Essay

Hayden Crawford Walls World Literature 24 October 2013

 On August 5, 1945, the Enola Gay drops the very first Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima. Sixteen hours later, the president of the United States at the time, Harry S. Truman, gives a speech to the American public announcing the incident. The use of the bomb is strongly debatable as it uses a new type of energy that has the potential to kill large amounts of people. Truman gives a speech that uses many rhetorical strategies that use elements such as logic to not only announce, but to passively justify the use of the Atomic Bomb.  In the speech given by Harry S. Truman, the main issue that he is attempting to address is the way the American public will react to the use of the bomb. Although the Truman is giving the speech to announce the bomb, he needs to use strategies to justify the use of the bomb as well. He manages to do this in multiple ways throughout his speech through the use of the rhetorical device, Logos, which he begins to use by claiming, "[b]y 1942, however, we knew that the Germans were working feverishly to find a way to add atomic energy to the other engines of war with which they hoped to enslave the world"(Truman). If the Germans are trying to make the same bomb, then Truman can say that the United States is merely participating in a "Battle of the Laboratories"; the U.S. needs to complete the bomb because the Germans are working on it as well. He also uses the word "enslave" in these lines to describe the actions of the Germans, a word that with powerful use of negative diction; by stating that the Germans are attempting to "enslave" the world, Truman makes them appear as evil and as a threat to the United States as well as the world. But even with all of this evidence to prove that the use of the atomic bomb is justified, Truman needs to claim that the Japanese were given the opportunity to surrender. He does this through stating, "[i]t was to spare the Japanese people from utter destruction that the ultimatum of July 26 was issued at Potsdam. Their leaders promptly rejected that ultimatum"(Truman). Since he states that America gave a chance to Japan to surrender, Truman enforces the idea that Japan has the option to prevent America from bombing them; however, despite this option, they continue to war with the United States and receive the bombing anyways. This makes the United States appear more forgiving and benevolent despite that they bombed a city.  Although logic is very important in the presentation of a speech, more rhetorical strategies can be used to persuade an audience or reinforce an idea of the speaker such as ethos, which is another technique that Truman used to establish the credibility of himself and the United States. One example of this strategy would be the point of the speech in which he states, "[n]ormally, therefore, everything about the work with atomic energy would be made public"(Truman). In these few lines, Truman claims that the United States will go public with the future progression of atomic energy. The use of this line makes the United States appear open about a type of energy that is potentially very dangerous. If the United States isn't keeping secrets, then the nation appears more trustworthy and responsible. He also establishes credibility by stating, "I shall recommend that the Congress of the United States consider promptly the establishment of an appropriate commission to control the production and use of atomic power within the United States"(Truman). This line, as the previous one mentioned, makes the United States appear responsible over the source of atomic power and convinces the public that the new form of power can be controlled and is safe in the hands of America. Finally, Truman closes his speech by saying, "atomic power can become a powerful and forceful influence towards the maintenance of world peace"(Truman). This line suggests that the atomic power that the United States uses to bomb a city can be used instead to maintain peace and to keep people from war. This can make the United States seem very credible as Truman says that the power in their hands will be used for peace rather than harm, making the United States appear as a trustworthy nation that is concerned only for the best. Additionally, the use of the phrase “World Peace” is very influential, as the word itself implies that the entire planet is not fighting in any wars, an ideal state. This promotes the use of nuclear energy, since it can be used to achieve this.  Another way to make the speech more persuasive is to implement a rhetorical strategy called Pathos, which Truman used to appeal to the emotional side of the American public. He starts to use this in the second paragraph of his speech where he states, "The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor"(Truman). This line is perhaps one of the most emotional ones in the speech. By making people remember of the incident at Pearl Harbor and inciting their hatred for the Japanese, Truman makes the United States appear as the victims of the war and greatly tugs at the emotions of the audience of the speech. Another line in which Truman employs this same strategy is when he claims, "they have not themselves been in danger beyond that of many occupations, for the utmost care has been taken of their safety"(Truman). This line not only lets the audience know that nobody was harmed in the making of the bomb, letting the people know that what they care about most, other people, are neither harmed nor killed. In this section of the speech, there are multiple powerful words that could have helped persuade the public. Care and safety are both forms of positive diction that show kindness and benevolence from the United States to the people that are employed in the construction of the bomb.  Although Truman uses many rhetorical devices to give his speech, he uses many types of tone such as his use of authority to present it as well. Although there are few transitions in his tone, examples of tone that he uses can be found throughout the entire speech. He begins the speech in a very informative and serious tone that he uses to describe the information of the bomb in a manner that can be understood by the public. The first notable transition is at the point where he states, “The Japanese began the war from Pearl Harbor”(Truman). At this point, he begins to speak a powerful tone of authority used to speak of Japan and their destruction as well as the consequences they face. By the time Truman states, “Before 1939, it was accepted belief of scientists…”(Truman), he reestablishes his informative tone to talk of the “Battle of the Laboratories” that the United States fought against Germany. An amiable and grateful tone begins at, “But the greatest marvel…”(Truman) to explain the importance of the scientists and workman involved in the making of the bomb. The tone returns to powerful when Truman speaks of the destruction of Japan starting with, “Their leaders promptly rejected that ultimatum”(Truman) and returns to its original informative state at “The Secretary of War…”(Truman) to talk about the future of atomic energy. Truman gives a speech that not only tells the public of the bomb, but uses several rhetorical strategies to persuade them that the use of the weapon of mass destruction is rational, reasonable, and justified. By establishing credibility, using logic, and appealing to emotions, Truman gives a successful speech that prevents distrust and hatred towards the United States and leads the world into a new era of atomic energy and power.

Work Cited Harry S. Truman. “Announcing the Bombing of Hiroshima.” August 6, 1945. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/truman- hiroshima. (August 24, 2013).