Was the union's reasons for adopting total war strategy were reasonable?

Answer 1

This is a complex issue given that we can even debate whether it was reasonable to go to war in the first place. When the United States was originally formed by the 13 British colonies, every state joined voluntarily, no one was forced to join. If they could choose to join, why could they also not choose to leave? To this day, there is nothing in the US Constitution that says that states which joined the union voluntarily will never be allowed to voluntarily leave the union. The argument given by Abraham Lincoln, that "united we stand, divided we fall" does not in itself prove that states have no right to secede, it merely is an argument that secession is not a good idea since the states will be stronger as a united country.

Then there is the added moral complication of slavery. Slavery is an intolerable social evil, which was practiced in the states of the Confederacy. I personally am not inclined to be generous in granting human rights to people who have denied all humanity or rights to others, on the basis of race. It could be argued that slavery had to be abolished at all costs. But on the other hand, that was the deal, when the US was originally formed, that slavery would be legal in certain states. The US knew what it was getting into and accepted that arrangement.

In times of war, it is generally thought that (as one general put it) there is no substitute for victory. You do whatever you have to do to win, because it is not acceptable to lose. That is the basic justification for the strategy of total war. This was a very difficult war. The Union was just barely able to prevail over the Confederacy, and it needed to use every tool at its disposal to do so. In the end, the US emerged as a stronger, more united country in which slavery was no longer practiced. So we could argue that the ends justifies the means.

However, a certain moral ambiguity remains. In retrospect, the US would have done better to resolve the issues between the north and the south in a nonviolent manner.

Answer 2

Yes, the Union's reasons for adopting a total war strategy during the American Civil War were reasonable. The Union realized that the Confederacy was heavily dependent on its economy and resources, so by targeting these aspects through total war, they could weaken the Confederate war effort and bring about a quicker end to the war. Additionally, the Union felt that by making the war more costly and destructive, they could undermine the morale and support of the Confederate population, ultimately aiding their cause.