The judge suggests that, until the tyrant Lincoln, everyone just sort of assumed that each state had the right to nullify U.S. laws. He seems to have forgotten that South Carolina backed off its threat to nullify U.S. laws when President Andrew Jackson threatened to personally go to South Carolina and start hanging "nullifiers' from trees.
I've always thought that South Carolina was lucky to have attempted "secession" during the presidency of James Buchanan (referred to as "Miss Nancy" by Jackson) rather than during the presidency of Jackson. Of course, South Carolina would never have dared attempting a "secession" during a Jackson presidency.
The "secessionists" were correct in predicting that Miss Nancy would do nothing in response to a "secession." They underestimated Lincoln.
Perhaps, perhaps not, but if you look at the electoral map, it is obvious Lincoln's election was a dividing point. If nothing else, it underscores the division inherent in the different states/regions.