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VOA慢速英语2013 John Quincy Adams, a Man Raised to Serve His Country - The Making of a Nation No. 43

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John Quincy Adams, a Man Raised to Serve His Country - The Making of a Nation No. 43

From VOA Learning English, welcome to The Making of a Nation, our weekly program of American history for people learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

John Quincy Adams was sworn in as president of the United States on March 4, 1825. A big crowd came to the Capitol building for the ceremony. All the leaders of government were there: senators, congressmen, Supreme1 Court justices and James Monroe. Monroe’s two terms as president were ending.

President-elect Adams focused his inaugural2 address on unity3. Adams said the Constitution and the representative democracy of the United States had proved a success. The nation was free and strong and stretched across the continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

He noted4 that during the past 10 years, political party differences had eased. So now, he said, it was time for the people to settle their differences and make a truly national government.

Adams closed his speech by recognizing that he was a minority president. No candidate had received a majority of electoral votes. So the House of Representatives had to make the decision. The House chose Adams as the next president. He told the crowd gathered at the Capitol that he needed the help of everyone in the years to come.

Presidents-elect used to give their inaugural address before their swearing in. So, after his speech, John Quincy Adams took the oath of office that made him the sixth president of the United States.

His father was John Adams, the second president. John Quincy’s mother, Abigail, made sure he received an excellent education.

Historian Harlow Giles Unger wrote a biography of John Quincy Adams – “Quinzy” incidentally is how the family pronounced it. The historian tells this story about Abigail Adams and her son in 1775 in Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War.

“When her first-born son John, John Quincy, was seven, they heard the cannon5 fire in the distance and they went up to the top of the hill behind their farm house and could look across Boston Harbor and see the Battle of Bunker Hill. And she took her boy by the hand and they went back down to the house and she started melting down the family pewter, with John Quincy helping6 her, and making musket7 balls for the American revolutionary troops.”

Abigail and John Adams were strong patriots8. They were one of the founding families of America. Harlow Giles Unger says Abigail Adams raised John Quincy to serve his country.

“She told her son that if you do not grow up to be a great leader of this country, it will be because of your own laziness and obstinacy9. She and her husband, John Adams, at that point decided10 to raise their son to be the president of the United States.”

As a boy, John Quincy Adams learned to speak at least four languages and read Greek and Latin. He studied Shakespeare’s plays. He traveled in Europe. He worked with his father in American consulates11 and embassies.

He graduated from Harvard and was working as a lawyer by the age of 23.

“He was a brilliant, brilliant young boy and man.”

For about 25 years, Adams held mostly appointed jobs. He was ambassador to the Netherlands, Germany, Russia and Britain. He helped lead the negotiations12 that ended the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States. And he served eight years as secretary of state.

Adams spent most of his career working in public service. Harlow Giles Unger says he could be impatient, especially with lawmakers.

“He despised most of the politicians he met in Congress because he found them to be ignorant and self-serving, with no sense of patriotism13 and sense of obligation to the nation.”

John Quincy Adams did not care for political battles. When he became president, he tried to bring his political opponents and the different parts of the country together in his cabinet. His opponents, however, refused to serve. And, although his cabinet included southerners, he did not really have the support of the South.

In his first message to Congress, President Adams described his ideas about the national government. The chief purpose of the government, he said, was to improve the lives of the people it governed. To do this, he offered a national program of building roads and canals. He also proposed a national university and a national scientific center.

Adams said Congress should not be limited only to making laws to improve the nation's economic life. He said it should make laws to improve the arts and sciences, too.

Many people of the West and South did not believe that the Constitution gave the federal government the power to do all these things. They believed that these powers belonged to the states. Their representatives in Congress rejected Adams’ proposals.

Harlow Giles Unger says some of the disagreements during Adams’ presidency14 helped start the American Civil War more than 30 years later, in 1861.

“The country was now splitting. The South, most of the South, had never accepted the Constitution as such. The Constitution did away with state sovereignty, but many Americans never accepted that, and especially in the South.”

The political picture in the United States began to change during the administration of John Quincy Adams. His opponents won control of both houses of Congress in the elections of 1826.

Adams’ opponents called themselves Democrats15. They supported Andrew Jackson and wanted him to win the next presidential election.

Democrats needed the support of both the West and the South to elect Jackson. So they proposed a bill that appeared to help the West.

The bill involved import taxes. A number of western states wanted duties on industrial goods imported from other countries. The purpose was to protect their own industries.

Southern states, however, opposed the import duties. They produced no industrial goods that needed protection. They argued that the Constitution did not give the government in Washington the right to approve such taxes.

The Democrats expected Congress to defeat the bill they proposed. They thought the West would be grateful that the Democrats had tried to help them. And the South would be happy that there would be no import taxes.

But to the Democrats' surprise, many congressmen from the Northeast joined with lawmakers from the West to support the bill. They did so even though the bill would harm industries in the Northeast. The Northerners wanted to keep the idea of protective trade taxes alive.

The bill passed in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This left President Adams with a difficult decision. Should he sign it into law? Or should he veto it?

If he signed the bill, it would show he believed that the Constitution allowed protective duties. That decision would create even more opposition16 to him in the South. If he vetoed it, then he would lose support in the West and Northeast. Adams signed the bill. But he made clear that Congress was fully17 responsible for it.

Democrats in Congress made other attempts to weaken support for Adams. For example, they claimed that he was misusing18 government money. They tried to show that he, and his father before him, had become rich from government service.

Others accused him of giving government jobs to his supporters. This charge was false. Top administration officials had urged Adams to give government jobs only to men who were loyal to him. But Adams had refused. He felt that as long as someone had done nothing wrong, he should continue in his job.

During his four years as president, Adams removed 12 people from government jobs. In each case, the person had failed to do his work or had done something criminal.

Adams often gave jobs to people who did not support him politically. He believed it was wrong to give a person a job just for political reasons. Many of Adams' supporters could not understand. They had worked hard to get him elected. Their support for him cooled.

Historian Harlow Giles Unger says John Quincy Adams was never able to meet the high expectations many had for him. 

“His presidency was a complete failure. He was able to accomplish nothing.”

The political battle between Adams' Republican Party and Jackson's Democrats remained bitter. Perhaps the worst fighting took place in the press. Each side had its own newspaper for support. The Daily National Journal supported the administration. The United States Telegraph supported Andrew Jackson.

At first, the pro-administration newspaper called for national unity and an end to personal attacks. Then things changed. The paper had to defend against charges of political wrongdoing within Adams’ party. It needed to turn readers away from these problems. So it printed a pamphlet that had been used against Andrew Jackson during an election campaign.

The pamphlet accused Jackson of many bad things. The most damaging part involved the wife of another man. That will be our story next week.  

I’m Steve Ember, inviting19 you to join us next time for The Making of a Nation — American history from VOA Learning English. 


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1 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
2 inaugural 7cRzQ     
adj.就职的;n.就职典礼
参考例句:
  • We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
  • Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。
3 unity 4kQwT     
n.团结,联合,统一;和睦,协调
参考例句:
  • When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结,并非一团和气。
  • We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前,我们必须加强团结。
4 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
5 cannon 3T8yc     
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮
参考例句:
  • The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
  • The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。
6 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
7 musket 46jzO     
n.滑膛枪
参考例句:
  • I hunted with a musket two years ago.两年前我用滑膛枪打猎。
  • So some seconds passed,till suddenly Joyce whipped up his musket and fired.又过了几秒钟,突然,乔伊斯端起枪来开了火。
8 patriots cf0387291504d78a6ac7a13147d2f229     
爱国者,爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
  • These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死,也不愿投降。
9 obstinacy C0qy7     
n.顽固;(病痛等)难治
参考例句:
  • It is a very accountable obstinacy.这是一种完全可以理解的固执态度。
  • Cindy's anger usually made him stand firm to the point of obstinacy.辛迪一发怒,常常使他坚持自见,并达到执拗的地步。
10 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
11 consulates b5034a9d5292ecb2857093578fba4a2c     
n.领事馆( consulate的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Consulates General of The People's Republic at Los Angeles. 中华人民共和国驻洛杉矶总领事馆。 来自互联网
  • The country's embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions stationed in other countries. (七)家驻外使馆、馆和其他外交代表机构。 来自互联网
12 negotiations af4b5f3e98e178dd3c4bac64b625ecd0     
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过
参考例句:
  • negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
  • Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
13 patriotism 63lzt     
n.爱国精神,爱国心,爱国主义
参考例句:
  • His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
  • They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。
14 presidency J1HzD     
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期)
参考例句:
  • Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
15 democrats 655beefefdcaf76097d489a3ff245f76     
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
  • The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 opposition eIUxU     
n.反对,敌对
参考例句:
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
17 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
18 misusing 142193a08a0645de4073a05d1cf0ed4b     
v.使用…不当( misuse的现在分词 );把…派作不正当的用途;虐待;滥用
参考例句:
  • This means we must stop misusing them. 也就是说,我们已必须停止滥用抗菌素不可了。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器
  • Misusing organic fertilizer may cause a decrease in the soil's quality. 滥用有机肥料可能会导致土地的土质下降。 来自互联网
19 inviting CqIzNp     
adj.诱人的,引人注目的
参考例句:
  • An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
  • The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人,使人感到亲切温馨。

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