(单词翻译:单击)
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Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION --American history in VOA Special English. The presidential campaign of eighteentwenty-eight was bitter and vicious, full of angry words and accusations. Theold Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe had splitinto two opposing groups. One group was led by President John Quincy Adams andSecretary of State Henry Clay. It called itself the National Republican Party. Theother group was led by General Andrew Jackson. It called itself the DemocraticParty. This week in our series, Sarah Long and Steve Ember talk about theelection of eighteen twenty-eight.
Each party had its own newspapers. InWashington, the Daily National Journal supported President Adams. The UnitedStates Telegraph supported General Jackson. The Telegraph published chargesagainst the administration made by congressional Democrats. The Journal, inturn, published a pamphlet that had been used against Jackson earlier. Amongother things, the pamphlet charged that Jackson had fought a man, chased himaway like a dog, and then took his wife. The charge was not true. This is thestory. It is important, because it had a great effect on Andrew Jackson for therest of his life. Jackson met the young woman, Rachel, at her mother's homenear Nashville, Tennessee. At the time, Rachel and her husband, Lewis Robards,were living there. They were having marriage problems. Robards argued with hiswife about Jackson. He said she and Jackson seemed too close. Jackson wasadvised to leave, and he agreed to go. Before he left, he met with Robards.Robards reportedly wanted to fight Jackson with his fists. Jackson refused tofist-fight. But, he said he would face Robards in a duel, if Robards wished tofight like a gentleman. Robards rejected the invitation, and nothing morehappened between the two men. Jackson left.
Robards and Rachel settled theirdifferences. She went back to their home in Kentucky, but did not stay long. Theyhad another dispute, and she left. Court records say she left with a man --Andrew Jackson. Rachel's family had heard how unhappy she was with Robards, andhad asked Jackson to bring her back to Tennessee. Robards followed them. Racheltold him she wanted a divorce. Robards threatened her. He said he would carryher away by force if she did not go back to Kentucky. Rachel decided to flee.She would go with some traders to Natchez, in the Mississippi territory. Itwould be a dangerous trip down the Cumberland, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers. Jacksonwas troubled. He felt badly, because he had been the cause of Rachel'sunhappiness. By now, Rachel meant much to Jackson. He had fallen in love withher. When the traders asked him to go to Natchez, he agreed. The group leftearly in seventeen ninety-one.
A few weeks earlier, Lewis Robards hadbegun preparations for a divorce. He did not complete the necessary action,however. Yet he led Rachel's family to believe that he had. That the two ofthem were no longer married. Jackson returned to Nashville after severalmonths. He asked for permission to marry Rachel, now that she was free ofRobards. Rachel's mother gave her permission. Andrew Jackson and Rachel weremarried in August seventeen-ninety-one. Both were twenty-four years old. Theyremained in Tennessee. The next two years were busy ones for Jackson. As ayoung lawyer, he worked hard and traveled far. In December, seventeenninety-three, he discovered court papers showing that Lewis Robards had onlyrecently divorced Rachel. This meant that at the time Jackson and Rachel weremarried, she was still legally married to Robards. Jackson was shocked. As soonas possible, he and Rachel were married again -- legally this time.
Almost ten years passed. Jackson was ajudge and took part in Tennessee politics. One day, Jackson met the state'sgovernor outside the court house in Knoxville. The governor was telling a largecrowd about his great services to the state. Jackson felt it necessary to saythat he, too, had done some public services. "Services," shouted thegovernor. "I know of no great service you have done the country excepttaking a trip to Natchez with another man's wife!" Jackson's eyes grew ascold as ice. The governor pulled his sword. "Great God!" criedJackson. " Do you speak her sacred name." He jumped at the governorwith a stick. The two men were separated. A few years later, Jackson killed aman in a duel, after the other man made a joke -- while drunk -- aboutJackson's marriage.
As a candidate for president, Jackson couldnot take to the dueling field to defend his wife's honor. He wanted to. But heknew it would prevent him from being elected. Jackson asked a special committeeof citizens to investigate his marriage and make a public report. The committeefound that Jackson and Rachel got married only after they believed her firsthusband had divorced her. As soon as the mistake was discovered, they weremarried again, legally. The report said they were not at fault. The pro-Jacksonnewspaper in Washington published the committee's report. But anti-Jacksonnewspapers did not. They insulted him and his wife. General Jackson struggledto control his anger. "How hard it is," he said, "to keep myselfaway from these villains. I have made many sacrifices for my country. But beingunable to punish those who lie about my wife is a sacrifice too great tobear." Anti-Jackson newspapers continued to print vicious lies about him.And the pro-Jackson newspapers began to print vicious lies about PresidentAdams and his wife. All during the bitter campaign, neither candidate saidanything about one very important issue: slavery.
Adams did not want to lose what littlesupport he had in the South and West by denouncing slavery. Jackson did notwant to lose the support of some Republicans in the North by openly defendingit. Adams's silence did not mean that he approved of slavery. Southerners weresure that he opposed it. And Jackson did not have to tell the South what hethought about slavery. He was a slave owner, and had bought and sold slaves allhis life. There was another important difference between the two men and theirpolitical parties. President Adams and the Republicans represented the interestsof those who owned property. Many of the president's supporters felt thatwealthy, property-owning citizens should control the government. They fearedpopular rule, or government elected by all the people. Jackson and theDemocrats represented the interests of common men. They did not feel that therich had more right to govern than the poor. They believed in the democratic right of allmen to share equally in the government.
Theelection was held in different states on different days between Octoberthirty-first and November fifth, eighteen-twenty-eight. In two states -- SouthCarolina and Delaware -- the legislature chose the presidential electors. Inall the other states, the electors were chosen by the voters. When theelectoral votes were counted, Jackson received one hundred eventy-eight. Adamsreceived only eighty-three. It was a great victory for Jackson. His wife,however, was troubled. She was a simple, kind woman who loved her husband."For Mr. Jackson's sake," she wrote, "I am glad. For my ownpart, I never wished it." She knew, of course, of the charges made duringthe campaign about their marriage. Her courage supported her. But when theexcitement of the election had ended, she lost her energy. And her healthbecame worse. Someone proposed that Rachel Jackson stay in Tennessee until herhealth became better. Then she could join her husband at the White House inWashington. Rachel did not want to go to Washington. But she felt that herplace was with her husband. That will be our story next week.重点解析
1.in turn 轮流；反过来
There were cheers for each of the women as they spoke in turn.
当这些女人们逐一发言时，她们每个人都赢得了喝彩声。
2.agreed to 一致；对某事同意
This decision was clearly communicated to her and she willing agreed to give it a final go.
我把想法清楚地告诉她，她也同意作最后一次尝试。
3.fall in love 坠入爱河；相爱
Slowly but surely she started to fall in love with him.
虽然过程缓慢，但她无疑开始爱上他了。
4.take part in 参与；参加活动
They returned to take part in the season's opening game.
他们回来参加本赛季的开幕赛。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。1828年的总统竞选活动激烈又残酷，充斥着愤怒的言辞和指责。托马斯·杰斐逊、詹姆斯·麦迪逊和詹姆斯·门罗所在的旧共和党分裂成两个对立的派别。一派由当时的总统约翰·昆西·亚当斯和国务卿亨利·克莱领导，自称为国家共和党。另一派由安德鲁·杰克逊将军领导，自称为民主党。在本周的系列节目中，莎拉·朗和史蒂夫·恩伯将讲述1828年的选举故事。
两个政党都有自己的报纸。在华盛顿，《全国日报》支持总统亚当斯。《合众国电报》则支持杰克逊将军，还在报刊上公布国会民主党人对政府的指控。《全国日报》随即出版了一本小册子，此前他们也曾用它来攻击杰克逊。除了其他各种指责外，这本小册子还控告杰克逊曾和一个男人打架，像疯狗一样追赶他，然后又抢走了那个男人的妻子。然而指控并不成立，这就是真实的情况。这件事意义非凡，因为它对安德鲁·杰克逊的余生产生了巨大影响。杰克逊在母亲位于田纳西州纳什维尔附近的家中遇到了一名叫雷切尔的年轻女子。当时，雷切尔和丈夫刘易斯•罗伯兹住在那里。他们的婚姻出现了问题，罗伯兹和妻子为杰克逊争论不休，他说妻子和杰克逊交往过密，让杰克逊离开，杰克逊同意了。在杰克逊离开前，他碰到了罗伯兹。据说罗伯兹想和杰克逊空手搏斗，被杰克逊拒绝了。不过，他说如果罗伯兹想像绅士那样打斗，他愿意同他一决高低。罗伯兹拒绝了杰克逊的提议，两人之间从此再未有过任何交往。杰克逊就离开了。
罗伯兹和雷切尔解决了两人之间的分歧，雷切尔回到他们在肯塔基州的家。但没呆多久。他们又吵了一架，她就离家出走了。法庭记录记载她和一个男人一起走的，那个男人就是安德鲁·杰克逊。雷切尔的家人听说她和罗伯兹一起生活非常不愉快，于是请杰克逊把她带回田纳西州。罗伯兹尾随他俩。雷切尔告诉罗伯兹她想离婚，罗伯兹威胁她不能这么做。他说如果雷切尔不回肯塔基州，他会强行把她带走。雷切尔决定逃跑，她想和一些商人去密西西比州的纳切斯。沿着坎伯兰河、俄亥俄河和密西西比河行进，路途非常危险。杰克逊感到不安，心里很难过，因为是他让雷切尔不开心。此时，雷切尔对杰克逊来说已经变得非常重要，他爱上了她。当商人请求他去纳切斯时，他便同意了。一行人于1791年初出发。
几周前，刘易斯·罗伯兹已经开始准备办理离婚事宜，但他没办完所有的手续。然而他让雷切尔的家人认为一切已经办妥，两人已经离婚。杰克逊几个月后回到纳什维尔，因为认为雷切尔已经和罗伯兹离婚，所以杰克逊请求雷切尔的家人允许他俩结婚，雷切尔的母亲同意了他的请求。安德鲁·杰克逊和雷切尔1991年8月17日结婚，两人那时都24岁。他们仍然住在田纳西州。接下来的两年杰克逊非常忙碌。作为一名年轻的律师，他努力地工作，也经常出远门在1793年12月，他发现法庭文件记录刘易斯·罗伯兹刚与雷切尔离婚。这意味着在杰克逊和雷切尔结婚时，她仍然是罗伯兹的妻子。杰克逊感到非常震惊，他和雷切尔马上又办理了一次有法律认可的结婚手续。
差不多十年过去了，杰克逊成为了一名法官，并参与田纳西州的政治活动。一天，杰克逊在诺克斯维尔的法院外见到了田纳西州州长，这位州长向一大群人讲述自己为国家做出的巨大贡献。杰克逊觉得有必要也讲讲自己效命国家的业绩。“效命国家，”州长喊道。“我只知道你和别人的妻子去纳切斯度假，除此之外还真不知道你为这个国家做过什么贡献！”杰克逊的双眼瞬间像寒冰一样冰冷。州长拔出他的长剑，杰克逊大喊：“伟大的上帝啊！请呼唤她的圣名。”他手拿一根棍子扑向总督，人们赶快把他们劝开了。几年后，杰克逊在一场决斗中杀死了一名男子，原因是有个男人喝醉后开玩笑调侃杰克逊的婚姻。
杰克逊作为总统候选人，不能总是为了捍卫妻子的荣誉而去决斗。他想这么做，但他知道这样会对参选总统不利。于是，杰克逊请求由专门的公民委员会对自己的婚姻进行调查，并发表公开报告。委员会经调查发现，杰克逊和雷切尔是在他们认为雷切尔与第一任丈夫离婚后才结婚。而且在发现情况有误时，他们又再次合法登记结婚。公开报告表示杰克逊和雷切尔没有过错。华盛顿支持杰克逊的报纸发表了委员会的报告，但反对杰克逊的报纸并未这么做，而是发表文章羞辱杰克逊夫妇。杰克逊将军努力控制住自己的怒火，“让自己远离这些恶棍真是太难了，”他说。“我为国家做出了许多牺牲，但如果不能惩罚那些诽谤妻子的人，这样的牺牲我实在无法接受。”反对杰克逊的报纸继续刊登有关他的各种恶毒谎言，而支持杰克逊的报纸则开始对总统亚当斯和妻子恶意造谣。
在整个激烈的竞选期间，两位候选人都对一个重要问题只字未提，即奴隶制。亚当斯不想因为谴责奴隶制而失去在南部和西部仅有的一些支持，杰克逊则不想因为公开辩护而失去北方一些共和党人的支持。亚当斯的沉默并不意味着他赞成奴隶制，南方人确定他是反对奴隶制的。杰克逊不需要告诉南方人他对奴隶制的看法，因为他自己就是个奴隶主，一生都在买卖奴隶。两位候选人和他们的政党之间还存在一个重要的区别，总统亚当斯和共和党代表财产拥有者的利益。总统的许多支持者认为应该由拥有财产的富人控制政府。他们害怕民众统治，也对全民选举产生的政府忧心忡忡。杰克逊和民主党则代表普通民众的利益。他们并不觉得富人比穷人有更大的统治权，他们相信所有人在政府中享有平等的民主权利。
选举于1828年10月31日至11月5日在不同的州举行。在南卡罗来纳州和特拉华州这两个州，由立法机关在总统候选人中做选择。而在其他州，则由选民自己选择。统计选举票数时，杰克逊获得178张选票，亚当斯只得到83张选票，杰克逊打了一个大胜仗。然而，杰克逊的妻子却感到不安。她是一个心地善良的单纯女人，很爱自己的丈夫。她写道，“看在杰克逊先生的份上，我为他高兴。但就我个人而言，我从没期望过这样的结果。”她当然知道，在竞选期间曾出现过各种对他们婚姻的指控，她的勇气给她以力量。但在当选的兴奋感消失后，她所有精力一下消失殆尽，健康状况也随之恶化。有人提议让雷切尔·杰克逊留在田纳西州，等健康好转后再到华盛顿白宫和丈夫一起生活。雷切尔并不想去华盛顿，但她觉得自己应该陪伴丈夫。这将是我们下周要讲述的故事。
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