英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

VOA慢速英语2014 Polk Sends Troops to Mexican Border 波尔克派军队到墨西哥边境

时间:2014-05-10 15:10来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

 

Polk Sends Troops to Mexican Border 波尔克派军队到墨西哥边境

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 in Washington.

James K. Polk moved into the White House after his swearing-in as the nation's 11th president on March 4, 1845.

Polk told voters during the election campaign he would serve only one term as president.  During those four years, he wanted to achieve -- or reach -- four main goals.  Two of his goals related to money.  Polk wanted to reduce taxes on imports, and to establish an independent treasury1.

His other goals related to expanding the country to the Pacific Ocean.  President Polk wanted to secure the Oregon Territory and California for the United States.

Polk Believes U.S. Should Extend from Atlantic to Pacific

Those who supported the president shared Polk’s belief that the United States should extend from sea to sea — from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  They felt it was God's will, and their duty, to spread American democracy and freedom across the continent.  In the words of poet Walt Whitman,

"It is for the interest of mankind that [America's] power and territory should be extended -- the farther, the better."

One way Americans wanted to extend the country was by making the Oregon Territory part of the United States.  The territory included what are now the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as part of the Canadian province of British Columbia.

American traders established claims to the Oregon territory early in the country’s history.  But British explorers gave Britain claims to the same territory.  The two countries could not agree on how to divide Oregon between them.  Since few white settlers lived in Oregon, Britain and the United States agreed to occupy the area jointly3.

This joint2 occupation worked well until the 1840s.  Then, thousands of Americans began moving west to Oregon.  The new settlers wanted all of Oregon to belong to the United States.

President Polk agreed. He thought the United States had strong claims to the entire territory.  But he said he would compromise.  He offered to divide Oregon at the 49th parallel of latitude4.  Everything north of this line would belong to Britain.  Everything south of it -- including the Columbia River -- would belong to the United States.

Britain's minister in Washington rejected the offer.  He said Britain would accept nothing but the Columbia River as the southern border of British Oregon.

President Polk said America had no choice then but to claim all of Oregon.  He seemed to say the United States would fight, if necessary, to defend its claim.

Polk did not really want war.  But he thought he needed a strong position to negotiate with Britain.

In London, the British government decided5 Oregon was not worth a war with the United States.  After all, Britain had moved its trading center on the Columbia River north to Vancouver Island.  So there was no real reason to demand rights to the use of the river.

The British foreign minister proposed a treaty that would divide the territory at the 49th parallel of latitude.  The proposal was almost the same that President Polk had made earlier.

Treaty Makes 49th Parallel Northern U.S. Border

The United States accepted the proposal.  The treaty made the 49th parallel the U.S. border from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.  South of this was California.

An American government minister once described California as the richest, the most beautiful, and the healthiest country in the world.  The official said the port of San Francisco was big enough to hold all the navies of the world.  He said someday San Francisco would control the trade of all of the Pacific Ocean.

There was only one problem.

“It was owned by Mexico.”

Historian Robert Merry wrote a book about James K. Polk.  Mr. Merry says Polk wanted to bring California into the union anyway.

“So obviously he had some underlying6 ideas about how that might be done.”

 

At first, the United States attempted to buy California from the Mexican government.  But Mexican officials refused even to talk about selling California to the United States.  When the U.S. Congress approved statehood for Texas in early 1845, Mexico broke relations with the United States all together.

President Polk ordered the commander of the U.S. Army in Texas, Zachary Taylor, to move his forces into the disputed area near the Rio Grande River.  The river formed part of the border between Texas and Mexico.

Polk sent a representative to Mexico in an effort to re-establish diplomatic relations.  But the Mexican government refused to talk with the diplomat7.

General Taylor sent one of his officers across the Rio Grande to meet with Mexican officials.  The Mexicans protested.  They said the area across the river was Mexican territory.  The movement of American troops there, they said, was an act of war.

For almost a month, the Americans and the Mexicans kept their positions.  Then, on April 25, 1846, General Taylor received word that a large Mexican force had crossed the border a few kilometers up the river.  A small force of American soldiers went to investigate.  They were attacked.  

All of the Americans were killed, wounded, or captured.  General Taylor quickly sent a message to President Polk in Washington.  It said war had begun.

Taylor’s message arrived at the White House on May 9.  A few days later, the president asked Congress to give him everything he needed to win the war and bring peace to the area.  Some members of Congress did not want to declare war against Mexico.  They believed the United States was responsible for the situation along the Rio Grande.  They were out-voted.

Later, Polk wrote:

"We had not gone to war for conquest. But it was clear that in making peace we would, if possible, get California and other parts of Mexico."

War declared with Mexico

Many Americans opposed what they called "Mr. Polk's war."  Whig Party members and anti-slavery Abolitionists in northern states believed that slave-owners and southerners in Polk's administration had planned the war.  They believed the South wanted to win Mexican territory for the purpose of spreading and strengthening slavery.

The president was troubled by this opposition8.  But he did not think the war would last long. He thought the United States could quickly force Mexico to sell him the territory he wanted.

So, Polk secretly sent a representative to the former Mexican dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.  Santa Anna was living in exile in Cuba.  The representative said the United States wanted to buy California and some other Mexican territory.  Santa Anna said he would agree to the sale, if the United States would help him return to power.

President Polk accepted the deal.  He ordered the United States Navy to let the former dictator sail to the Mexican port of Vera Cruz.

But once Santa Anna returned, he failed to honor his promises.  He refused to end the war and sell California.  Instead, Santa Anna organized an army to fight the United States.

In four months, he built an army of 20,000 men.  When General Taylor learned that Santa Anna was preparing to attack, he moved his forces to fight the Mexicans.

Taylor Commands U.S. forces: 'Tell [Santa Anna] to go to hell'

Santa Anna sent a representative to meet with General Taylor.  The representative said the Americans had one hour to surrender.  Taylor's answer to Santa Anna was short: "Tell him to go to hell."

The battle between the United States and Santa Anna’s army lasted two days.  Losses were heavy on both sides.  On the second night, the Mexican forces withdrew from the battlefield.  Taylor had won.

The victory strengthened Taylor’s public image.  He had already won the battle of Monterrey, a major trading and transportation center in northeast Mexico.

Other American forces also were victorious9.  General Winfield Scott captured the port of Vera Cruz and was ready to attack Mexico City.  Commodore Robert Stockton invaded California and had raised the American flag over the territory.

Stephen Kearny seized Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, without firing a shot.

Still, the war was not over.  President Polk's "short" war already had lasted for more than a year.  Polk decided to send a special diplomatic representative to Mexico.  He asked the diplomat to negotiate a peace treaty whenever Mexico wanted to stop fighting.

A ceasefire was declared.  But attempts to negotiate a peace treaty failed.  Santa Anna used the time to prepare for more fighting.  So General Scott ended the ceasefire.  His men began their attack on Mexico City.  

The fighting lasted one week.  Finally, the government of Mexico surrendered and Santa Anna left power.

US, Mexico Sign Peace Treaty

On February 2, 1848, the United States and Mexico signed a peace treaty.  Mexico agreed to give up California and New Mexico.  And, Mexico would recognize the Rio Grande as the southern border of Texas. The war was officially over.

But historian Robert Merry says President Polk suffered because of the conflict.  The war with Mexico, Merry says,

“Ended up being a much longer war than he had anticipated and much more costly10 in terms of lives, in terms of money, and in terms of his political standing11.”

The war with Mexico also influenced the US election in 1848.  That election, and the problem of what to do with the new territories, will be our story next week.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 treasury 7GeyP     
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库
参考例句:
  • The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
  • This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。
2 joint m3lx4     
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合
参考例句:
  • I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤,肩膀脫臼了。
  • We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。
3 jointly jp9zvS     
ad.联合地,共同地
参考例句:
  • Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
  • She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。
4 latitude i23xV     
n.纬度,行动或言论的自由(范围),(pl.)地区
参考例句:
  • The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
  • The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。
5 decided lvqzZd     
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。
6 underlying 5fyz8c     
adj.在下面的,含蓄的,潜在的
参考例句:
  • The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
  • This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。
7 diplomat Pu0xk     
n.外交官,外交家;能交际的人,圆滑的人
参考例句:
  • The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话,紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
  • He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。
8 opposition eIUxU     
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。
9 victorious hhjwv     
adj.胜利的,得胜的
参考例句:
  • We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
  • The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。
10 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
11 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
TAG标签:   VOA慢速英语
顶一下
(1)
100%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴