President Truman's Petition To The President

The “Petition to the President” was an appeal to the government, but more importantly directed towards President Truman suggesting that there are other options versus a direct attack on Japan. The cosigners, team of 67 scientists responsible for the creation of the atomic bomb wanted to inform Truman the destructive power and grave consequences that could lead if the atomic weapon is used. The scientist would argue that Truman should offer Japan surrendering terms, not destruction and loss of life. However, the petition did not reach its intended audience and therefore, one must wonder what could have happened if it did. In the near beginning of the petition, Szilard writes to the President what weapon the scientist had created. The scholarly team had been building atomic energy for years and they assumed the President must have known its raw power. All of these scientists felt as though this kind of energy should never be used in military warfare. With this kind of power in the hands of the President they wanted to let the public in on this but, they also needed to inform the masses. They petitioned for Japan suggesting the Japanese government should be given alternate means …show more content…
They are also the same individuals that wrote the petition against the weapon. Ethos, can also be seen by the audience and the President if he had read it based off of the authors credibility. An example of an ethos statement in the petition is as follows, “We the undersigned scientists, have been working in the field of atomic power for a number of years. Until recently we have had to ponder with the possibility that the United States may be attacked by atomic bombs during this war and that her only defense might lie in a counterattack by the same means. But, today with this danger averted we feel impelled to say what follows”