THE MAKING OF A NATION #016 - Transition to Constitution

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how much money a person made. The period of change came during the
Nineteen-Seventies. For a while, these years remained tied to
Then they showed signs of what American would be like in the Nineteen-Eighties. There were a number of reasons for the change. One reason was that the United States
politics.
For example, one of the most popular television programs of that time was about
serious social issues. It was called "All in the Family". It was about a factory worker who hates black people and opposes equal rights for
and Nineteen-Eighties.
An economics professor from the United States was teaching in Britain in the early
Nineteen-Eighties. One of his students asked this question: "What is most important to Americans these
common interests. Now, many wanted to spend more time on

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This is Rich Kleinfeldt. And this is Stan Busby with THE MAKING OF
A NATION, a VOA Special English program about the
history of the United States. Today, we tell about life in the United States
groups. A time of innocence and hope soon began to look like a time of anger
and violence.
More Americans protested to demand an end to the unfair treatment of black citizens.
sixty-eight. Several weeks later, Robert Kennedy -- John Kennedy's brother - was shot in Los Angeles, California. He was campaigning to win his party's nomination for president. Their deaths resulted in riots in cities across
Your Hand. " It went on sale in the United States at the
end of nineteen-sixty-three.
Within five weeks, it was the biggest-selling record in America. Other songs, including some by the Beatles,

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You can think of it not just as a series of programs
about the history of America and its people, but a series of lessons.
The subjects include exploration, revolution,
because the citizens of the new country wanted him as their first leader.
After two terms, he gave up power by his own choice. He once again became a farmer and a
on radio but also on the Internet.
At , you can download MP3 files and transcripts.
That way you can listen anytime or anyplace --
Constitution give women the right to vote. Later,
another change lowered the voting age for Americans from twenty-one to eighteen.
Our programs explain the thinking behind these and other rights.
should have a voice in its decisions. British citizens in the American colonies paid taxes but had no representatives in

04.4.012810_3.The Making of a Nation

American History Series No. 121:Trial of Andrew JohnsonCongress acted in 1868 after the president dismissed the secretary of war. But the Senate found him not guilty by a single vote. Transcript of radio broadcast:Thursday, January 28, 2010Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.The Civil War ended in eighteen sixty-five. After that, tensions grew between Congress and the new president, Andrew Johnson.The Republican Party was still new. It was formed to oppose slavery. Radical members of the party controlled Congress. They wanted strong policies to punish the southern states that left the Union and lost the war.Standing in the way of the Republicans was Array Andrew Johnson, a Democrat. Thepresident opposed radical efforts to forcesolutions on the South. He vetoed anumber of programs that he thoughtinterfered with rights given to the states bythe Constitution.This week in our series, Kay Gallant andHarry Monroe continue the story ofAndrew Johnson President Andrew Johnson.In the congressional elections of eighteen sixty-six, radicals wonfirm control of both houses of Congress. They were able to pass a number of bills over the president's veto. But Johnson refused tostand aside in the face of radical attempts to seize all powers of government.This conflict between Johnson and the Congress caused much bitterness. Finally, the radicals decided to get him out of the way. For the first time in American history, Congress would try to remove the President from office.Under the United States Constitution, the House of Representatives has the power to bring charges against the president. The Senate acts as the jury to decide if the president is guilty of the charges. The chief justice of the United States serves as judge.If two-thirds of the senators find the president guilty, he can be removed from office.Radicals in the House of Representativesbrought eleven charges againstPresident Johnson.Most of the charges were based onJohnson's removal from office of hissecretary of war . Radicals charged thatthis violated a new law. The law said thepresident could not remove a cabinet officer without approval by the Senate. Johnson refused to recognize the law. He said it was not constitutional.Radicals in the House of Representatives also charged Johnson with criticizing Congress. They said his statements dishonored Congress and the presidency.The great impeachment trial began on March fifth, eighteensixty-eight. The president refused to attend. But his lawyers were there to defend him.Thaddeus Stevens speaks during the debate overimpeachment in the House of RepresentativesOne by one, the senators swore an oath to be just. They promised to make a fair and honest decision on the guilt or innocence of Andrew Johnson.A congressman from Massachusetts opened the case for the radicals. He told the senators not to think of themselves as members of any court. He said the Senate was a political body that was being asked to settle a political question. Was Johnson the right man for the White House? He said it was clear that Johnson wanted to overthrow Congress.Other radical Republicans then joined him in condemning Johnson. They made many charges. But they offered little evidence to support the charges.Johnson's lawyers called for facts, instead of emotion. They said the Constitution required the radicals to prove that the president had committed serious crimes. Andrew Johnson had committed no crime, they said. This was purely a political trial.They warned of serious damage to the American form of government if the president was removed for political reasons. No future president would be safe, they said, if opposed by a majority of the House and two-thirds of the Senate.The trial went on day after day. The Array decision would be close. Fifty-foursenators would be voting. Thirty-sixvotes of guilty were needed toremove the president from office.It soon became clear that the radicalshad thirty-five of these votes. Onlyseven senators remained undecided.The impeachment trialIf one of the seven voted guilty,Johnson would be removed.Radicals put great pressure on the seven men. They tried to buytheir votes. Party leaders threatened them. Supporters in the senators' home states were told to write hundreds of letters demanding that Johnson be found guilty.A senator from Maine was one who felt the pressure. But he refused to let it force him to do what others wished. He answered one letter this way:"Sir , I wish you and all my other friends to know that I, not they, am sitting in judgment upon the president. I, not they, have sworn to do impartial justice. I, not they, am responsible to God and man for my action and its results."A senator from Kansas was another who refused to let pressure decide his vote. He said, "I trust that I shall have the courage to vote as I judge best."In the final days before the vote, six of the seven remainingRepublican senators let it be known that they would vote not guilty. But the senator from Kansas still refused to say what his vote would be. His was the only vote still in question. His vote would decide the issue.Now, the pressure on him increased. Hisbrother was offered twenty thousanddollars for information about how thesenator would vote. Everywhere heturned, he found someone demandingthat he vote guilty.The vote took place on May sixteenth.Every seat in the big Senate room was filled. The chief justice began to call on the senators. One by one, they answered guilty or not guilty. Finally, he called the name of the senator from Kansas.The senator stood up. He looked about him. Every voice was still.The vote of Senator Edmund Ross of Kansas saved thepresidency of Andrew JohnsonEvery eye was upon him."It was like looking down into an open grave," he said later. "Friendship, position, wealth -- everything that makes life desirable to an ambitious man -- were about to be swept away by my answer."He spoke softly. Many could not hear him. The chief justice asked him to repeat his vote. This time, the answer was clearly heard across the room: "Not guilty."The trial was all but done. Remaining senators voted as expected. The chief justice announced the result. On the first charge,thirty-five senators voted that President Johnson was guilty. Nineteen voted that he was not guilty. The radicals had failed by one vote.When the Senate voted on the other charges, the result was the same. The radicals could not get the two-thirds majority they needed. President Johnson was declared not guilty.Radical leaders and newspapers bitterly denounced the small group of Republican senators who refused to vote guilty. They called them traitors. Friends and supporters condemned them. None wasre-elected to the Senate or to any other government office.It was a heavy price to pay. And yet, they were sure they had done the right thing. The senator from Kansas told his wife, "The millions of men cursing me today will bless me tomorrow for having saved the country from the greatest threat it ever faced."He was right. The trial of Andrew Johnson was an important turning point in the making of the American nation.His removal from office would have established the idea that the president could serve only with the approval of Congress. The president would have become, in effect, a prime minister. He would have to depend on the support of Congress to remain in office.Johnson's victory kept alive the idea of an independent presidency. However, the vote did not end the conflict between Congress and the White House over the future of the South.That will be our story in the next program of THE MAKING OF A NATION.Our program was written by David Jarmul and Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe. Transcripts, podcasts and historical images from our series are at . You can also comment on our programs. And you can follow us on Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English.。

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of the administration of President John Kennedy.
January twentieth, nineteen-sixty-one. John Kennedy was to be sworn-in that day
as president of the United States. It had snowed heavily the night before. Few cars were in the streets of Washington.
Yet, somehow, people got to the ceremony at the Capitol building.
The outgoing president, Dwight Eisenhower, was seventy years old.
John Kennedy was just forty-three. He was the first American president born in
Still, the poet could not continue. Those in the crowd felt concerned for the
eighty-six-year-old man. Suddenly, he stopped trying to say his
special poem. Instead, he began to say the words of another one, one he knew from memory.
history. The time of his inauguration was a time of tension and fear about nuclear weapons. The United States had nuclear weapons. Its main political enemy, the Soviet Union,

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Democrats from the southern part of the United States
joined with conservative Republicans in voting.
Together, these lawmakers defeated
some of Truman's most important proposals. This included a bill for health care insurance
majority from Mister Truman's Democratic Party. The president might have expected such a Congress to support his policies.
It did not, however, always support him. Time after time,
power throughout his presidency. On June twenty-fifth, nineteen-fifty, forces
from North Korea invaded South Korea.
Two days later, the united nations security council
and technology. Months later, Congress approved twenty-
five thousand-million dollars
for the first part of this program. In nineteen-fifty-one,
President Truman asked Congress to establish a new foreign aid program. The aid was for some countries in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, East Asia and South Asia, and Latin America.

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On April seventeenth, Cuban exiles,
trained by America's Central Intelligence Agency, invaded Cuba.
Their goal was to overthrow Cuba's communist leader, Fidel Castro.
approval when
he visited French leader general Charles de Gaulle.
The French were very interested in the new American president.
They were even more interested in his beautiful wife.
Texas.
He hoped to help settle a local dispute in his Democratic Party.
The dispute might have affected chances for his re-election in nineteen-sixty-four. He arrived in the city of Dallas in the late morning of November twenty-second. Dallas was known to be a center of opposition to Kennedy. Yet many people waited to see him.
President Kennedy said the situation was causing a moral crisis in America.

special english

President Johnson held a cabinet meeting to discuss the agreement Sherman had signed. War Secretary Stanton and the other members of the cabinet were violently opposed to it. They said Sherman had no power to make any kind of political settlement.
VOICE ONE:
Instead of surrendering to Sherman, the Confederate Armies would break up. The soldiers would return to their homes, taking their weapons with them. They would sign a promise not to fight again and to obey state and federalerals met again the next day. Sherman listened as Johnston explained his demands. Most of them, Sherman accepted. He believed that President Lincoln wanted to help the South as much as possible. He had heard Lincoln say that he wanted to make it easy for the southern states to return to the Union.

英语阅读文章1

THE MAKING OF A NATION - Hayes Wins HotlyDisputed 1876 ElectionWritten by Frank BeardsleyPresident Rutherford HayesWelcome 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.JACK WEITZEL: 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.TONY RIGGS: 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.JACK WEITZEL: 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.(MUSIC)TONY RIGGS: 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.JACK WEITZEL: 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.TONY RIGGS: 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.(MUSIC)Samuel TildenJACK WEITZEL: 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.TONY RIGGS: 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.JACK WEITZEL: 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.TONY RIGGS: 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.JACK WEITZEL: 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.TONY RIGGS: 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.JACK WEITZEL: 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.(MUSIC)BARBARA KLEIN: Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Jack Weitzel and Tony Riggs. Our programs can be found online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and historical images at . You can also follow us on Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English.。

【听力原文+精校译文】THE MAKING OF A NATION #016 - Transition to Constitution

THE MAKING OF A NATION #16 - Transition to Constitution (THEME)VOICE ONE:This is Frank Oliver.VOICE TWO:And this is Tony Riggs with the Special English history program THE MAKING OF A NATION.(THEME)VOICE ONE:Change has always been part of the history of the United States. Yet there has been very little national conflict. In more than two-hundred years, only one civil war was fought.变化一直是美国历史的一部分。

然而国家冲突很少。

在二百多年的时间里，只有一场内战爆发了。

In that war, during the Eighteen-Sixties, Northern states and Southern states fought against each other. Their bitter argument involved the right of the South to leave the Union and to deal with issues -- especially the issue of slavery -- in its own way.在那次战争中，十八世纪六十年代，北方各州和南方各州相互争斗。

他们激烈的争论涉及南方脱离联邦和以自己的方式处理问题——特别是奴隶制问题的权利。

VOICE TWO:America's civil war lasted four years. Six-hundred-thousand men were killed or wounded. In the end, the slaves were freed, and the Union was saved.美国内战持续了四年。

【听力原文+精校译文】THE MAKING OF A NATION #010 - The French and Indian War

THE MAKING OF A NATION #10 - The French and Indian War (THEME)VOICE ONE:This is Rich Kleinfeldt.VOICE TWO:And this is Sarah Long with the MAKING OF A NATION, A VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.(THEME)Today, we tell about the conflicts among the nations in Europe during the eighteenth century and how they affected North America.VOICE ONE:During the Eighteenth Century, Spain, France and Britain controlled land in North America. Spain controlled Florida. France was powerful in the northern and central areas. Britain controlled the east. All three nations knew they could not exist together peacefully in North America. The situation could only be settled by war.十八世纪，西班牙、法国和英国控制了北美洲的土地。

西班牙控制的佛罗里达州。

法国在北部和中部地区势力强大。

英国控制东部。

这三个国家都知道他们不能在北美洲和平共处。

局势只有通过战争才能解决。

The powerful European nations already were fighting each other for land and money all over the world. These small wars continued for more than one-hundred years. They were called King William's War, Queen Anne's War, King George's War and the French and Indian War.强大的欧洲国家已经在世界各地争夺土地和金钱。

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In the early nineteen-hundreds, another teacher -- American Robert
He experimented with small rockets to see how high and how far they could travel. In nineteen-twenty-three, a Romanian student in Germany, Hermann Oberth, showed how a spaceship might be es employed German scientists to help them win the race to
space. The Soviets took the first step by creating
Sputnik. This satellite was about the size of a
basketball. It got its power from a rocket. It orbited Earth for three months.
Within weeks, the Soviets launched another satellite into Earth orbit, Sputnik Two. It was much bigger and heavier than Sputnik one.
They needed to get within six-hundred meters to be considered successful.
After all the problems on the ground, the events in space went smoothly.

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As support for Jimmy Carter increased, Democrats who did not like him began to
say, "Anybody but Carter." But Carter was not to be stopped. He kept repeating that he did not have ties
for the Republican Party nomination in nineteen-seventy-six.
Ford's chief opponent was Ronald Reagan, governor of California.
Eleven Democrats campaigned for the nomination.
are going to keep it." In his campaign speeches, Ford denounced extremism. It was clear he was
speaking about Reagan.
Yet many convention delegates remained undecided.
The campaign did show, however, that Reagan was more conservative than Ford. For example, Reagan talked strongly about United States control of the Panama Canal. "We built it," he said. "We paid for it. And we

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He became a soldier because his country needed him.
He became president because the citizens of the new country wanted him as their leader.
George Washington gave up power and once again became a farmer and a private citizen. We tell about Thomas Jefferson. He wrote the beautiful words of the Declaration of Independence. That document told the world that the
Britain formed a new government More importantly they decided that any free citizen could be a candidate for public
These programs describe the elections of each American president.
Abraham Lincoln became president during the eighteen-sixties
when several southern states decided they no longer wanted to be part of the United
States.
Today, we begin the series of more than Music
Each week at this time we will tell a story from the history of the United States of America.

THE MAKING OF A NATION 014 - American Revolution_ Whose Side Are You On_

THE MAKING OF A NATION #14 - American Revolution: Whose Side Are You On?By Nancy SteinbachBroadcast: May 29, 2003(THEME)VOICE ONE:This is Rich Kleinfeldt.VOICE TWO:And this is Ray Freeman with THE MAKING OF A NATION, a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States. Today, we continue the story of the American Revolution against Britain in the late Seventeen-Hundreds.(MUSIC)VOICE ONE:Delegates to the American Continental Congress approved and signed a declarationof independence on July Fourth, Seventeen-Seventy-Six. The new country called theUnited States of America was at war with Britain. Yet not everyone in the formercolonies agreed on the decision.No one knows for sure how many Americans remained loyal to Great Britain. TheMassachusetts political leader, John Adams, thought about thirty-three percent ofthe colonists supported independence, thirty-three percent supported Britain, andthirty-three percent supported neither side. Most history experts today think that about twenty per cent of the colonists supported Britain. They say the others were neutral or supported whichever side seemed to be winning.VOICE TWO:As many as thirty-thousand Americans fought for the British during the war. Othershelped Britain by reporting the movements of American rebel troops.Who supported Britain? They included people appointed to their jobs by the king,religious leaders of the Anglican Church, and people with close business connections inBritain.Many members of minority groups remined loyal to the king because they needed his protection against local majority groups. Other people were loyal because they did not want change or because they believed that independence would not improve their lives. Some thought the actions of the British government were not bad enough to make a rebellion necessary. Others did not believe that the rebels could win a war against such a powerful nation as Britain.VOICE ONE:Native American Indians did not agree among themselves about the revolution. Congress knew it had to make peace with the Indians as soon as the war started, or American troops might have to fight them and the British at the same time. To prevent trouble, American officials tried to stop settlers from moving onto Indian lands.In some places, the Indians joined the Americans, but generally they supported the British. They expected the British to win. They saw the war as a chance to force the Americans to leave their lands. At times, the Indians fought on the side of the British, but left when the British seemed to be losing the battle. Choosing to fight for theBritish proved to be a mistake. When the war was over, the Americans felt they owed the Indians nothing.VOICE TWO:Black slaves in the colonies also were divided about what side to join during the American Revolution.Thousands fought for the British, because that side offered them freedom if they served in the army or navy. Some American states also offered to free slaves who served, and hundreds of free blacks fought on the American side. Many slaves, however, felt their chances for freedom were better with the British. Details are not exact, but history experts say more blacks probably joined the British in the North than in the South.VOICE ONE:At least five-thousand African-Americans served with the colonial American forces. Most had no choice. They were slaves, and their owners took them to war or sent them to replace their sons. Others felt that a nation built on freedom might share some of that freedom with them.In the South, many slave owners kept their slaves at home. Later in the war, every man was needed, although most slaves did not fight. Instead, they drove wagons and carried supplies. Many African-Americans also served in the American navy. Blacks who served in the colonial army and navy were not separated from whites. Black and white men fought side by side during the American Revolution.History experts say, however, that most black slaves spent the war as they had always lived: working on their owners' farms.(MUSIC)VOICE TWO:The American rebels called themselves patriots. They called British supporters Tories. Patriots often seized Tories' property to help pay for the war. They also kidnapped Tories' slaves to be used as laborers for the army. Many Tories were forced from towns in which they had lived all their lives. Some were tortured or hanged. In New Jersey, Tories and patriots fought one another with guns, and sometimes burned each other's houses and farms.VOICE ONE:Some history experts say the American Revolution was really the nation's first civil war. The revolution divided many families. Perhaps the most famous example was the family of Benjamin Franklin. Ben Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence. His son William was governor of the colony of New Jersey. He supported the king. Political disagreement about the war tore apart this father and son for the rest of their lives.VOICE TWO:Different ideas about the war existed among the patriots, too. That is because the colonies did not really think of themselves as one nation. They saw themselves as independent states trying to work together toward a goal. People from Massachusetts, for example, thought Pennsylvania was a strange place filled with strange people. Southerners did not like people from the North. And people who lived in farm areas did not communicate easily with people who lived in coastal towns and cities.This meant that the Continental Congress could not order the states to do anything they did not want to do. Congress could not demand that the states provide money for the war. It could only ask for their help.George Washington, the top general, could not take men into the army. He could only wait for the states to send them. History experts say George Washington showed that he was a good politician by the way he kept Congress and the thirteen states supporting him throughout the war.(MUSIC)VOICE ONE:As the people of America did not agree about the war, the people of Britain did not agree about it, either. Many supported the government's decision to fight. They believed that the war was necessary to rescue loyalists from the patriots. Others did not think Britain should fight the Americans, because the Americans had not invaded or threatened their country. They believed that Britain should leave the colonies alone to do as they wished.King George was not able to do this, however. He supported the war as a way to continue his power in the world, and to rescue British honor in the eyes of other national leaders.Whichever side British citizens were on, there was no question that the war was causing severe problems in Britain. British businessmen could no longer trade with the American colonies. Prices increased. Taxes did, too. And young men were forced to serve in the royal navy.VOICE TWO:At the start of the war, the British believed that the rebellion was led by a few extremists in New England. They thought the other colonies would surrender if that area could be surrounded and controlled. So, they planned to separate New England from the other colonies by taking command of the Hudson River Valley.They changed this plan after they were defeated in the Battle of Saratoga in New York state. Later, they planned to capture major cities and control the coast from Maine in the north to Georgia in the south. They failed to do this, although they did occupy New York city for the whole war, and at times had control over Philadelphia and Charleston.VOICE ONE:The British experienced many problems fighting the war. Their troops were far from home, across a wide ocean. It was difficult to bring in more forces and supplies, and it took a long time. As the war continued, American ships became more skilled at attacking British ships at sea.The colonial army had problems, too. Congress never had enough money. Sometimes, it could not send General Washington the things he needed. Often, the states did not send what they were supposed to. Americans were not always willing to take part in the war. They were poorly trained as soldiers and would promise to serve for only a year or so.VOICE TWO:The political and economic developments of the American Revolution concerned not just the Americans and the British. European nations were watching the events in America very closely. Those events, and the reactions in Europe, will be our story next time.(THEME)VOICE ONE:Today's MAKING OF A NATION program was written by Nancy Steinbach. This is Rich Kleinfeldt.VOICE TWO:And this is Ray Freeman. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.Email this article to a friendPrinter Friendly Version。

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They took many hostages, including more than sixty Americans.
The extremists refused to negotiate. They refused to release the hostages. In early April Nineteen-Eighty, President
Yet he lost the office to Democrat Jimmy Carter in the election of Nineteen-Seventy-
Six. The nation still has problems. Unemployment is high. So is inflation.
He believed this would give him enough support at the party convention to win the
nomination. Other Democratic candidates tried to stop
him, but his plan worked. By the time of the convention, he had enough support to win the nomination on
of being criticized when he believed he was right.
He won Congressional support for treaties to give control to Panama by the year Two-
Thousand. He believed it was right to give diplomatic

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President Bush wanted to extend Medicare, the nation's health care plan for people sixty-five and older.
In 2003 he signed a law to help forty million older Americans
required by the United States Constitution. But Mister Bush said the agencies would provide shelter and food
and not religious holy books.
President Bush took several actions on the environment during his first term.
America, at its best, matches a commitment to principle with a concern for civility.
A civil society demands from each of us good will and respect, fair dealing and
rgiveness."
During his election campaign, Mister Bush had promised he would help
social aid organizations linked to religious groups. He established the White House Office of Faith-Based and
change.

THE MAKING OF A NATION 001 - Introduction

THE MAKING OF A NATION #1 – February 27, 2003: IntroductionBy Paul Thompson(THEME)VOICE ONE:This is Mary Tillotson.VOICE TWO:And this is Steve Ember with the MAKING OF A NATION, a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States. Today, we begin the series of more than two-hundred programs about American history.(THEME)VOICE ONE:Each week at this time we will tell a story from the history of the United States of America. THE MAKING OF A NATION is really a series of lessons. These lessons include ancient history, modern history, exploration, revolution, politics, civil war, industrial expansion and modern technology.Our first program in the series tells about the first people who came to the Western Hemisphere. The story will continue to show what happened as time passed. What is news today will become history tomorrow. And that history becomes a new and important part of THE MAKING OF A NATION.VOICE TWO:THE MAKING OF A NATION answers questions about American history. How was the United States formed? Why was it necessary for loyal citizens to rebel against one nation and form a new nation with different laws? What was missing in their older form of government that would cause them to begin a rebellion?We explain how a group of farmers, businessmen and lawyers could write a document called the Constitution of the United States. And we explain why that document is still extremely important today. The answers to those questions and the writing of the Constitution resulted in the creation of the United States of America. The Constitution of the United States has been used by more than one government as a guide to creating a modern democracy.VOICE ONE:In other programs, we explain why it was necessary for those who formed the United States to include laws that guarantee freedom of speech and freedom of religion. We tell why they thought it was important to guarantee every citizen the right to write, print and publish material on any subject. And we explain why they felt there was a need to include a law that guaranteed a person the right to a fair and public trial if that person was charged with a crime.VOICE TWO:The American Revolution was fought for several reasons. One of the most important was the idea that citizens of a country should have a voice in its decisions. The men who led the revolt against Britain wanted to be able to vote. They agreed that a citizen should have a voice in the government that ruled his country. British citizens in the American colonies paid taxes but had no representative in the British Parliament. This lack of representation caused a growing anger in the American colonies.When the men who led the revolt against Britain formed a new government they made sure that all free men who owned land and paid taxes were permitted to vote. More importantly they decided that any free citizen could be acandidate for public office.Our series of programs explains this idea. These programs describe the elections of each American president. We tell why some candidates were successful and why others failed.We also tell about mistakes that were made when the United States was created. The greatest mistake was slavery. We tell about slavery and the pain and suffering it caused for all those involved. We tell of the great Civil War that was fought to keep the United States united and to end slavery.We also tell how election laws were changed to permit any citizen over the age of eighteen to vote in local and national elections.VOICE ONE:Many of our programs tell about the ideas and issues that had a great effect on the United States. But most importantly, we tell about the people who worked with these ideas and issues to make the United States a successful nation.We tell about George Washington. He began life as a farmer. He became a military commander and the first president of the United States. He became a soldier because his country needed him. He became president because the citizens of the new country wanted him as their leader. When his time as president was over, George Washington gave up power and once again became a farmer and a private citizen.Independence. That document told the world that the people in this new country would nolonger answer to a European ruler.VOICE TWO:Some of the men who formed the United States into a nation during the seventeen-hundredswere well educated and wealthy. Abraham Lincoln was not. He was proof that in a nationof equal laws, a poor man could rise to become the president of the United States.Abraham Lincoln became president during the eighteen-sixties when several southern statesdecided they no longer wanted to be part of the United States. We tell how President Lincoln dealt with the terrible Civil War that almost split the country apart.VOICE ONE:One of our programs deals with a speech that President Lincoln gave in the little town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A great battle had been fought there. President Lincoln had been asked to come to Gettysburg to say a few words at the dedication of a military burial place.What he said that day became one of the most famous speeches in the English language. President Lincoln’s speech honored the young men who had died on that bloody battlefield. He also told the world why the terrible war was being fought and why it was so important.Listen to the first sentence of his famous speech. In only a few words, President Lincoln explained the idea that was, and is still, so important to each citizen of the United States.VOICE THREE:"Four Score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”You can hear all of President Lincoln’s famous words in our program about his speech at Gettysburg. We tellhow he wrote the speech. And we tell about the sadness he felt because he believed his few words had been afailure. The story of the famous Gettysburg Address is only one of several programs that tell the story of Abraham Lincoln.VOICE TWO:THE MAKING OF A NATION includes programs about many different subjects. We tell about culture. We tell about social changes. For example, we tell about a time called the Roaring Twenties. They were the years from nineteen-twenty to nineteen-twenty nine.It was a time when young men and women began to change some of the traditions of their parents and grandparents. The Roaring Twenties were years of revolution in social values among some Americans.Movies were new and exciting. Music was changing. And newspapers were printing as many as five editions a day to present the latest news. By the end of the Roaring Twenties, radios could be found in most American homes. And a young pilot named Charles Lindbergh flew a small plane from the United States to an airport near Paris, France. He became a world hero for flying alone across the Atlantic Ocean.VOICE ONE:The Roaring Twenties ended with a crash. That crash was the beginning of the worst economic crisis in American history. The economic crisis was called the Great Depression. The MAKING OF A NATION explains what caused this depression. We tell how millions of Americans were without work. We tell the sad story of people who lost their jobs, their homes and their hope for the future. We tell how this great economic failure affected Americans and the rest of the world.VOICE TWO:We also tell about the administration of President Franklin Roosevelt. He was elected to office with a promise that he would bring the United States out of the Great Depression. Franklin Roosevelt served longer than any other president in American history.We tell about the elections and administrations of the presidents elected since that time. We tell about World War One, World War Two and other wars. And we tell about the social, cultural and historic events that were important to the growth of the United States as a nation.(THEME)VOICE ONE:This VOA Special English program THE MAKING OF A NATION was written and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Mary Tillotson.VOICE TWO:And this is Steve Ember.The first of more than two-hundred programs in this series begins next week at this time. We tell about the first humans to come to the Western Hemisphere. Join us for this special story on THE MAKING OF A NATION.Email this article to a friendPrinter Friendly Version。

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others lost their jobs. Many other businesses suffered as well.
When people started flying again, they found it much more difficult because
of increased security at airports.
George Bush's father, George Herbert Walker Bush,
had served as the forty-first president.
The inauguration marked only the second time in
American history that the son of a former president also became president. More than two hundred years ago,
Today we tell about the first term in office of President George W. Bush.
Mister Bush dealt with the most deadly terrorist attack against
the United States in history.
firefighters and twenty-three city police officers.
They died trying to save others.
Search and rescue operations began immediately.
Hundreds of rescue workers recovered people and bodies from the wreckage. Aid was organized for victims and their