by Sean Poliakoff

Created on: September 21, 2007   Last Updated: September 22, 2007

Was the Civil War a Just War?

The Civil War was the worst atrocity our country has ever faced. As with every war, we try to determine if the Civil War was a just war, but before we can decide if it is or is not a just war we need to know what a just war actually is. A just war is a glimmering idea of international humanitarian law, which says that a war is justified in its means, end, and its cause. Generally, a just war must follow the Latin term, "ius ad bellum", which is a set of criteria which must be consulted before entering a war to determine if it is capable of being justified and warranted. "Ius in bello" must also be followed, which means that a country must follow the laws of war. One of the hardest and most over-looked aspect of war is "ius post bellum", this being how a war is ended and if the surrender and treaty agreed to is justified for both sides. In this essay, I will try to explain the just war theory alongside the Civil War as we try to discern if the Civil War was a just war.

One of the biggest aspects of life that is viewed by philosophers and theologians is the aspect of war. In particular, the question, "Is there such a thing as a just war?" Questions of what is a just war range from the Roman ideology of "bellum iustum", which was questioned by Cicero to St. Augustine of Hippo's writings. Augustine's ideologies then influenced the Pope to declare the Crusades as part of a just war. In turn, this influenced Aquinas to further Augustine's ideas of a just war and to set ground rules for what a just war is. All of these ideas were all over one single idea, the just war theory. A great definition of a just war is the definition that St. Augustine used: A just war is a war that has "the justification for going to war, gathered under the ius ad bellum, and including ideas of just cause, right authority, last resort, right intention and the superior and final goal of achieving peace, or the other main component of just war tradition, the ius in bello, or law of war, that has to do with the restraint or limiting of war once begun, strongly appearing in terms of discrimination and proportionality, i.e. of the extent of harm, if any, that might be done to noncombatants and of the weapons used in war."

The American Civil War was a war where brother fought against brother, father against son, cousin against cousin, and generally, families fought against each other. Nine-hundred-seventy-thousand Americans died in this war, more American deaths than

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