Yeah well Lincoln was the OG dictator. He'd rather kill than allow free association of the states.

Some people think the US died during the New Deal. No it died when Lincoln and the Supreme Court denied the right of secession. The states would have never entered the Union if it were made explicit the federal government would become what it has, and that they'd entered in a trap one way valve. If entering the Union was irrevocable it should have been spelled out when they joined rather than enforced retroactively.