William Rawle's book on the Constitution of the United States is important today because it examines how the people of early America viewed the role of the State government, the Federal government, and the individual American.
William Rawle was a highly respected legal authority in early America. He was a Northerner, a friend of both Washington and Franklin, and an abolitionist. Yet, his A View of the Constitution of the United States of America could have been written by John C. Calhoun, Jefferson Davis, or any leader of the Confederate States of America. Many of the Confederate Generals defended their role as Confederates by stating they had been taught at West Point that secession was a right of the States. It is true, Mr. Rawle's textbook was used at West Point Military Academy, and it teaches that one of the reserved rights of the States is the right of secession. Early in the history of the United States, States' Rights was viewed as an American, not just a Southern, idea. The fact that a Northern Abolitionist defended the right of a State to secede from the Union is a clear indication that, in 1861, the South was Right!