Petition to the President
Petition to the President
How much different would the world be if the United States would have used atomic bombs against Japan in World War II? The world will never know thanks to physicist and inventor Leó Szilárd. This essay will support Szilard’s views on the use of atomic weapons against Japan in WWII. It will do so by providing examples as well as evidence to support Szilard’s claims.
The first supporting quote by Szialrd is, “We feel, however, that such an attack on Japan could not be justified in the present circumstances. We believe that the United States ought not to resort to the use of atomic bombs in the present phase of the war, at least not unless the terms which will be imposed upon Japan after the war are publicly announced and subsequently Japan is given an opportunity to surrender” (Szilard, 1945). Szilard believes that it is too early in the war to resort to atomic weaponry. He feels that the use of atomic bombs to end the war will be catastrophic because he feels that the United States have not exhausted all of their options. This will not be the actions of a world leader to bomb Japan before giving them the option to surrender first. In war time there are many alternative methods other than the use of atomic power to destroy cities. Methods like negotiation, coming to an agreement , or peace treaties can be used to prevent enormous numbers of casualties. Another supporting quote by Szilard is, “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. Thus a nation which sets the precedent of using these newly liberated forces of nature for purposes of destruction may have to bear the responsibility of opening the door to an era of devastation on an unimaginable scale”(Szilard, 1945). Here Szilard emphasizes that if the nation that sets the standard for the whole world (the
How much different would the world be if the United States would have used atomic bombs against Japan in World War II? The world will never know thanks to physicist and inventor Leó Szilárd. This essay will support Szilard’s views on the use of atomic weapons against Japan in WWII. It will do so by providing examples as well as evidence to support Szilard’s claims.
The first supporting quote by Szialrd is, “We feel, however, that such an attack on Japan could not be justified in the present circumstances. We believe that the United States ought not to resort to the use of atomic bombs in the present phase of the war, at least not unless the terms which will be imposed upon Japan after the war are publicly announced and subsequently Japan is given an opportunity to surrender” (Szilard, 1945). Szilard believes that it is too early in the war to resort to atomic weaponry. He feels that the use of atomic bombs to end the war will be catastrophic because he feels that the United States have not exhausted all of their options. This will not be the actions of a world leader to bomb Japan before giving them the option to surrender first. In war time there are many alternative methods other than the use of atomic power to destroy cities. Methods like negotiation, coming to an agreement , or peace treaties can be used to prevent enormous numbers of casualties. Another supporting quote by Szilard is, “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. Thus a nation which sets the precedent of using these newly liberated forces of nature for purposes of destruction may have to bear the responsibility of opening the door to an era of devastation on an unimaginable scale”(Szilard, 1945). Here Szilard emphasizes that if the nation that sets the standard for the whole world (the