日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

English 中文網 漫畫網 愛新聞iNews 翻譯論壇
中國網站品牌欄目(頻道)
當前位置: Language Tips> Audio & Video> 新聞播報> Special Speed News VOA慢速

American history: Wilson urges support for idea of League of Nations

[ 2010-11-19 15:37]     字號 [] [] []  
免費訂閱30天China Daily雙語新聞手機報:移動用戶編輯短信CD至106580009009

BOB DOUGHTY: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.

After the end of World War One, President Woodrow Wilson sought national support for his idea of a League of Nations. He took his appeal directly to the American people in the summer of 1919.

This week in our series, Tony Riggs and Frank Oliver continue the story of Wilson's campaign.

TONY RIGGS: The plan for the League of Nations was part of the peace treaty that ended World War One. By law, the United States Senate would have to vote on the treaty. President Wilson believed the Senate would have to approve it if the American people demanded it. So he went to the people for support.

For almost a month, Wilson traveled across America. He stopped in many places to speak about the need for the League of Nations. He said the league was the only hope for world peace. It was the only way to prevent another world war.

Wilson's health grew worse during the long journey across the country. He became increasingly weak and suffered from severe headaches. In Witchita, Kansas, he had a small stroke. A blood vessel burst inside his brain. He was forced to return to Washington.

FRANK OLIVER: For a few days, President Wilson's condition improved. Then, his wife found him lying unconscious on the floor of his bedroom in the White House. Wilson had lost all feeling in the left side of his body. He was near death.

The president's advisers kept his condition secret from almost everyone. They told reporters only that Wilson was suffering from a nervous breakdown.

For the next few days, the medical reports from the White House were always the same. They said Mr. Wilson's condition had not changed.

People began to wonder. Were they being told the truth. Some people began to believe that the president was, in fact, dead. Vice President Thomas Marshall was worried. If the president died or could not govern, then he – Marshall -- would become president. But even Vice President Marshall could get no information from Wilson's doctors.

TONY RIGGS: After several weeks, the president seemed to get a little stronger. He was still very weak. He could not work, except to sign several bills. This simple act took most of his strength.

Wilson's wife Edith guarded her husband closely. She alone decided who could see him. She alone decided what information he could receive. All letters and messages to Woodrow Wilson were given first to Edith Wilson. She decided if they were important enough for him to see. Most, she decided, were not. She also prevented members of the cabinet and other government officials from communicating with him directly.

Mrs. Wilson's actions made many people suspect that she -- not her husband -- was governing the country. Some spoke of her as the nation's first woman president.

FRANK OLIVER: There was one issue Mrs. Wilson did discuss with her husband: the League of Nations.

The Senate was completing debate on the Treaty of Versailles. That was the World War One peace agreement that contained Wilson's plan for the league. It seemed clear the Senate would reject the treaty. Too many Senators feared the United States would lose some of its independence and freedom if it joined the league.

The leader of Wilson's political party in the Senate, Gilbert Hitchcock, headed the administration campaign to win support for the treaty. He received Mrs. Wilson's permission to visit her husband.

Hitchcock told the president the situation was hopeless. He said the Senate would not approve the treaty unless several changes were made to protect American independence. If the president accepted the changes, then the treaty might pass.

TONY RIGGS: Wilson refused. He would accept no compromise. He said the treaty must be approved as written.

Senator Hitchcock made one more attempt to get Wilson to reconsider. On the day the Senate planned to vote on the treaty, he went back to the White House. He told Mrs. Wilson that compromise offered the only hope for success.

Mrs. Wilson went into the president's room while Hitchcock waited. She asked her husband: "Will you not accept the changes and get this thing settled?" He answered: "I cannot. Better a thousand times to go down fighting than to surrender to dishonorable compromise."

FRANK OLIVER: The Senate voted. Hitchcock's fears proved correct. The treaty was defeated. The defeat ended Wilson's dream of American membership in the League of Nations.

Mrs. Wilson gave the news to her husband. He was silent for a long time. Then he said: "I must get well."

Woodrow Wilson was extremely sick. Yet he was not the kind of man who accepted opposition or defeat easily. From his sick bed, he wrote a letter to the other members of the Democratic Party. He urged them to continue debate on the League of Nations. He said a majority of Americans wanted the treaty approved.

Wilson probably was correct about this. Most Americans did approve of membership in the League of Nations. But they also wanted to be sure membership would not restrict American independence.

TONY RIGGS: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed to re-open discussion on the treaty. It searched yet again for a compromise. It made new efforts to get Wilson to accept some changes.

But, as before, Wilson refused. He was a proud man. And he thought many of the Senators were evil men trying to destroy his plan for international peace.

Wilson's unwillingness to compromise helped kill the treaty once and for all. The Senate finally voted again, and the treaty was defeated by seven votes. The treaty was dead. The United States would never enter the League of Nations. And one of the most emotional and personal stories in the making of the American nation had ended.

FRANK OLIVER: The long battle over the Treaty of Versailles ended with political defeat for Woodrow Wilson. Yet history would prove him correct.

Wilson had warned time and again during the debate that a terrible war would result if the world did not come together to protect the peace. Twenty years later, war came. The First World War had been called 'the war to end all wars'. But it was not. And the Second World War would be far more destructive than the first.

TONY RIGGS: The debate over the Treaty of Versailles was the central issue in American politics during the end of Woodrow Wilson's administration. It also played a major part in the presidential election of nineteen twenty.

Wilson himself could not be a candidate again. He was much too sick. So the Democratic Party nominated a former governor of Ohio, James Cox. Cox shared Wilson's opinion that the United States should join the League of Nations. He campaigned actively for American membership.

The Republican Party chose Senator Warren Harding as its candidate for president. Harding campaigned by promising a return to what he called 'normal times'. He said it was time for America to stop arguing about international events and start thinking about itself again.

FRANK OLIVER: The two presidential candidates gave the American people a clear choice in the election of 1920.

On one side was Democrat James Cox. He represented the dream of Woodrow Wilson. In this dream, the world would be at peace. And America would be a world leader that would fight for the freedom and human rights of people everywhere.

On the other side was Republican Warren Harding. He represented an inward-looking America. It was an America that felt it had sacrificed enough for other people. Now it would deal with its own problems.

Warren Harding won the election.

TONY RIGGS: The results of the election shocked and hurt Woodrow Wilson. He could not understand why the people had turned from him and his dream of international unity and peace. But the fact was that America was entering a new period in its history. For a long time, it would turn its energy away from the world beyond its borders.

That will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY: Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Tony Riggs and Frank Oliver.

You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and images at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English.

(來源:VOA 編輯:陳丹妮)

 
中國日報網英語點津版權說明:凡注明來源為“中國日報網英語點津:XXX(署名)”的原創作品,除與中國日報網簽署英語點津內容授權協議的網站外,其他任何網站或單位未經允許不得非法盜鏈、轉載和使用,違者必究。如需使用,請與010-84883631聯系;凡本網注明“來源:XXX(非英語點津)”的作品,均轉載自其它媒體,目的在于傳播更多信息,其他媒體如需轉載,請與稿件來源方聯系,如產生任何問題與本網無關;本網所發布的歌曲、電影片段,版權歸原作者所有,僅供學習與研究,如果侵權,請提供版權證明,以便盡快刪除。
 

關注和訂閱

人氣排行

翻譯服務

中國日報網翻譯工作室

我們提供:媒體、文化、財經法律等專業領域的中英互譯服務
電話:010-84883468
郵件:[email protected]
 
 
主站蜘蛛池模板: 中文字幕在线免费看 | 国产精品永久免费视频观看 | 国产成人系列 | 久久精品一区二区三区四区 | 性xxxxx| 一级片视频网站 | 久草在线中文888 | 中文字幕第页 | 欧美精品欧美极品欧美激情 | 草草国产成人免费视频 | 男人的午夜天堂 | 99视频在线观看精品 | www.伊人 | 亚洲乱码在线 | 国产综合久久 | 成人伊人 | 日韩在线欧美 | 久久亚洲国产精品无码一区 | 亚洲午夜精品国产电影在线观看 | 色综合激情| 久草视频在线播放 | 妹子干综合 | 欧美在线观看视频网站 | 国产精品夜色一区二区三区 | 日韩日日夜夜 | 一级特黄欧美 | 97精品国产高清在线看入口 | 欧洲色吧 | 丝袜美腿中文字幕 | 五月亚洲综合 | 久久日本精品99久久久久 | 免费看的黄网站 | 9久热这里只有精品视频在线观看 | 国产男女交性视频播放 | 久色乳综合思思在线视频 | 亚洲一区二区三区四区五区中文 | 成人永久福利免费观看 | 国产3级在线观看 | 午夜影院福利社 | 91精品久久 | 精品一区二区三区四区 |