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THE MAKING OF A NATION 219 - Richard Nixon, Part 3

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THE MAKING OF A NATION - November 14, 2002: Richard Nixon, Part 3

By Jerilyn Watson


VOICE ONE:
This is Rich Kleinfeldt.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Stan Busby with THE MAKING OF A NATION, a VOA Special English program about the history


of the United States.

 

(THEME)

Today, we complete the story of the thirty-seventh president of the United States, Richard
Nixon.

VOICE ONE:

Richard Nixon's first term as president ended with hope for complete American
withdrawal1 from the fighting in Vietnam. Yet Americans still were very angry about the
war and its effects on life at home. Paying for it was difficult. Inflation was high.

Unemployment was high, too.

Some political observers thought the president would not be elected to a second term. Nixon, however, was sure
the American people would support him.

He did not campaign in the local primary elections before the Republican convention. Instead, in the winter and
spring of Nineteen-Seventy-Two, he visited China, Canada, Iran, Poland, and the Soviet2 Union.

VOICE TWO:

On June Seventeenth, Nineteen-Seventy-Two, something happened in Washington,
D-C. It was a small incident. But it would have a huge effect on the United States.

Five men broke into a center of the National Committee of the Democratic Party.
The building was called the Watergate. That name would become a symbol of
political crime in the nation's highest office.


VOICE ONE:


At the time, the incident did not seem important. Police caught the criminals. Later, however, more was learned.
The men had carried papers that linked them to top officials in the administration.
The question was: Did President Nixon know what was going on? He told reporters he was not involved. In time,


though, the Watergate case would lead to a congressional investigation3 of the president.
((MUSIC BRIDGE)
)
VOICE TWO:
For a while, the political conventions of the summer of Nineteen-Seventy-Two pushed the story of the Watergate


break-in out of the major news of the day.
The Democratic Party met and chose George McGovern as its candidate for president. McGovern was a senator



from the state of South Dakota. The choice of the Republican Party was no surprise. Delegates re-nominated
Richard Nixon.

McGovern attacked Nixon for his policies about Vietnam. McGovern's anger made many voters see him as an
extremist.

Nixon won the election of Nineteen-Seventy-Two by a huge popular vote. He would not be able to complete his
second term, however. This was because Watergate would not go away.

VOICE ONE:

Early in Nineteen-Seventy-Three, reporters found the evidence that linked the Watergate break-in to officials in
the White House. The evidence also showed that the officials tried to use government agencies to hide the
connection.

Pressure grew for a complete investigation. In April, President Nixon ordered the Justice Department to do this.
A special prosecutor4 was named to lead the government's investigation.

VOICE TWO:

A special Senate committee began its own investigation in May. A former White House lawyer provided the
major evidence. By July, it was learned that President Nixon had secretly made tape recordings5 of some of his
discussions and telephone calls. The Senate committee asked him for some of the tapes. Nixon refused. He said
the president of the United States has a Constitutional right to keep such records private.

VOICE ONE:

A federal judge ordered the president to surrender the tapes. Lawyers for the president
took the case to the nation's highest court. The Supreme6 Court supported the decision
of the lower court.

After that, pressure increased for Nixon to cooperate. In October, he offered to provide
written versions of the most important parts of the tape recordings. The special
prosecutor rejected the offer. So, Nixon ordered the head of the Justice Department to
dismiss him. The Attorney General refused to do this, and resigned.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE TWO:

President Nixon had another political problem, in addition to Watergate. In late Nineteen-Seventy-Three, his vice7
president, Spiro Agnew, was forced to resign. A court had found Agnew guilty of violating tax laws.

President Nixon asked Gerald Ford8 to become the new vice president. Ford was a long-time member of Congress
from the state of Michigan.

VOICE ONE:

By that time, some members of Congress were talking about removing President
Nixon from office. This is possible under American law if Congress finds that a
president has done something criminal. Was Richard Nixon covering up important
evidence in the case? Was he, in fact, guilty of wrongdoing?

VOICE TWO:

In April, Nineteen-Seventy-Four, Nixon surrendered some of his White House tape
recordings. However, three important discussions on the tapes were missing. The
Nixon administration explained. The tape machine had failed to record two of the
discussions, it said. The third discussion had been destroyed accidentally. Many Americans did not believe these
explanations.

(Cartoon - Robert Pryor,
1974)
1970: A lighter9 moment in
the White House.

Two months later, the Supreme Court ruled that a president cannot hold back evidence in a criminal case. It said
there is no presidential right of privacy in such a case.

VOICE ONE:

A committee of the House of Representatives also reached an historic decision in July, Nineteen-Seventy-Four. It
proposed that the full House put the president on trial. If Richard Nixon were found guilty of crimes involved in
the Watergate case, he would be removed from office.

Finally, Nixon surrendered the last of the documents. They appeared to provide proof that the president had
ordered evidence in the Watergate case to be covered up.

VOICE TWO:

The rights of citizens, as stated in the Constitution, are the basis of American democracy. Every president
promises to protect and defend these Constitutional rights. During the congressional investigation of Watergate,
lawmakers said that President Nixon had violated these rights.

They said he planned to delay and block the investigation of the Watergate break-in and other unlawful activities.
They said he repeatedly mis-used government agencies in an effort to hide wrong-doing and to punish his critics.
And they said he refused repeated orders to surrender papers and other materials as part of the investigation.

VOICE ONE:

Richard Nixon's long struggle to remain in office was over. He spoke10 to the nation on August Eighth.

NIXON: "Throughout the long and difficult period of Watergate, I have felt it was my duty to persevere11, to make
every possible effort to complete the term of office to which you elected me. In the past few days, however, it has
become evident to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Congress to justify12 continuing
that effort. Therefore, I shall resign the presidency13 effective at noon tomorrow."

VOICE TWO:

Never before had a president of the United States resigned. And never before did the United States have a
president who had not been elected. Gerald Ford had been appointed to the office of vice president. Now, he
would replace Richard Nixon. On August Ninth, Nineteen-Seventy-Four, he was sworn-in as the nation's thirty-
eighth president.

VOICE ONE:

Soon after becoming president, Gerald Ford made a surprise announcement. He pardoned Richard Nixon. Many
Americans criticized Ford for doing this. But he believed he had good reasons.

Ford wanted to move ahead and deal with the other problems that faced the nation. He did not want Watergate to
go on and on. The case did go on, however. Several top officials in the Nixon administration were tried, found
guilty, and sent to prison.

VOICE TWO:

The effects of the case went on, too. Watergate influenced government policy and public opinion for years.

For example, laws were passed to prevent an administration from using its power to punish opposition14 political
groups. Intelligence agencies were forced to provide Congress with more information about their activities. And
rules were approved to restrict the activities of public officials.

The American public, and especially the press, felt the effects of Watergate. Many citizens and reporters felt less
able to believe their government. As one writer said, "Never again will we trust our public officials in quite the
same way."


(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jeri Watson and produced by Paul Thompson.


This is Rich Kleinfeldt.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Stan Busby. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of


the United States.

 

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 withdrawal Cfhwq     
n.取回,提款;撤退,撤军;收回,撤销
参考例句:
  • The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
  • They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。
2 Soviet Sw9wR     
adj.苏联的,苏维埃的;n.苏维埃
参考例句:
  • Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
  • Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。
3 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
4 prosecutor 6RXx1     
n.起诉人;检察官,公诉人
参考例句:
  • The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
  • The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。
5 recordings 22f9946cd05973582e73e4e3c0239bb7     
n.记录( recording的名词复数 );录音;录像;唱片
参考例句:
  • a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
  • old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐
6 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。
7 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
8 Ford KiIxx     
n.浅滩,水浅可涉处;v.涉水,涉过
参考例句:
  • They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上,所以我们只能涉水过河。
  • If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪,必须极度小心。
9 lighter 5pPzPR     
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级
参考例句:
  • The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色,色调明朗了一些。
  • The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
10 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
11 persevere MMCxH     
v.坚持,坚忍,不屈不挠
参考例句:
  • They are determined to persevere in the fight.他们决心坚持战斗。
  • It is strength of character enabled him to persevere.他那坚强的性格使他能够坚持不懈。
12 justify j3DxR     
vt.证明…正当(或有理),为…辩护
参考例句:
  • He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
  • Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗?
13 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。
14 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。

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