"The denial of the right to secede from a voluntary union is itself a primary justification for secession"
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Secession Primer
Secession in the United States is a much maligned and misunderstood right. However, Ignorance and hatred of the concept in no way diminish its status as a right. Our very Declaration of Independence is a secessionist document.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; and that among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, to effect their safety and happiness.
Abraham Lincoln himself was a defender of secession at one point in his career:
Any people anywhere being inclined and having the power have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and form a new one which suits them better. This is a most valuable, a most sacred right-a right which we hope and believe is to liberate the world. Nor is this right confined to cases in which the whole people of an existing government may choose to exercise it. Any portion of such people that can may revolutionize and make their own so much of the territory as they inhabit.
This excerpt is taken from Lincoln's "If You Can Secede You May" (Mexico) speech, cited in Rupert Emerson, From Empire to Nation (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967), p. 450.
The right of secession in the US goes to the very heart of how and who formed the United States. John C. Calhoun in his work "Discourse on The Constitution and Government of the United States" lays out the argument that:
1) the United States is a federal, not national government. It is a government representing a collective of states, each of which retains its own sovereignty.
2) The People established their respective states; the states established the federal government.
3) The United States government and the various states have a contractual arrangement (a compact to use Calhoun's word), when either violates the contract it can be nullified or terminated.
Many libertarians take a more overarching view of sovereignty. They may recognize the legitimacy of governments at the state level but ultimately they feel that sovereignty resides with the individual. Milder forms of libertarianism are not incongruent with Calhoun's theories. More radical libertarian viewpoints hold that each generation must renew the contract and individuals can withhold consent collectively or individually at any time.
There are then, three main theories of secession that are applicable to all or part of the various states.
North American * Secession and Independence Movements
*Hawaii and Puerto Rico are obviously not part of North America, no offense intended
Active Secession Movements Around the World
One Nation Indivisible? A Study of Secession and the Constitution