I have been reading the on-line copy.

The book convinces me at least that Secession was in fact thought to be completely legal and covered under the right not enumerated designation under the 9th Amendment.

That preservation of the Union, no matter how desirable, was a secondary consideration to the 10th Amendment and the rights granted to the States under that article.

That States under the 10th Amendment had many more powers than the Federal Government. Which is completely opposite to what we think today.

That the power of Government rested with the people and that that power was expressed though the government of the Individual States and NOT through the Federal Government.

I would say that if I were teaching an American History class on the War for Southern Independence, Rawle's Textbook would be required reading. It had to have been a major element in the formation of southern opinions on the laws of the land, and the Constitution, and the role of Government in the United States.