Leo Szilard Violations

564 Words3 Pages

Leo Szilard "A Petition to the President of the United States" article, published in Atomicarchive.com. 2011. Web. 11 May 2012, Szilard express concern regarding the use of the atomic bomb against Japan fearing what type of repercussions will bring to the welfare of the American Nation. Szilard a pioneer in the field of atomic power with 59 of his fellow scientist understands how this new type of power will be evolving continuously with the course of its development. Szilard made compelling point regarding how this weapon could be used against America and how will endanger the welfare of the nation. In this essay, I will be explaining why I think Leo Szilard does a great job in providing an argument that should stop the use of atomic bombs. …show more content…

To be able to use the appeal Szilard uses his credibility as a subject matter expert and involvement on the atomic project to make his petition more creditable. How the knowledge, reputation and expertise of a group of men can be used to provide valid points to express why the uses of atomic bombs are not a good idea, Szilard first point in his petition is about his fellow scientist, who also signed the petition, with also a background in the field of atomic power. “We, the undersigned scientists, have been working in the field of atomic power for a number of years.” (Szilard, 1945). I believe Szilard should have elaborated a little more in his point in a way that he could use more facts supporting his background as a scientist in atomic power, doing this he could have made the argument better because the reader in this case the President of the United States nor the people might not be aware of how powerful the use of atomic bombs could be. Szilard appeal to the emotions and feelings when he stated “Atomic power will provide the nations with new means of destruction. The atomic bombs at our disposal represent only the first step in this direction and there is almost no limit to the destructive power which will become available in the course of this development” (Szilard, 1945). Doing this he was looking to appeal to the human side of the reader also letting the reader know the amount of power and destruction this new weapon can bring to the table. The scientists offered alternatives and stressed the moral responsibility in the use of the bomb due to all the death and destruction that will bring to the cities that will be used against in this case Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and possibly the United