THE MAKING OF A NATION 211 - John Kennedy, Part 2

THE MAKING OF A NATION -September 19, 2002: John Kennedy, Part 2

By Jeri Watson

VOICE 1:
This is Rich Kleinfeldt.
VOICE 2:
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 continue the story of President John Kennedy.
VOICE 1:
John Kennedy began his administration in nineteen-sixty-one with great energy to do good

things. After just three months in office, however, he had to take responsibility for a big

failure.
On April seventeenth, Cuban exiles, trained by America's Central Intelligence Agency,
invaded Cuba. Their goal was to overthrow¹ Cuba's communist leader, Fidel Castro. Most of White House
the exiles were killed or captured. painting

The last administration had planned the invasion. But Kennedy had approved it. After the incident, some
Americans wondered if he had enough experience to lead the nation. Some asked themselves if the forty-threeyear-old Kennedy was too young to be president, after all.

VOICE 2:

Kennedy soon regained² some public 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. The president said with a laugh that he
was the man who had come to Paris with Jacqueline Kennedy.

VOICE 1:

In Vienna, Kennedy met with Soviet³ leader Nikita Khrushchev. Their relations would
always be difficult.

Khrushchev did not want to compromise on any issue. He threatened to have the East
Germans block all movement into and out of the western part of the city of Berlin.

Not long after, the East Germans, with Soviet support, built a wall to separate the eastern and western parts of the
city. President Kennedy quickly announced a large increase in the number of American military forces in
Germany. He said the United States would not permit freedom to end in Berlin.

VOICE 2:

About a year later, in October, nineteen-sixty-two, President Kennedy said the United States had discovered that
the Soviets⁴ were putting nuclear missiles in Cuba. He took several actions to protest the deployment⁵.

One was to send American ships to the area. They were to prevent Soviet ships from taking missile parts and
related supplies to the Cuban government. In a speech broadcast on television, Kennedy spoke⁶ about the


seriousness of the situation.

KENNEDY: "It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any
nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States."

VOICE 1:

No fighting broke out between the United States and the Soviet Union because of the Cuban missile crisis. The
Soviet ships carrying missile parts to Cuba turned back. And President Kennedy promised that the United States
would not invade Cuba if the Soviet Union removed its missiles and stopped building new ones there.

The two sides did, however, continue their cold war of words and influence.

In Asia, the Soviet Union continued to provide military, economic, and technical aid to communist governments.
The Kennedy administration fought communism in Vietnam by increasing the number of American military
advisers⁷ there.

VOICE 2:

The United States and the Soviet Union did make some progress on arms control, however. In nineteen-sixtythree, the two countries reached a major agreement to ban tests of nuclear weapons above ground, under water,
and in space. The treaty did not ban nuclear tests under the ground.

On national issues, President Kennedy supported efforts to guarantee a better life for
African Americans. One man who pushed for changes was his younger brother,
Robert. Robert Kennedy was attorney general and head of the Justice Department at
that time.

VOICE 1:

The Justice Department took legal action against Southern states that violated the

voting rights acts of nineteen-fifty-seven and nineteen-sixty. The administration also
supported a voter registration⁸ campaign among African Americans. The campaign
helped them to record their names with election officials so they could vote.

As attorney general, Robert Kennedy repeatedly called on National Guard troops to protect black citizens from
crowds of angry white citizens. Incidents took place when blacks tried to register to vote and when they tried to
attend white schools.

VOICE 2:

President Kennedy said the situation was causing a moral crisis in America. He decided⁹ it was time to propose a
new civil rights law. The measure would guarantee equal treatment for blacks in public places and in jobs. It
would speed the work of ending racial separation in schools.

Kennedy wanted the new legislation badly. But Congress delayed action. It did not pass a broad civil rights bill
until nineteen-sixty-four. After his presidency¹⁰.

VOICE 1:

In November, nineteen-sixty-three, Kennedy left Washington for the state of Texas. He hoped to help settle a
local dispute in his Democratic Party. The dispute might have affected¹¹ 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 opposition¹² to Kennedy. Yet many people waited to see him.

VOICE 2:


A parade of cars travelled through the streets of Dallas. Kennedy and his wife were in the back seat of one. Their
car had no top, so everyone could see them easily. Another car filled with Secret Service security agents was next
to the president's.

Suddenly, there were gunshots. Then, many Americans heard this emergency report from television newsman

Walter Cronkite:
CRONKITE: "Here is a bulletin from C-B-S news. In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired at President
Kennedy's motorcade in downtown Dallas. The first reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously
wounded by this shooting.
"

VOICE 1:

The cars raced to Parkland Memorial Hospital. But doctors there could do little. Thirty minutes later reporters,
including Walter Cronkite, broadcast this announcement:
CRONKITE: "From Dallas, Texas -- the flash apparently¹³ official -- President Kennedy died at one p-m, Central

Standard Time.
"
((MUSIC)
)
VOICE 2:
As the nation mourned, police searched for the person who had killed John Kennedy. They arrested a man named

Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald worked in a building near the place where Kennedy had been shot. People had seen
him leave the building after the shooting. He had a gun.

VOICE 1:
Lee Harvey Oswald was a man with a strange past. He was a former United States Marine¹⁴. He was also
a
communist. He had lived for a while in the Soviet Union and had tried to become a Soviet citizen. He worked for
a committee that supported the communist government in Cuba.

Police questioned Oswald about the death of president Kennedy. He said he did not do it. After two days,
officials decided to move him to a different jail.
VOICE 2:
As they did, television cameras recorded the death of Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald

 

Graphic¹⁵ Image

was being led by two police officials. Suddenly, a man stepped in front of them.
There was a shot, and Oswald fell to the floor.

The gunman was Jack¹⁶ Ruby¹⁷. He owned an eating and drinking place in Dallas. He
said he killed Oswald to prevent the Kennedy family from having to live through a
trial.

((MUSIC))

VOICE 1:

President Kennedy's body had been returned to Washington. After a state funeral, he was buried in Arlington
National Cemetery¹⁸, across the Potomac River. A gas flame burns at his burial place, day and night.

An official committee was formed to investigate his death. It was headed by the chief justice of the United States,
earl Warren, and was known as the Warren commission. In its report, the Warren commission said that Lee
Harvey Oswald acted alone. It said there was no plot to kill the president.

VOICE 2:


Many Americans did not accept the report. They believed there was a plot. Some blamed Cuban leader Fidel

Castro. Some blamed extremists in America's Central Intelligence Agency. Others blamed organized crime.
The truth of what happened to John Kennedy may be what was stated in the Warren Commission report: that Lee
Harvey Oswald acted alone. Or, perhaps, the complete truth may never be known.

(Theme)

VOICE 1:

This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jeri Watson and produced by Paul Thompson.

This is Rich Kleinfeldt.
VOICE 2:
And this Stan Busby. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of the

United States.

 

Email this article to a friend
Printer Friendly Version

1 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

2 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

3 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。

4 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

5 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

6 spoke   

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。

7 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。

8 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 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。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 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。

13 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

14 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

15 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

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 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

18 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。