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Step 2: Strengthening Your Argument
One way to show that you’ve really thought about an issue is to state an opposing point of view and then explain why yours is still the best one. Strengthen your argument by explaining why you disagree with a specific claim from the opposite point of view.
Finally, restate your position on dropping the bomb and tell President Truman what you want him to do. Close by signing your letter.
Then click the “done” button to review your work.
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Mr. President —
Those who urge you to use the new bomb argue that a single dramatic strike will force Japan to surrender at once and thereby save countless American (and Allied) lives that would otherwise be lost in a bloody invasion. I understand the weight of that argument — ending the war quickly and bringing our soldiers home is an urgent moral duty — but I respectfully disagree that dropping the bomb is the right or only way to achieve it.
First, there are other means that could compel surrender without unleashing unprecedented destruction on civilian populations: tightening the naval blockade, continuing conventional bombing of military targets, accelerating diplomatic efforts (including clarifying terms that might preserve the emperor in a way that would make surrender acceptable to Japanese leadership), and coordinating with the Soviet entry into the war, which is likely to further pressure Japan. A visible demonstration of the weapon’s power, or clear and credible warnings aimed at forcing capitulation, could produce the needed shock without immediately killing hundreds of thousands of noncombatants. Second, using this weapon will set a terrible precedent and stain our moral standing in the world; even if it shortens the war by days, the long-term human, political, and ethical costs — including the indiscriminate suffering of civilians and decades of radiological harm — are too great to ignore.
For these reasons, I urge you not to authorize the use of the atomic bomb against Japanese cities. Instead, direct our leaders to pursue intensified blockade and conventional operations, open urgent diplomatic channels to explore conditional surrender terms that could bring about a swift end, work with our Allies to present a united front, and consider a nonlethal demonstration or an unequivocal warning that makes the consequences clear without immediately slaughtering civilians. Do everything possible to end the war while preserving the principles and humanity for which our nation has fought.
Respectfully,
[Your Name]
Those who urge you to use the new bomb argue that a single dramatic strike will force Japan to surrender at once and thereby save countless American (and Allied) lives that would otherwise be lost in a bloody invasion. I understand the weight of that argument — ending the war quickly and bringing our soldiers home is an urgent moral duty — but I respectfully disagree that dropping the bomb is the right or only way to achieve it.
First, there are other means that could compel surrender without unleashing unprecedented destruction on civilian populations: tightening the naval blockade, continuing conventional bombing of military targets, accelerating diplomatic efforts (including clarifying terms that might preserve the emperor in a way that would make surrender acceptable to Japanese leadership), and coordinating with the Soviet entry into the war, which is likely to further pressure Japan. A visible demonstration of the weapon’s power, or clear and credible warnings aimed at forcing capitulation, could produce the needed shock without immediately killing hundreds of thousands of noncombatants. Second, using this weapon will set a terrible precedent and stain our moral standing in the world; even if it shortens the war by days, the long-term human, political, and ethical costs — including the indiscriminate suffering of civilians and decades of radiological harm — are too great to ignore.
For these reasons, I urge you not to authorize the use of the atomic bomb against Japanese cities. Instead, direct our leaders to pursue intensified blockade and conventional operations, open urgent diplomatic channels to explore conditional surrender terms that could bring about a swift end, work with our Allies to present a united front, and consider a nonlethal demonstration or an unequivocal warning that makes the consequences clear without immediately slaughtering civilians. Do everything possible to end the war while preserving the principles and humanity for which our nation has fought.
Respectfully,
[Your Name]
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