Just War Theory Essay

Words: 1102
Pages: 5

The Civil War was brutal and hard fought. Two conflicting beliefs clashed and almost resulted in the separation of a young nation just getting its foothold in the world. The war resulted in an estimated 620,000 casualties for both sides. Each side, the Union and the Confederacy, proved determined and stood by their ideals no matter how misguided they seemed to be. Though people today might think the war was justified, does it fit “Just War” Theory? This will take a look at the Just War Theory and whether or not the American Civil War fits the criteria to be considered a “just war”. The two main criteria for a just war are whether it is possible to establish the right to go to war (jus ad bellum) and right conduct in the war (jus in bello). …show more content…
As the above paragraph states, there was enough reason for just cause, but the others have yet to be argued. First there is comparative justice, the notion that the injustice of one party must significantly outweigh the injustice suffered by the other. It is easily seen in history that the Confederacy was let off easy and was allowed to rejoin America with little consequence while African Americans continued to suffer and would’ve probably been even worse off if slavery was allowed to continue in the south. Therefore one can see that the African Americans would of, and did, face more injustice than the southerners who sided with the confederacy. The next criteria is competent authority, meaning the war was declared by a political authority that acts in a system that shows justice rather than acting by itself in a position of supreme leadership or dictatorship. Considering America is a democracy that allows the people to choose their leader, it is easy to see that the North certainly had someone of competent authority to declare war. Though not everyone voted for Lincoln or agreed with all of his choices, he as the president of the United States had the political position of authority to declare war while meeting this