VOA慢速英语2013 Whigs See a Chance to Defeat President Van Buren - The Making of a Nation No. 50: Martin Van Buren Part 2

 

Whigs See a Chance to Defeat President Van Buren - The Making of a Nation No. 50: Martin Van Buren Part 2

From VOA Learning English, welcome to the Making of a Nation, our weekly program of American history for people learning American English. I’m Steve Ember.

Last time, we talked about Martin Van Buren. He was sworn in as the eighth president of the United States in 1837. Not long after he took office, the United States  suffered an economic depression. It lasted six years.

The depression was the major problem during Van Buren's presidency¹, but not the only problem.

In foreign affairs, one of the chief problems Van Buren faced was a dispute with Britain about Canada. Canadian rebels had tried twice to end British rule over Canada.  They failed both times.

Rebel leaders fled to safety in the United States. There they found it easy to get men and supplies to help them continue their struggle. The rebels built a base on a  Canadian island in the Niagara River which formed part of the border between the two countries.

The rebels used an American boat to carry supplies from the American side to their base. In December 1837, Canadian soldiers crossed the Niagara River and seized the  boat. One American was killed in the fight.

For a while, Canadian forces and the rebels exchanged attacks. A number of American citizens assisted the rebels.

President Van Buren was troubled. He declared that the wish to help others become independent was a natural feeling among Americans. But he said no American had a  right to invade a friendly country. He warned that citizens who fought against the Canadian government, and were captured, could expect no help from the United States.

Another problem between the United States and Canada at that time concerned the border along the American state of Maine. That part of the border had been in dispute  ever since 1783. That was when Britain finally recognized the independence of the United States.   Years later, the king of the Netherlands agreed to decide the dispute. The king said it was impossible to decide the border from the words of the peace treaty between  Britain and the United States. So he proposed what he believed was a fair settlement instead. The United States would get about twice as much of the disputed area as  Canada.

Britain accepted the proposal. But the United States did not. The United States refused because the state of Maine would not accept it.

In 1838, Britain withdrew its acceptance of the proposal. Canadians entered the disputed area. The governor of Maine sent state militia² forces to the area. The  soldiers drove out the Canadians and built forts. Canada, too, began to prepare for war.

President Van Buren sent General Winfield Scott to Maine. Scott was able to get the governor to withdraw his forces from the disputed area. He also received guarantees  that Canadian forces would not enter the area. The danger of war passed.

Americans in the border area, however, were angry with President Van Buren. They believed he was weak because he did not want war.

The president was losing support not only in the Northeast. People all over the country were suffering because of the depression. Most people believed Van Buren was  responsible for their troubles because he continued the hard money policies of former president Andrew Jackson.

Historian Joel Silbey is an expert on Martin Van Buren. He says most historians do not think Van Buren was a strong president. However, Joel Silbey says Van Buren left  an important legacy³.

“When it comes to the political system, he was a brilliant innovator⁴.”

Martin Van Buren organized his political party, the group that came to be known as the Democrats⁵. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, people who supported  independent farmers and states’ rights over a central government generally followed Thomas Jefferson. They called themselves Democratic-Republicans or Jeffersonian  Republicans.

Jeffersonian Republicans opposed the Federalist Party. They believed the Federalists wanted a strong national government, a powerful banking⁶ system and a small, elite⁷  social class.

But after Thomas Jefferson died, the Jeffersonian Republicans broke into factions⁸. They divided their support among several candidates during presidential elections  and, as a result, often lost. Joel Silbey says one of the things Van Buren had learned was that, above all else, when you have an ideology⁹ you want to fight for you need unity¹⁰.

Van Buren organized political clubs and political leaders in New York that all supported Jefferson’s ideas. He brought them together to talk about their political  beliefs and choose a single candidate for their party.

In 1828 election, Van Buren had expanded this organization. His insistence¹¹ on political unity had helped elect Andrew Jackson. And his system of meetings eventually  became the national conventions that political parties use today to officially nominate their candidates. Van Buren also helped create the modern political campaign. In the 1820s, he noticed many state constitutions were lifting some of their voting restrictions¹². As a  result, more people were allowed to vote.

Historian Joel Silbey says Van Buren wanted to bring these new voters into his political party.

“He borrowed from a couple minor¹³ parties the notion of popular campaigns, where you persuaded people through campaign rallies, speeches by prominent people, and on  Election Day getting them out to vote by your organization’s agents.”

Joel Silbey explains that these techniques to persuade and mobilize voters were new to national politics. Now they are some of the major features of political  campaigns.

Martin Van Buren’s political tactics earned him a few nicknames. Some called him “The Little Magician,” because he knew how to win elections.

Others called him “The Sly Fox of Kinderhook.” Kinderhook is the town in New York where Van Buren grew up. The term “sly fox” is not entirely¹⁴ positive. Joel Silbey  says the nickname suggests that many people did not feel they could trust him.

“Van Buren is the first person to be seen as that — a manipulator. Unfairly, it was said he would do anything to win an election, and he had no real principles.”

However, Joel Silbey says Van Buren did what he thought was necessary to preserve Jefferson’s ideals.

In the election of 1840, Van Buren ran for a second term as president. This time his opponents used Van Buren’s political skills against him. Joel Silbey says the  Whigs used popular speeches and rallies to portray¹⁵ Van Buren as a failed president.

“During his re-election campaign in 1840, crowds of Whigs would chant, ‘Mattie Van is a used-up man!’ because he no longer had any power or effect on things.”

The Whigs also nominated a military hero they believed the people would love. He was General William Henry Harrison. Harrison had led an attack on Indians in the  Indiana territory in 1811. Many people believed that the battle — at a place called Tippecanoe — was a great victory for Harrison.

But Van Buren’s party, the Democrats, spoke¹⁶ of the 67-year-old Harrison as an "old lady." They called him "Granny Harrison." One Democratic newspaper said the old man  did not really want to be president. It said Harrison would be happier with a $2,000 a year pension, a barrel of hard apple cider to drink and a log cabin to live in.

Hard apple cider was a popular drink among working men. And at that time a great many farmers still lived in log cabins – houses made of rough logs.

The Whigs were the party of bankers and businessmen. They saw a chance to use the Democrats’ statement to their own gain. It gave them a way to present themselves as  the party of the working man and the small farmer. "The statement is right!" they cried. "The Whig Party is the party of hard cider and log cabins."The Whigs put up log cabins everywhere and offered free hard cider to everyone. They organized huge outdoor meetings for thousands, with food and drink for all. They  held parades and marched with flags, bands and pictures of William Henry Harrison. Many campaign songs were written. These songs told of Harrison's bravery against the  Indians. They told how he loved the hard and simple life of the common man -- even though he was really a Virginia aristocrat¹⁷.

At the same time, the Whig campaign songs said Martin Van Buren lived like a king in the White House.

A Whig congressman¹⁸ charged that the White House had become a palace. He said Van Buren slept in the same kind of bed as the king of France and ate French food on gold  and silver dishes.

The Democrats made their own claims. They said Harrison could not read or write. They said he would not pay people the money he owed them. And they charged that  Harrison even sold white men into slavery.

Senator Henry Clay said the campaign was a struggle between log cabins and palaces, between hard cider and Champagne¹⁹.

The state of Maine held elections in September of 1840. Voters in Maine elected a Whig, Edward Kent, as governor. They gave the state's electoral votes to Harrison,  celebrated as the hero of Tippecanoe, and to his vice²⁰ presidential candidate, John Tyler.

The election results produced a new song for the Whigs. "And have you heard the news from Maine, / And what old Maine can do? / She went hell-bent for Governor Kent, /  And Tippecanoe and Tyler, too. "One by one, the other states voted. The election was close in the popular vote. But Harrison received 234 electoral votes, compared to only 60 for Van Buren. And so  William Henry Harrison became the ninth president of the United States.

1 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。

2 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

3 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

4 innovator   

n.改革者；创新者

参考例句：

• The young technical innovator didn't lose heart though the new system was not yet brought into a workable condition. 尽管这种新方法尚未达到切实可行的状况，这位青年技术革新者也没有泄气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Caesar planned vast projects and emerged as a great innovator. 恺撒制定了庞大的革新计划。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

5 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》

6 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

7 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

8 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

9 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

10 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

11 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

12 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

13 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

14 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

15 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

16 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。

17 aristocrat   

n.贵族，有贵族气派的人，上层人物

参考例句：

• He was the quintessential english aristocrat.他是典型的英国贵族。
• He is an aristocrat to the very marrow of his bones.他是一个道道地地的贵族。

18 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

19 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

20 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。