In: Economics
William Tecumseh Sherman's "March to the Sea" cut a swath of destruction across the South and helped break the Confederate spirit. Were his total-war tactics morally justifiable then (in 1864)? Would his total-war tactics be morally justifiable today (in 2019)? And can a person, in good conscience, hold contradicting opinions on these two questions?
An.s
William Tecumseh Sherman's "March to the Sea" cut a swath of destruction across the South and helped break the Confederate spirit.
He involved the civilian people in to the war zone and actually
the war became not army vs army , but it was more of a soliders vs
the civilian society. Justification he gave was that he wanted
civilian people to be aware of the consequences of the war, also he
believed that by adopting the way that he did, war will be over
soon and it will be less casualties.
However these rasoning was not take well and he was not liked by
the south , but the people in the north looked upto him in heroic
way. However his total-war tactics were not morally justified even
then..
Even today his total-war tactics will not be morally justifiable in
2019. Even though there were less cacualties in the war in 1864 ,
but they were very brutal and of the civilians.
We don’t think a person in good conscience can hold contradicting opinions on these two aspects.