right of revolution by secession,
The water can't get any muddier than you are making it here. Revolution by secession? Talk about having your cake and eating it too! He clearly denounces secession and nullification as illegitimate doctrine. He praises Webster for the most famous pro-Union speech ever delivered in Congress, and goes on to explain exactly why Calhoun was wrong.
and he sporadically uses qualifiers like, whilst the Constitutional compact remains undissolved in his argument.
That's more than a mere qualifier. What he said is this: "...without an annulment of the Constitution itself its supremacy must be submitted to." The compact in 1860 remained undissolved.
As for history being the judge of their justification, I would hold out declaring it final - as it's not over yet. If you believe, as I do, that (perceived?) abuse of power was the reason for secession, then we are clearly living the legacy of the war in extraconstitutional federal actions by all three branches of government: Roe, Brady Bill, Assault weapons import ban, affirmative action, on and on.
I don't believe it's anything as painfully oversimplified as that. Sectionalism, and its various interests, was the cause of the Civil War. Some of that goes back to the earliest days of the republic--the retirement of the war debt, for one example. Banking, for another. The debate of what is and what is not Constitutional has always existed. Look at the famous Henry-Madison ratification debates. It isn't as if there was clear agreement until the rascally Republicans came along. Our system was never so perfect.
And the abuses of government have occurred at all levels. In some cases, the states have been the villains. Jim Crow comes to mind. In other cases, it has been the Feds. In the best cases, one arm of government has provided a check against the other. In all cases, there has been a lot of bathwater with the baby. That's government. As they say, if you can think of a better system...
Clearly at some point along the line of usurpation of power, the level of abuse is no longer justified; nor will it be tolerated by a free people. I would have to say, "Jury's still out on this one."
Here is the problem. If we have to resort to violence to solve this problem of government abuse, then the American experiment is a failure. Those are the stakes.
We have state representation. We have local representation. We have a US Congress with a Senate and a House. We have a President that we elect. We have a judicial system. We have a Constitution which is amendable, and which has been amended. We have survived assassinations, civil war, corruption, crime, divided public opinion, injustice, racism, etc.
If we as a people cannot use these mechanisms, if we in our prosperous and free land cannot use our system to create sustainable liberty balanced with order, than America is a failure and civilization is back to the drawing board.
So, let's say it gets really obnoxious and we do it your way--the bloody French way--and heads roll. What then?