What is called the "right of secession" does not exist. It means the right to revolution, which belongs to every people... If the revolution succeeds, history justifies it; if they fail, he condemns them, even if he does not condemn their motives of action.... If South Carolina should rebel, — and secession is rebellion, — and if other states should join her, it would be the duty of the general government to force them to obey the law...." ("Secession and the Civil War"). As history has shown us time and again, presidents take executive action when they believe it is necessary to maintain order. Lincoln rightly believed that it was more important that the Union remained intact and the Constitution respected, rather than honoring religious views, slave labor, and tax disagreements, which are some of the key reasons cited for the Confederate rebellion. If Lincoln did not defend the Constitution, it would essentially a worthless piece of paper, and the integrity and law it was designed to protect would fail.