Devastation Caused by Atomic Power
“To the Congress of the United States: Yesterday, Dec 7, 1941- a date which will live in infamy.”(Roosevelt) These famous words were spoken by the President and Commander in Chief Franklin D. Roosevelt. The actions by Japan to attack the naval base of Pearl Harbor on United States soil during a point in which we were neutral sent America quickly to declare themselves as part of World War II. “Petition to the President” by Leo Szilard is a letter written to President Roosevelt from a group of the Scientists who help create the atomic bomb. They are urging the Commander in Chief of the reasons they should not go forth with using this weapon. When confronted with different avenues to take at a time of war for the safety of your nation having all opinions to consider is extremely important factor. The petition that was presented to President Roosevelt was successful and unsuccessful at the same time.
In, the petition to the President the author used ethos to try to sway Roosevelt in making his mind up. Ethos are described as when an author tries to convey his point in the piece by trying to gain the readers understanding of credibility. “We, the undersigned scientists, have been working in the field of atomic power for a number
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Could the viewpoints and arguments that were brought up from the scientists made him truly have second thoughts on what to do? Could the critical reading that he did with this letter have made him doubt what the right answer was? Though, the case was strong from Leo Szilard’s “Petition to the President” the United Stated decided it had no other choice but to use atomic power to win World War II and against Japan for their actions against our