April 12th is the 150th anniversary of the first battle of the U.S. Civil War, the attack on Fort Sumter. Of course, this was a civil war mostly about states rights to impose slavery - plus several other lesser complaints about the federal government.
Future secessionist efforts by states, regions, counties, cities will be about getting out from under the slavery imposed by an authoritarian central government that thinks it has the right to commandeer our monies and our lives to serve the ends of rich and/or well organized special interests, in and out of government. Now some secessionists DO have delusions that they will be able to impose their particular political, economic, religious, cultural or other views on the newly independent entities. And foolish or wicked people always will follow corrupt leaders - from ideologues to kleptocrats - who woo them with demagoguery or bribes. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance - and political processes which can insure such liberty survives.
See my relevant blog entries from my Vermont Commons blog listed at Secession.net