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by William Rawle LL D. (Author)
Written by a Philadelphia lawyer, this nearly-forgotten book is an excellent treatise on the federal Constitution and openly discusses and defends the right of a State to withdraw from the Union. Wrote Rawle, "It depends on the State itself to retain or abolish the principle of representation, because it depends on the State itself whether it continues a member of the Union.... The secession of a State from the Union depends on the will of the people." What is not widely known today by the advocates of an "indivisible Union" is that this book was used to teach cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York from 1825 to 1826.
Author Biography
William Rawle was born in Philadelphia on April 28, 1759 to Francis and Rebecca (Warner) Rawle. A Quaker by religion, he received his early education at the Friends' Academy in Philadelphia, and later studied law in New York and London. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1783 and founded The Rawle Law Offices in Philadelphia, which continues to exist to this day. In 1791, President George Washington appointed Rawle U.S. District Attorney for Pennsylvania and it was in this capacity that he prosecuted the leaders of the Whiskey Rebellion. He served as president of both the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. Rawle died in 1836.
