Do states have the right of secession? The thirteen colonies managed to secede from Great Britain by winning the Revolutionary War, and then were able to seal the bargain by winning the War of 1812. If the Confederacy had won the Civil War, secession would have been fact, and questions on the right of secession would be moot. Numerous books and scholarly papers have been written on the right of secession, but the most powerful argument resides in our Constitution. There is nothing in the Constitution stating that secession is illegal, and the Tenth Amendment clearly states that -The powers...