(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English. President Ulysses Grant served two terms in office. His administration was marked by corruption. The president himself was not linked directly to any of the incidents. But he was friends with dishonest members of the cabinet and Congress. This week in our series, Jack Weitzel and Tony Riggs tell how Grant's problems affected the Republican Party in the presidential election of eighteen seventy-six. The American people were very disappointed with President Grant. He was the military hero of the Civil War. He had led the Union army of the North to victory over the Confederate army of the South. His popularity dropped, however, during his presidency. Grant was not an effective political leader. Nor was he able to control the men around him. The American people also were worried about the nation's economic situation. A serious depression had begun during Grant's second term. Many people were out of work. They blamed the ruling Republican Party.
The state and congressional elections of eighteen seventy-four were an important turning point. Republicans were shocked by the results. For the first time in eighteen years, the Democratic Party won control of the House of Representatives. They won one hundred sixty-nine seats. The Republicans won one hundred nine. Democrats also won control of twenty-three of the thirty-five state governments. These included several northern states, where people were tired of Republican rule. Important changes also were made in the South. Democrats won control of southern state governments from radical Republicans. One of these states was Mississippi. White Democrats there began organizing groups called White Leagues. These groups wanted to prevent blacks from voting for radical Republicans. They started riots, in which many blacks were killed. They also used economic power against blacks. These efforts succeeded. Most blacks were too afraid to vote. The Democrats took control of both the Mississippi legislature and the governor's office. Similar actions, with similar results, took place in other southern states.
As Grant's second term came to an end, he began to talk about the possibility of another four years in the White House. Republican politicians were firmly opposed. They blamed Grant for the party's defeats in state and congressional elections. Grant had to give up any hope of a third term. Congressman James Blaine seemed to have the best chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination in eighteen seventy-six. Blaine had been Speaker of the House of Representatives when the Republicans controlled Congress. He was powerful, and he had many supporters. Some Republican leaders, however, questioned his honesty. Blaine fought this criticism with an emotional speech in Congress. When the Republican Party convention opened in Cincinnati, Ohio, Blaine was the leading candidate for the presidential nomination. He expected to win the first day. There was a wild demonstration of support when his name was put before the convention. But before the voting could begin, the lights went out. Some delegates believed Blaine's opponents were responsible. These opponents worked all night to get other delegates to change their support from Blaine to another candidate. When the delegates voted the next morning, Blaine did not have enough votes to win the nomination.
However, after six ballots, Blaine appeared ready to win. To stop him, his opponents needed to unite behind another candidate. One of these candidates was Rutherford Hayes, the governor of Ohio. Hayes had fewer enemies than the other candidates. So he became the compromise candidate for delegates hoping to stop Blaine. On the seventh ballot of the convention, Rutherford Hayes captured the Republican nomination. The Democratic Party met in St. Louis, Missouri. Delegates nominated Samuel Tilden, the governor of New York. Tilden had led the fight to end dishonesty in government in New York state. He had ousted a group called the Tweed Ring, which controlled New York City politics for years. Democrats said he was the man to end dishonesty in government in Washington. Republicans campaigned by denouncing the Democratic Party. They called it the party of southern rebellion and treason. Instead, they said, vote for the Republican Party, the party that had saved the Union.
Democrats campaigned by attacking Republican dishonesty. They blamed Republicans for the nation's economic problems. And they promised better times for everyone if their candidate was elected. The presidential election of eighteen seventy-six was very close. By midnight of Election Day, the results seemed to show that Democrat Samuel Tilden was the winner. Republican Rutherford Hayes went to bed believing he had lost. However, the Republicans quickly saw that the electoral votes of three southern states could decide the winner. In the American presidential system, whoever wins the most popular votes in a state usually gets all the electoral votes of that state. In eighteen seventy-six, the electoral votes of three states -- Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina -- were enough to give the White House to one candidate or the other. Each party claimed victory in these three states. Each accused the other of stealing votes and counting ballots unfairly. Finally, the two parties agreed to form an electoral committee to decide who had won the disputed votes.
The committee was supposed to include seven Republicans, seven Democrats, and one Independent. But before it could meet, the Independent member resigned. A Republican took his place. The Republicans had a majority. The committee first debated the disputed votes of Florida. After much discussion, the eight Republicans on the committee voted to accept the votes of Florida's Republican electors. They rejected a proposal to investigate the way the votes were counted in the state. They said there was not enough time for a full investigation. The same thing happened with the disputed votes of Louisiana and South Carolina. The Republicans on the committee voted to count the Republican electors. The Democrats voted to count the democratic electors. In each case, the Republicans won, by a vote of eight to seven. As a result, Rutherford Hayes gained the electoral votes of all three states. This gave him enough to win the election. Democrats were furious. Democrats in many states began organizing party militia groups. They said they would fight, if necessary, to prevent the Republicans from stealing the presidency.
The situation seemed very tense and dangerous. Many feared the start of another civil war. Negotiations finally provided a peaceful solution. Representatives of the two parties met secretly to work out a compromise. The Democrats agreed to permit Republican Rutherford Hayes to be sworn-in as President. In return, Hayes agreed to end federal support of radical Republican governments in the south. He promised to name southerners to his cabinet and other important jobs. And he said he would provide more federal aid for schools and railroads in the south. As part of the agreement, Hayes promised not to act aggressively to support the civil rights of black southerners. Hayes' opponent, Democrat Samuel Tilden, did not oppose the agreement. Tilden was an old man. His health was poor. He agreed that four years of Rutherford Hayes would be better than four years of civil war. So it was that Rutherford Hayes became the nineteenth president of the United States. He would surprise a lot of people after he reached the White House. That will be our story next week.
重点解析
1.be disappointed with 对......感到失望；对失望
I can't be disappointed with myself, I have to be stronger.
我不能对自己失望，我要坚强起来。
2.take control of 控制；掌管
He failed in his attempt to take control of the company.
他试图掌控公司，但以失败告终。
3.be supposed to 被认为；被期望
I am not supposed to be here.
我不该在这里的。
4.as a result 因此；结果是
As a result, the bad thing has been turned into a good one.
结果坏事变成了好事。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。总统尤利西斯·格兰特任期两届，他的政府以腐败著称。总统本人与这些事件没有直接联系，但他和不诚实的内阁和国会议员是朋友。本周在我们的系列节目中，杰克·韦策尔和托尼·里格斯讲述了格兰特的问题对1876年总统选举中的共和党产生的影响。美国人民对格兰特总统非常失望，他是内战中的军事英雄，率领北方联军战胜南方联盟国军队。然而，在他担任总统期间，他的声望下降了。格兰特不是一个有力的政治领袖，他也无法控制周围的人，美国人民也担心国家的经济状况。在格兰特的第二个任期内，一场严重的萧条开始了。许多人失业了，他们指责执政的共和党。
1874年的州和国会选举是一个重要的转折点，共和党人对选举结果感到震惊。民主党18年来首次赢得众议院的控制权。他们赢得了169个席位，共和党人赢得了109票。民主党还赢得了35个州政府中23个州的控制权，其中包括北方几个州，那里的人们厌倦了共和党的统治。南方也发生了重大变化，民主党从激进的共和党手中赢得了南部各州政府的控制权。其中一个州是密西西比州，那里的白人民主党人开始组织称为白人联盟的组织。这些团体想阻止黑人给激进的共和党人投票，他们发动暴乱，许多黑人在暴乱中丧生。他们还利用经济力量对付黑人。这些努力成功了，大多数黑人不敢投票。民主党控制了密西西比州的立法机构和州长办公室。在南部其他州也发生了类似的行动，取得了类似的结果。
格兰特第二个任期结束时，他开始谈论在白宫再任职四年的可能性。共和党政治家坚决反对。他们将该党在州和国会选举中的失败归咎于格兰特，格兰特不得不放弃第三次连任的希望。国会议员詹姆斯·布莱恩似乎最有可能赢得1876年共和党总统候选人的提名。布莱恩在共和党控制国会时曾任众议院议长，他很有权势，有很多支持者。然而，一些共和党领导人质疑他是否诚实。布莱恩在国会发表了一篇感人至深的演讲，反驳了这一批评。共和党大会在俄亥俄州辛辛那提开幕时，布莱恩是总统提名的主要候选人，他希望赢得第一天的投票。当他的名字在大会上提出时，人们疯狂地表示支持。但在投票开始之前，灯就熄灭了。一些代表认为布莱恩的对手应该对此事负责，这些反对者通宵达旦地争取让其他代表不支持布莱恩，而是支持另一位候选人。第二天早上代表们投票时，布莱恩没有获得赢得提名的足够票数。
然而，在六次投票之后，布莱恩似乎已经做好了获胜的准备。为了阻止他，他的对手需要团结起来支持另一位候选人。其中一位候选人是俄亥俄州州长卢瑟福·海斯。海斯的敌人比其他候选人少。因此，他成为希望阻止布莱恩当选的代表们的妥协候选人。在大会的第七轮投票中，卢瑟福·海斯获得了共和党的提名。民主党在密苏里州的圣路易斯会面，代表们提名纽约州州长塞缪尔·蒂尔登。蒂尔登带领结束了纽约州政府不诚实行为的斗争。他驱逐了一个名为特威德圈密友的组织，这个组织多年来一直控制着纽约市的政局。民主党人说，他是结束华盛顿政府不诚实行为的人。共和党人通过谴责民主党来进行竞选，他们称之为南方叛逆党。他们说，要给拯救了联邦的政党共和党投票。
民主党人通过攻击共和党人的不诚实行为进行竞选，他们把国家的经济问题归咎于共和党人。他们承诺，如果他们的候选人当选，每个人都会过得更好。1876年的总统选举日益临近，到了选举日的午夜，选举结果显示似乎民主党人塞缪尔·蒂尔登是获胜者。共和党人卢瑟福·海斯就寝时认为自己输了。然而，共和党人很快发现，南部三个州选举团所投的票可以决定胜出者。在美国总统制度中，无论谁在一个州赢得了最受欢迎的选票，通常都会得到该州所有选举团所投的票。1876年，佛罗里达州、路易斯安那州和南卡罗来纳州三个州的选举团投票结果足以让某个候选人入主白宫。在这三个州，两个政党都声称获胜。双方都指责对方偷选票，还不公平地计票。最后，两党同意成立选举委员会来决定谁赢得了有争议的选票。
该委员会本应包括7名共和党人、7名民主党人和1名独立人士。但在会晤之前，这位独立成员辞职了。一名共和党人取代了他的位置，共和党占了多数。委员会首先对佛罗里达州有争议的投票进行了辩论。经过多次讨论，委员会中的八名共和党人投票接受佛罗里达州共和党选民的投票。他们否决了一项调查该州计票方式的提议。他们表示，没有足够的时间进行全面调查。路易斯安那州和南卡罗来纳州有争议的投票也遇到了同样的问题，委员会中的共和党人投票选举了共和党人。民主党人投票统计民主党的选民人数，在每一次选举中，共和党都以8票对7票获胜。结果，卢瑟福·海斯赢得了所有三个州的选举团投票。这使他赢得了选举。民主党人非常愤怒，许多州的民主党人开始组织政党民兵组织。他们说，如果有必要，他们将努力阻止共和党人窃取总统职位。
形势似乎非常紧张又危险，许多人担心会爆发另一场内战。谈判最终提供了和平的解决办法。 两党代表秘密会晤，达成妥协。民主党同意允许共和党人卢瑟福·海斯宣誓就任总统。作为回报，海斯同意结束联邦政府对南方激进共和党政府的支持。他答应任命南方人担任内阁和其他重要的职务。他说，他将为南部的学校和铁路提供更多的联邦援助。作为协议的一部分，海斯承诺不会采取积极行动支持南方黑人的公民权利。海斯的对手、民主党人塞缪尔·蒂尔登没有反对这项协议。蒂尔登年事已高，他的健康状况很差。他同意卢瑟福·海耶斯执政的四年会比内战时好。就这样，卢瑟福·海斯成为了美国的第十九任总统。他入主白宫后会给很多人带来惊喜。这将是我们下周要讲述的故事。
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