Yes, The 10th Amendment taken together with the 9th Amendent, which states "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people", severly limited the power of a federalized Government to only those duties and obligations outlined within the Constituion itself.

It other words, with these two amendments, if there was a Constitutional question about Rights and Powers between the Several States and the Federal Government, the tie goes to the States.

The legal power of the States in 1824 greatly outweight those of the centralized federal Government. Clearly in Rawle's works, the fact that secession was included in his discussion of the Constitution, does demonstrate that Secession was considered to be right of the State, which several states threaten to invoke by well before it was exercised by South Carolina, and therefore was thereby covered as a right of the States under the 9th and 10th Amendments.

This legal precept was not challenged, or changed, by any legislative action, or Court Ruling, until well after the end of hostilities of the War Between the States. It doesn't make any difference if the students of West Point were taught Rawle's or any other text. Rawle's works attest that Secession was considered an endowed right of the States by some of the most learned men of the period, who were responcible for the administering and interpretation of Constitutional Law.

The fact that Rawle's himself was personally AGAINST Secession, gives credence to this interpretation because it was clearly against his individual convictions.

I personally think that a copy of Rawle's Book should be sent to everyone of our present elected members of the U.S. House and Senate, the President of the United States and all 9 of our Supreme Court Justices.