“The ‘just cause’ stipulation of the just-war tradition assumes that nations have a prima facie right to self-defense. Usually, unprovoked aggression provides a just cause for a declaration of war by the victim. But even the basic right of self-defense cannot be held absolutely.” With this quote, philosopher Thomas O’Connor establishes that self-defense was not a pliable cause for the Southern attack on the North, regardless of what conflicts were under development between the Union and the Confederacy. Even though O’Connor does not directly state the just- war tradition to be related to the Civil War, through extensive research, it is possible to explore the possibility that the Civil War was in fact unjust in its entirety. The American Civil War was unjustly fought based upon a majority of the aspects found within the ‘just-war tradition’ explained to us by O’Connor in his article, A Reappraisal of the Just-War Tradition. Now, the question is what is war? Daniel Statman states in his article Can War Be Fought Justly? The Necessity Condition Put to the Test, “A war is a conflict between collectives which are metaphysically distinct from individuals and hence warrant a morality of their own which is different from an irreducible to the morality that governs the relations between individuals.” When considering the just-war tradition, the first aspect one must analyze is, was the war conducted for a just cause. As O’Connor mentions in his article, the only morally justified motive for an authority figure to decide to go to war is for a very momentous event. He states, “The modern view, however, correctly understands international conflict as a long term process; the specific ‘cause’ leading to an outbreak of hostilities may be less important than the underlying circumstances in the relationship between the warring nations.” What this quote establishes is that the consequence of war between nations, or in the Civil War’s case a War Between the States, could be more severe than what caused the motive for going to war in the beginning, which makes the cause of war unjust. The cause of the Civil War dates back to the 1850s when social and political developments such as, the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the Fugitive Slave Act, Bleeding Kansas, the Dred Scott decision, and John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry drove the house further apart. However, there is not only one cause for the division of the house. There are several, each one negotiable in one way or another. The cause of the Civil War is a subject that has been under much controversy. While slavery was not the entire cause, it was the root of numerous causes. The issue that led to the disorder of the Union was imbedded in the debate over the future of slavery. That dispute led to the succession of several states from the Union. Succession brought about a war in which the Northern states fought to preserve the Union, and the South fought to institute Southern liberation under its own constitution. Referencing back to the definition of what a just cause for war is, the root of slavery does not satisfy the qualifications. A just-war cause as stated by Statman is, “If an aggressor poses a threat to a potential victim. Even if the way a victim can stop an aggressor from carrying out an unjust act upon him/her is to carry out a self-defensive act, which would otherwise be immoral, which carrying out a self-defensive act might still be disproportionate to the unjust attack. This would then be ruled out as morally just.” In this situation, the North and the South are fighting against one another. However, the fight is not only between the states, it is brother versus brother, father versus son, etc. Families are divided and bonds that would otherwise not be broken are diminished. Statman also states within the same article that “when two collectives are engaged in war against one another, the individuals fighting in the war lose their…
largest ever American Civil War, capturing the start of the war in 1861 and ending 1865.1 “The American Civil War only having a handful, prior and after, smaller civil wars or general interstate resolutions; that gave similar or no anguish to the American hearts within 1861 to 1865 and their 34 to 36 states of USA such as possibly: (1-The Toledo War 1830 [Michigan v. Ohio], 2-The Walton War 1787 [North Carolina v. Georgia], 3-The Red River Bridge War 1920 [Texas v. Oklahoma], 4-The Utah War 1850 [The…
Slaves”? There has been many questions as to what was the real reason for the American Civil War. Were the Slaves already in their own process of self-emancipation? Abraham Lincoln had much courage to fight for the people’s rights and slavery was keeping people from being free.
The North and the South had very different economic views. Slavery was all over the states and Lincoln understood the role slavery played in the war. The South wanted to strengthen, perpetuate and extend slavery and the North…
detail about their experience through the Civil War was fascinating to me. It made me really think about what I was learning. I really would like to know where they got all the information they presented because they did go into great detail. The woman spinning the wheel with the wool was quite the talker. I loved standing there listening to her talk about different ways that her hobby is unique. You could tell that the woman was very educated on the Civil War topic. Lastly, I enjoyed when the guy gave…
The American Civil war
This is what I think of the battle of Gettysburg is that it was a great turning point of the war and vengeance that the union army took from what had happened at the battle of Fredericksburg the blood, body covered field from that day. The confederate army led by General Robert E. Lee and Longstreet had a plan to completely destroy the union army defensive line.
This may be the greatest turning point of the civil war, these are the steps on how the…
The American Civil War was a major turning point in the history of the United States. The war between the North and South forged the blueprint for what would become the society we live in today. Arguably, slavery may be the biggest cause for civil war between the North and Southern states. But, there were other fairy large contributing factors to the Civil War.
The Missouri Compromise although its subject was slavery forged a larger divide within the states and sparked the beginnings of…
Home » Articles » The Road to War (1846-1860)
The Road to War (1846-1860)
By Clay Williams
The Road to War Timeline
Preamble and Resolutions Adopted
by the Convention of the State of
Mississippi, November 30, 1850. All
documents courtesy Mississippi
Department of Archives and History.
Resolutions of the Legislature of the
State of Mississippi declaring
secession to be the proper remedy
for the Southern States, November
30, 1860. (Senate Journal 1860) All
Nat Turner- Nat Turner was born on October 2, 1800, in South Hampton county Virginia. He was an African-American slave who was responsible for a rebellion of slaves and free blacks in South Hampton County Virginia, this occurred on the 21st of August, 1831 and it resulted in 60 deaths all of which were of white men.
Frederick Douglass- Douglass was born in February 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland. He died February 20, 1895. Frederick Douglass was an African Social Reformer, orator, abolitionist…
NOTE: Before starting the Timeline project please refer to the "Example Timeline Matrix" document.
Instructions: Complete the matrix by providing the Time Period/Date(s) in column B, and the Description and Significance of the People/Event(s) to American History in column C. See complete instructions in the Syllabus for the Module 3 assignment entitled. “Timeline Part II.” NOTE: The timeline project does not need to be submitted to turnitin.
NOTE: Please write your answers in a clear and concise…
order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, as a war measure during the American Civil War, to all segments of the Executive branch (including the Army and Navy) of the United States. It proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the ten states that were still in rebellion, thus applying to 3.1 million of the 4 million slaves in the U.S. at the time. The Proclamation was based on the president's constitutional authority as commander in chief of the armed forces it was not a law passed by…