During the American Civil War the State of West Virginia, without the consent of the Virginia Government, declared itself independent of Virginia. The view of the administration at the time was not that a new nation(the Confederacy) had formed but that the states of the south were in rebellion and still territories of the United States.
The federal government then proceeded to recognize the existence of a West Virginian State although it had neither been confirmed or recognized by the Virginia Government.
It is Important for the preservation of our union that our government recognize the rights of States to their own land and any changes to our borders be made by the state itself not the federal Government.