THE MAKING OF A NATION 189 - Synopsis: 1920-1940

THE MAKING OF A NATION - April 18, 2002: Synopsis¹: 1920-1940

By David Jarmul
VOICE 1:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

(Theme)

History usually is a process of slow change. Customs and traditions flow slowly from day to day. However,
certain single events also can change the course of history. Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo was such an event. So
was the first airplane flight by the American inventors, the Wright Brothers. Or the meeting between the Spanish
explorer Cortez and the Aztec king, Montezuma.

All these events were single moments that changed history. And so it was, too, with the Japanese attack on Pearl²
Harbor on December seventh, nineteen-forty-one.

The surprise attack on America's large naval³ base in Hawaii was a great military
success for the government in Tokyo. However, the attack on Pearl Harbor had
more than a military meaning. It also represented the passing of a period in
American history.

The attack would force Americans to fight in World War Two. More important, it
would make them recognize their position as one of the leading and powerful
nations of the world.

VOICE 2:

In future weeks, we will discuss the military and political events of World War
Two. But let us take a moment today to look back at the years before the battle.

We already have seen how the attack ended the historic⁴ American tradition of
avoiding world conflict. However, Pearl Harbor also marked the end of a shorter
period in the nation's history. This period began with the end of World War One and
ended with Pearl Harbor. It lasted only twenty-three years, from nineteen-eighteen
to nineteen-forty-one. But it was filled with important changes in American politics, culture, and traditions.

VOICE 1:

Let us start our review of these years with politics.

In nineteen -twenty, the voters of the United States elected Republican⁵ Warren Harding to the presidency⁶. The
voters were tired of the progressive policies of Democratic president Woodrow Wilson. They were especially
tired of Wilson's desire for the United States to play an active part in the new league of nations.

Harding was a conservative⁸ Republican. And so were the two presidents who followed him, Calvin Coolidge and
Herbert Hoover.

VOICE 2:

All three of these presidents generally followed conservative economic policies. And they did not take an active
part in world affairs.

Americans turned away from Republican rule in the election of nineteen-thirty-two. They elected the Democratic
presidential candidate, Franklin Roosevelt. And they continued to re-elect him. In this way, the conservative
Republican policies of the nineteen-twenties changed to the more progressive policies of Democrat⁷ Franklin


Roosevelt in the nineteen-thirties.
VOICE 1:
This change happened mainly because of economic troubles.
The nineteen-twenties were a time of growth and business strength. President Calvin Coolidge said during his

term that the business of America was business. This generally was the same belief of the other Republican

presidents during the period, Warren Harding and Herbert Hoover.
There was a good reason for this. The economy expanded greatly during the nineteen-twenties. Many Americans
made a great deal of money on the stock market. And wages for workers increased as well.

However, economic growth ended suddenly with the stock market crash of October, nineteen-twenty-nine.
In that month, the stocks for many leading companies fell sharply⁹. And they continued to fall in the months that

followed. Many Americans lost great amounts of money. And the public at large lost faith in the economy. Soon,
the economy was in ruins, and businesses were closing their doors.
VOICE 2:
President Hoover tried to solve the crisis¹⁰. But he was not willing to take the strong actions that were needed to

end it. As time passed, many Americans began to blame Hoover for the terrible economic depression.
Democrat Franklin Roosevelt was elected mainly because he promised to try new solutions to end the Great

Depression. Soon after he was elected, Roosevelt launched a number of imaginative¹¹ economic policies to solve
the crisis.
Roosevelt's policies helped to reduce the amount of human suffering. But the Great Depression finally ended only

with America's entry into World War Two.
VOICE 1:
Roosevelt's victory in nineteen-thirty-two also helped change the balance of power in American politics.

Roosevelt brought new kinds of Americans to positions of power: labor¹² union leaders. Roman Catholics. Jews.
Blacks. Americans from families that had come from such nations as Italy, Ireland, or Russia.
These Americans repaid¹³ Roosevelt by giving the Democratic Party their votes.

VOICE 2:
The nineteen-twenties and thirties also brought basic changes in how Americans dealt with many of their social
and economic problems.

The nineteen-twenties generally were a period of economic growth with little government intervention¹⁴ in the day-
to-day lives of the people. But the terrible conditions of the Great Depression during the nineteen-thirties forced
Roosevelt and the federal government to experiment with new policies.

The government began to take an active role in offering relief to the poor. It started programs to give food and

money to poor people. And it created jobs for workers.
The government grew in other ways. It created major programs for farmers. It set regulations for the stock
market. It built dams, roads, and airports.

American government looked much different at the end of this period between the world wars than it did at the
beginning. Government had become larger and more important. It dealt with many more issues in people's lives
than it ever had before.

VOICE 1:


Social protest increased during the nineteen-twenties and thirties. Some black Americans began to speak out
more actively¹⁵ about unfair laws and customs. Blacks in great numbers moved from the southern part of the
country to northern and central cities.

The nineteen-twenties and thirties also were an exciting time of change for women. Women began to wear less
traditional kinds of clothes. Washing machines and other inventions allowed them to spend less time doing
housework. Women could smoke or drink in public, at least in large cities. And many women held jobs.

Of course, the women's movement was not new. Long years of work by such women's leaders as Elizabeth
Stanton and Susan Anthony had helped women win the right to vote in nineteen-twenty.

VOICE 2:

The nineteen-twenties and thirties also were important periods in the arts.

Writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Eugene O'Neill, and others made this what many called
the "Golden Age" of American writing. Frank Lloyd Wright and other architects designed great buildings. Film
actors like Clark Gable, and radio entertainers like Jack¹⁶ Benny, did more than make Americans laugh or cry.
They also helped unite the country. Millions of Americans could watch or listen to the same show at the same
time.

VOICE 1:

Politics. The economy. Social traditions. Art. All these changed for Americans during the nineteen-twenties and
thirties. And many of these changes also had effects in foreign countries beyond America's borders.

However, the change that had the most meaning for the rest of the world was the change produced by the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

America's modern history as a great superpower begins with its reaction to the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was a
sudden event in the flow of history. It was a day on which a young land suddenly became fully¹⁷ grown.

(Theme)

VOICE 2:

You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION, a program in Special English by the Voice of
America. Your narrators were Harry¹⁸ Monroe and Rich Kleinfeldt. Our program was written by David Jarmul.
The Voice of America invites you to listen again next week to THE MAKING OF A NATION.

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1 synopsis   

n.提要，梗概

参考例句：

• The synopsis of the book is very good.这本书的梗概非常好。
• I heard there wasn't a script.They only had a synopsis.我听说是没有剧本的。他们只有一个大纲。

2 pearl   

n.珍珠，珍珠母

参考例句：

• He bought his girlfriend a pearl necklace.他给他女朋友买了一条珍珠项链。
• The crane and the mother-of-pearl fight to death.鹬蚌相争。

3 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

4 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

5 republican   

n.拥护共和政体的人； adj.共和政体的，（Republican）共和党人，（Republican）共和党的

参考例句：

• Some families have been republican for generations.有些家庭世代都支持共和党。
• A third candidate has entered the contest for the Republican nomination.第三个候选人已经加入角逐共和党提名的行列。

6 presidency   

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。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 conservative   

adj.保守的，守旧的；n.保守的人，保守派

参考例句：

• He is a conservative member of the church.他是一个守旧教会教友。
• The young man is very conservative.这个年轻人很守旧。

9 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

10 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

11 imaginative   

adj.富有想象力的，爱想象的

参考例句：

• The imaginative child made up fairy stories.这个想像力丰富的孩子自己编神话故事。
• Scott was an imaginative writer.司格特是位富于想象力的作家。

12 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

13 repaid   

v. 偿还, 报答 vbl. 偿还, 报答

参考例句：

• The business quickly repaid the initial outlay on advertising. 这家公司很快偿付了初期的广告费。
• She doesn't intend to be repaid to her kindness. 她不图回报她的好心。

14 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

15 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

16 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

17 fully   

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 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。