(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Today, Maurice Joyce and Shep O'Neal continue the story of Alexander Hamilton. As we said in our last program, young Alexander Hamilton wanted to be a military commander. He hoped to demonstrate his bravery by fighting in a war. So, when the thirteen American colonies rebelled against Britain in the seventeen seventies, he joined a militia in New York state. It was not long before Hamilton met the commander-in-chief of American forces, George Washington. General Washington invited Hamilton to become one of his assistants. One of Hamilton's jobs was to get money and supplies for the army. He asked the thirteen state governments. He also asked the Congress, which had little political power at that time. He got almost no help from either. Hamilton felt the American system of government was too weak and disorganized. He did not like democracy, rule by the people. Instead, he liked aristocracy, rule by a rich upper class. Alexander Hamilton was a proud man. He was quick to criticize others. He even criticized George Washington. Once, during the war, he was late to a meeting with the general. Washington protested. Hamilton resigned. Washington was sorry.
He had a high opinion of Hamilton's abilities. That is why he was willing to forget the incident and appoint Hamilton to the new Treasury Department. The job would be difficult. The new nation had to find ways to bring in money and pay what it owed. The new Constitution said the national government was responsible for re-paying the states' wartime loans. One way to get money was to borrow it. But no one wanted to lend money to the United States unless they were sure they would get it back. So, the Congress asked Treasury Secretary Hamilton to write a report about how to build up the government's credit. Hamilton's report said the government must pay back the full amount of all its debts. This caused a dispute. Many of the debts were in the form of government notes. The notes promised to pay someone for supplying food, clothing, and weapons to the rebel army. Some promised to pay soldiers for joining the army. The notes really were worth nothing, however. The wartime Congress had no money. People who got them lost hope of ever getting re-paid. So they sold them to anyone willing to pay even part of the value. Hamilton's plan would repay the full value of the notes to those who owned them last.
This meant the people who first got the notes from the government would receive nothing. And the people who bought them at low cost would receive much more than they paid. Congressman James Madison of Virginia protested. He said the people who bought the notes at low cost should be paid, but not in full. Some of the money, he said, should go to those who got the notes in exchange for supplies or services. Madison made an emotional speech in Congress. He described the situation of former soldiers forced by hunger to sell their government notes for almost nothing. He noted that the Union was established to protect the people against such injustice. Hamilton said the purpose of his plan was greater than simply paying debts. He said it was a way to build up the nation's credit so it could borrow money more easily in the future. Hamilton believed that those who bought the notes had a right to earn money from them. These men took a chance that the worthless notes would be worth something, someday. The government could not deny them their profits. Many members of Congress felt sorry for the poor soldiers and their families. Yet they voted against Madison's proposal and supported Hamilton's plan. Hamilton's plan raised old fears. The agricultural south was sure he was trying to make the industrial north more powerful. Hamilton did not deny this.
His purpose was to strengthen the nation. He believed all areas would be helped if industry and commerce were stronger. Still, to win support for his plan, Hamilton had to make a political deal with several Congressmen. They would support his financial plan. But he had to use his influence to get the capital of the United States moved. At that time, the capital was in the north, in New York City. Two Congressmen from Virginia wanted it in the south near their homes along the Potomac River. Several Congressmen from Pennsylvania agreed. But they said the capital first must be moved to Philadelphia, the biggest city in their state. And it must remain there ten years. Congress accepted this plan by a close vote. President Washington signed it. It was well known that George Washington wanted the capital closer to his Virginia farm, Mount Vernon. Yet, there is no evidence that he ever asked any member of Congress -- or anyone else -- to help get it moved there. Alexander Hamilton's plan to re-pay the nation's debts caused much protest. However, another one of his financial plans caused even more. It was his plan to create a national bank. Hamilton argued that there were central banks in Britain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
He said the banks greatly helped those countries' commerce, industry and agriculture. Hamilton said a central bank in the United States would increase the flow of money throughout the country. It would help the national government negotiate loans and collect taxes. Critics argued that a national bank would give too much power to a few rich men in the north. It would take control of state banks, on which southern farmers and small businessmen depended. It would increase the use of paper money, instead of gold and silver. James Madison led the opposition against Hamilton's plan in Congress. Madison believed the United States should not put all its wealth in one place. So, he proposed a system of many smaller banks in different parts of the country. He also argued that the idea of a central bank was unconstitutional. No one knew more about the American Constitution than James Madison. He was given credit for most of the ideas in it. Everyone respected his explanation of its wording. Madison noted that the Constitution gives Congress a number of powers, which are stated. Congress has no powers beyond this. For example, he said, Congress has the power to borrow money. But it is permitted to borrow money only to re-pay debts, to defend the country, and to provide for the general good of the people. Madison rejected the idea that the right to create a central bank came from the power to provide for the general good of the people.
He said such an idea twisted the meaning and purpose of the Constitution. That, he said, was most dangerous. Madison's argument was powerful. Yet, once again, Hamilton won more Congressional support. He got enough votes to approve his proposal to establish a national bank. Still, President Washington had to sign the bill into law. He worried about the possibility that the bill was not constitutional. So he asked three men for advice: Attorney General Edmund Randolph. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. And Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. Randolph had no firm answer. Jefferson agreed with Madison. Creating a national bank violated the Constitution. Hamilton, of course, disagreed. He said the Constitution gave the government certain powers, and named them. But it included others, without naming them. It did this so the government could put its powers to work and act like a government. Such was the purpose of the Constitution, Hamilton said. These arguments did not completely answer all of President Washington's questions. But he went ahead and signed the bill to establish a national bank in America. Hamilton and Jefferson came to disagree on most issues. Their struggle for power in the new government led to the creation of America's political party system. That will be our story next week.
重点解析
1.Treasury Secretary财政部长
The US Treasury secretary and the head of the Federal Reserve appeared before the senate banking committee this afternoon.
美国财政部长和美联储主席出席了今天下午的参议院银行业委员会会议 。
2.It was well known that众所周知
His friends smiled:it was well known that Sir Winston did not care for modern art.
他的朋友们却笑说:大家都知道温斯顿并不关心现代艺术 。
3.full amount of全额的
The amount awarded by the court will rarely pay the full amount of the attorney fees.
但是法院判定的数目鲜少能够支付全额的律师费用 。
4.go ahead前进;进行
The user can skip or go ahead and publish the message.
用户可以跳过或者继续前进并发布消息 。
5.sign the bill签署法案
President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to sign the bill into law soon.
萨科齐总统预期将很快签署该法案,使它成为法律 。
参考译文
今天,莫里斯·乔伊斯和谢普·奥尼尔继续为您讲述亚历山大·汉密尔顿的故事
但是,没有人愿意借钱给美国,除非美国确信能把钱收回
。因此,国会要求财政部长汉密尔顿撰写一份关于如何提高政府信用的报告 。汉密尔顿在报告中表示,政府必须偿还全部债务,这引起了一场争论 。许多债务是以政府票据的形式出现的 。这些票据承诺向提供食物、衣服和武器的人支付报酬 。有些票据则承诺为参军的士兵支付报酬 。然而,这些票据真的一文不值 。战时,国会没有钱 。得到这些票据的人没指望能够得到偿还 。所以他们把票据卖给愿意支付部分钱的任何人 。汉密尔顿的计划是要向那些最后持有这些票据的人全额偿还债务,这意味着,第一个从政府拿到票据的人将一无所获 。而那些低价购买的人会得到比他们支付的多得多的钱 。弗吉尼亚州国会议员詹姆斯·麦迪逊提出抗议,他说,那些以低价购买这些票据的人是应该补偿他们,但不是全部 。他说,其中一部分钱应该给予那些用票据来换取物资或服务的人 。麦迪逊在国会作了一次激动人心的演讲 。他描述了以前的士兵因饥饿而被迫无偿出售政府票据的情况 。他指出,合众国的建立是为了保护人民免受这种不公正的待遇 。汉密尔顿说,他的计划不仅仅是偿还债务 。是为了建立国家信用体系,这样国家在未来就能更容易地借钱 。汉密尔顿认为,那些购买纸币的人有权从他们购买的票据中赚钱 。这些人给这些没有什么价值的票据在某一天又有了价值的机会,政府不能剥夺他们的利润
亚历山大·汉密尔顿重新偿还国家债务的计划引起了广泛的抗议
。然而,他的财务计划中的另一项计划却引起了更加激烈的抗议 。这一计划就是创建国家银行 。汉密尔顿认为,英国、法国、德国和荷兰都有中央银行 。他说,这些银行极大地促进了这些国家的商业、工业和农业的发展 。汉密尔顿表示,美国成立一个中央银行将加快全国范围内的资金流动 。也将有助于国家政府协商贷款和征税 。批评人士认为,北方的少数富人将掌握国家银行更大的权力,将控制南方农民和小商人所依赖的各州银行 。国家银行将增加对纸币的使用,减少对金银的使用 。詹姆斯·麦迪逊领导国会反对汉密尔顿的计划 。麦迪逊认为,美国不应该把所有的财富放在一个地方 。因此,他提议在全国各地创建一个金融体系,成立许多小银行 。他还认为,成立中央银行的想法是违宪的 。没有人比詹姆斯·麦迪逊更了解美国宪法 。他因宪法中反映了他的绝大部分思想而受到人们的信任,每个人都尊重他对宪法的解释 。麦迪逊指出,宪法赋予国会许多权力 。国会不具备宪法之外的权力 。例如,他说,国会有权借钱 。但是允许为了偿还债务、保卫国家和为人民的共同利益而借钱
译文为可可英语翻译,未经授权请勿转载!