When War Becomes an Evil Necessity

When War Becomes an Evil Necessity

No one can deny the fact that war can be gruesome and bloody. It can cause tremendous amounts of human suffering, death, and destruction. Images of the bodies of men torn apart from a battle will make you cringe. Although these more tangible repercussions of war trouble distress most people, it is short sighted to condemn war based solely on its bloody consequences. Death and destruction are not the only outcomes of war, and in order to appreciate war's purpose you need to look at the big picture. Wars can also bring a country together, fuel economic prosperity and technical innovation, correct social injustice, and protect the citizens of a country. Although war is devastating and inherently evil- it is necessary.

Over the course of history many wars have been fought that have resulted in the unification of a country. During the English Civil Wars between 1642 and 1651, England was a divided country. While still technically a constitutional monarchy, the voice of the people in parliament was not being heard and king of England Charles I sought to keep sovereignty away from the people. The spark for the beginning of the wars was when the Charles I sought to take control of Scotland without the approval of the parliament. Subsequently parliament raised its own army to counter that of the king. Over the course of 9 years, both armies suffered drastic losses, but in the end the forces of parliament prevailed. After the wars, Charles I was placed on trial and found guilty of crimes against the English people and was subsequently executed. Although these wars caused much death, the result and long term effect of the wars benefited the English people tremendously. At the conclusion of these wars sovereignty was returned to the citizens of England, and the commonwealth was formed which united all of Great Britain. It is vital to note that unless parliament would have raised an army to fight a war with the king, the people’s sovereignty and the uniting of England would not have happened. These wars, despite causing suffering, were necessary and marked the birth of what has become present day government in England.

Another country unified through war is the United States of America. The American civil war was the bloodiest and most destructive war in American history. At the conclusion of the war approximately 620,000 Americans had died, and 50,000 returned home as amputees. It began due to the succession of the south to form the Confederate states of America. While the south fought for independence, the north fought to reunite the country. After 4 brutal years of fighting the last of the Confederate forces were defeated and the country was once more united. 5 months after the south succeeded from the north president Lincoln told congress while calling for 500,000 troops that war is “a People’s contest…..a struggle for maintaining in the world, that form, and substance of government, whose leading object is, to elevate the condition of men.” At that point Lincoln did not realize the extent of casualties that this war would eventually bring, but he did understand why the war was necessary. It was necessary to unify the country regardless of the cost, and the only means