THE MAKING OF A NATION 204 - Election of 1952 / Dwight Eisen

THE MAKING OF A NATION - August 1, 2002: Election of 1952 / Dwight Eisenhower

By Jeri Watson
VOICE 1:
This is Doug Johnson.
VOICE 2:
And this is Phil Murray with THE MAKING OF A NATION, a VOA Special English program about the history

of the United States.
(Theme)
Today we tell about America's presidential election of nineteen-fifty-two. And we tell about the man who won

that election, Dwight Eisenhower.

VOICE 1:

America's presidential election campaign of nineteen-fifty-two probably opened on the day
President Harry¹ Truman said, "no." He said he would not be a candidate for re-election.
In later years, Harry Truman would be called one of America's better presidents. Near the

end of nineteen-fifty-one, however, he had lost the support of many Americans.
The continuing war in Korea, and economic problems at home, had robbed him of much of

his popularity. His Democratic Party needed a new candidate for president.
VOICE 2:
In the spring of nineteen-fifty-two, Mister Truman named the man he wanted the party to nominate. His choice

was Adlai Stevenson, governor of Illinois.
Mister Stevenson, however, said he was not interested in any job except the one he had.

 

It appeared that he meant what he said. Someone asked what he would do if the Democratic
Party chose him as its presidential candidate. Mister Stevenson answered, "I guess I would
have to shoot myself."

So, President Truman and other party leaders discussed different candidates. Each one,
however, seemed to have some political weakness.

VOICE 1:

The Republican Party also was discussing possible candidates. It was much easier for the
Republicans to choose. Earlier, General Dwight Eisenhower had said he would campaign.

"Ike" Eisenhower was the hugely popular commander of Allied² forces in Europe during World War Two. Many
members of both parties wanted him as their candidate. General Eisenhower agreed to campaign as a Republican.

His closest competitor for the Republican nomination³ was Robert Taft, a senator from Ohio.
He was the son of a former president, William Howard Taft.

VOICE 2:


Senator Taft sometimes was called "Mister Republican." He had strong party support for his
conservative policies. However, he did not receive enough votes at the party's national
convention to defeat Eisenhower for the nomination.

In his acceptance speech, Eisenhower told the convention delegates that they had called him to
lead a great campaign. He described it as a campaign for freedom in America and for freedom
in the world.
Eisenhower chose senator Richard Nixon of California as his vice⁴ presidential candidate. By that time, Mister
Nixon was known throughout the United States for his strong opposition⁵ to communism.

Earlier, as a member of the House of Representatives, he had led the investigation⁶ of a former State Department
official, Alger Hiss⁷. Hiss was accused of helping⁸ provide secret information to the soviet⁹ union. Hiss denied the
accusation¹⁰. He was never officially charged with spying. But he was tried and found guilty of lying to a grand
jury and was sentenced to prison.

VOICE 1:

The Democratic Party held its national convention ten days after the Republicans. Illinois Governor Adlai
Stevenson welcomed the delegates. The words of his speech made it seem that he did not want to be a candidate
for president. This made the delegates want him even more.

They voted two times. No one received enough votes to win the nomination. On the third vote, Governor
Stevenson did. And he accepted. In his acceptance speech, he urged Democrats¹¹ to campaign with honor.

VOICE 2:

After the conventions, a political expert wrote about the differences between Adlai Stevenson and Dwight
Eisenhower. The expert said Stevenson was a man of thought, and Eisenhower was a man of action.

The Republican Party quickly employed an advertising¹² company to help its candidates. Advertising companies
mostly designed campaigns to sell products. In the presidential election of nineteen -fifty-two, the company
designed a campaign to "sell" Mister Eisenhower and Mister Nixon to the American public.

VOICE 1:

Eisenhower did not always agree with the company's advice. One time, he became very angry. He said, "All they
talk about is my honesty. Nobody ever says I have a brain in my head!"

There was no question that the Democratic candidate, Adlai Stevenson, had a brain. He was known as an
intellectual or "egghead". When he launched his campaign, he dismissed some traditional political advisers¹³ and
replaced them with eggheads.

VOICE 2:

Communism was the biggest issue in the campaign. Governor Stevenson said America needed to guard against it.
Yet he repeatedly criticized the actions of senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. For years, the senator had been
denouncing government officials and others as communists.

Eisenhower did not criticize McCarthy, even when the senator accused Eisenhower's good friend, general George
Marshall, of being a traitor¹⁴.

VOICE 1:

The Republican campaign went smoothly¹⁵ until someone discovered that Richard Nixon had received money for
extra campaign costs. Some newspapers said Nixon should withdraw. That led to his famous "Checkers" speech.

Nixon made the speech on national television. In it, he defended his decision to keep a special gift from a
political supporter. That gift was a dog, named Checkers. He said he kept the dog because his two little girls
loved it.


The speech was a success. Thousands of voters told the Republican Party that Nixon should remain as the vice
presidential candidate.
VOICE 2:

A few weeks before the election, Eisenhower made a powerful speech. He talked about ending the war in Korea.
TAPE: "Now, where will a new administration begin. It will begin with its president taking a firm, simple
resolution. That resolution will be to forego the diversions of politics and to concentrate on the job of ending the
Korean war, until that job is honorably done. That job requires a personal trip to Korea. Only in that way could
I
learn how best to serve the American people in the cause of peace. I shall go to Korea.
"

VOICE 1:
Adlai Stevenson ended his campaign with a powerful speech, too. In it, he told of his vision of America.
VOICE 3:
"I see an America where no man fears to think as he pleases, or say what he thinks ..
.
I see an America where no man is another's master -- where no man's mind is dark with fear.
I see an America at peace with the world.
I see an America as the horizon of human hopes.
"
VOICE 2:
The people voted in November. Eisenhower won almost thirty-four million votes. That was more votes than
a

presidential candidate had ever received. Stevenson won about twenty-seven million votes.
VOICE 1:
Dwight Eisenhower was sworn in as America's thirty-fourth president in January nineteen-fifty-three. He was

sixty-two years old. Many problems awaited him.
Republicans had only a small majority in Congress. Many Republican lawmakers were very conservative. They

probably would not vote for the new president's programs. The cost of living in America was rising. Senator
Joseph McCarthy was still hunting communists. And the war in Korea was not yet over.
President Eisenhower did not seem troubled by these problems. After all, he had been called on many times to

help his country.
VOICE 2:
Eisenhower came from a large family in Abilene, Kansas. His family did not have much money. He received
a

free university education when he went to the United States military academy at west point, New York.

He remained in military service for many years. By the time the United States entered World War Two in
nineteen-forty-one, he had become a top officer. In nineteen -forty-four, he led the allied invasion of Europe.
In nineteen -fifty, president Harry Truman named him supreme¹⁶ commander of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty

Organization.
VOICE 1:
When Dwight Eisenhower ran for president, people shouted, "I like Ike!" voters liked him because he always

seemed calm, even in difficult situations. As the country's president, he would face a number of difficult
situations. One of the first was the continuing war in Korea.


That will be our story next week.
(Theme)
VOICE 2:
This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jeri Watson and produced by Paul Thompson.

This is Phil Murray.
VOICE 1:
And this is Doug Johnson. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history

of the United States.

 

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1 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。

2 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

3 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

4 vice   

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。

5 opposition   

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。

6 investigation   

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。

7 hiss   

v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满

参考例句：

• We can hear the hiss of air escaping from a tire.我们能听到一只轮胎的嘶嘶漏气声。
• Don't hiss at the speaker.不要嘘演讲人。

8 helping   

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。

9 Soviet   

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。

10 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

11 democrats   

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》

12 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

13 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

14 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

15 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

16 supreme   

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。