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VOA慢速英语2013 Thomas Jefferson Has Lasting Influence on the United States - Program No. 35

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Thomas Jefferson Has Lasting1 Influence on the United States - Program No. 35

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

We have been talking about Thomas Jefferson’s second term as president. Historian Joseph Ellis calls it “a disaster,” defined by the trade embargo2 and the looming3 War of 1812.

“He leaves office in 1808, 1809. He really wants to get out of town and sort of lick his wounds.”

In the months before he left office, Jefferson had signed a bill banning all trade with Europe. No ships could enter the United States, and no ships could leave. The purpose of the trade embargo was to keep America out of the war between Britain and France.

But the embargo slowed the American economy. Many Americans opposed the trade ban.

Jefferson’s political opponents, the Federalists, used the issue to increase their strength in northeastern states. The year 1808 was, after all, a presidential election year.

Thomas Jefferson had served two four-year terms as president. No law prevented him from running again. But Jefferson had decided4 years before that a president should be limited to two terms.  

Without such a limit, Jefferson believed, a powerful man might be able to keep the position for as long as he wished. George Washington had served two terms, and then retired5. Jefferson would do the same.

Jefferson’s Republican Party chose James Madison as its candidate for president. James Madison was Jefferson’s secretary of state. The party chose George Clinton as its candidate for vice6 president.

The Federalist Party named the same candidates it had chosen four years earlier: Charles Cotesworth Pinckney for president, and Rufus King for vice president.

The Federalists felt sure they would win the election. They thought that Jefferson's embargo on trade had angered the people and turned them away from the Republican Party. Even some Republicans felt the election could go very badly for their party.

But Jefferson remained calm. He believed that most Americans understood what he was trying to do with the embargo. And he believed they would vote for his party's candidate. Jefferson was right. Madison was elected.

Thomas Jefferson left the White House in March of 1809. He believed the nation was in good hands with James Madison. He returned to Monticello, his country home in Virginia, and never went back to Washington again.

Jefferson -- who died in 1826 -- spent his retirement7 years following many of his interests. One was architecture.

Jefferson continued building and remodeling his home, Monticello, throughout his presidency8 and retirement. The design was influenced by buildings he had seen in France and Britain.

Monticello appears on one side of the American five cent coin, the nickel. Jefferson’s face is on the other side.

Jefferson also spent a good deal of his retirement writing letters. Historian Andrew O’Shaughnessy says Jefferson was one of the great letter writers of his time.

One of his famous correspondences was with John Adams. Adams was the second president of the United States. Adams and Jefferson had been friends during the first years of the United States. But politics had made them enemies. Their friendship ended after the election of 1800.

Yet in retirement, the two men became friends again. Jefferson and Adams had what Andrew O’Shaughnessy calls a “remarkable correspondence.”

“They discuss the memory of the American revolution, the history of it, and how it should be written. But they also range over scientific and philosophical9 subjects.”

Jefferson wrote about 19,000 letters in his lifetime. A project to publish the entire collection started in 1943 and is not expected to be completed until 2026.

Jefferson also used his retirement to improve education in his home state of Virginia. Jefferson believed firmly in the value of education. His whole idea of government depended on the ability of citizens to make intelligent decisions.

He proposed a school system of three steps.

The first would be elementary schools, where all children could learn reading, writing, arithmetic and geography. These schools would be built in all areas of the state and would be paid for by the people living in each area.

The second step would be colleges — equivalent to the high schools of today. He proposed that nine of these schools be built in the state. Students would begin the study of science, or would study agriculture, or how to make things by hand. These schools would be paid for by the state.

The third step would be a state university, the University of Virginia, where students of great ability could get the best education possible. The university would produce the lawyers, doctors, professors, scientists and government leaders. Young men whose families had money would pay for their own educations. The state would pay the costs of a small number of bright students from poor families.

Jefferson also proposed that the University of Virginia be built at Charlottesville, a town near his home. Many of Jefferson’s ideas for the university buildings came from the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. Jefferson drew plans for the buildings. The buildings were very well designed.

Work began on the university immediately. But it was six years before the school was open to students.

Jefferson was there almost every day, watching the workers. He was quick to criticize any mistake or work that was not well done. When he was sick and not able to go down to the university, he would watch the work through a telescope from a window of his home.

The cost of the university kept growing. And Jefferson had to struggle to get the legislature to pay for it. He also worked hard to get the best possible professors to teach at the university. He sent men throughout the United States, and even someone to Europe, to find good teachers.

Finally, in March 1825, the University of Virginia opened.

Jefferson's health had suffered during his years of work on the university. He was 82-years-old and feeling his age. He suffered from rheumatism10 and diabetes11, and was so weak he could walk only short distances.

He knew he did not have much longer to live. He told a friend one day: "When I look back over the ranks of those with whom I have lived and loved, it is like looking over a field of battle. All fallen."

As his health grew worse, Jefferson turned his thoughts to death. He wrote how he wished to be buried. He wanted a simple grave on the mountainside below his house. He drew a picture of the kind of memorial he wanted put at his grave.

On this stone he wanted the statement: "Here was buried Thomas Jefferson — author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Virginia Law for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia."

Jefferson had been governor of Virginia, secretary of state and president. But historian Joseph Ellis says it makes sense that Jefferson would emphasize his contribution to the Declaration of Independence.

“Those are the magic words of American history. There’s 55 of them and they begin, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident.’ At the time that he wrote them he didn’t fully12 understand how important they were going to be. But they end up becoming the creed13, the American creed. And that’s his ticket to fame, the basis for his illustrious reputation.” 

But Joseph Ellis points out that Thomas Jefferson’s reputation has suffered, especially among many historians. The reason, he says, is slavery. Jefferson owned over 150 slaves at Monticello.

“He wanted to take a high moral ground and say that he knew slavery was at odds14 with the values of the American Revolution and the American republic. A lot of people said that who were slave owners. But in the end, he says the federal government has no power whatsoever15 to do anything about it.”

Joseph Ellis says Jefferson was against mixing of the races in society because he thought it would threaten the American union. But he is believed to have had a relationship with a slave named Sally Hemings who lived at Monticello. In 1998 genetic16 evidence supported the idea that Jefferson fathered children with her many years after his wife died.

The historian says one reason people still find Jefferson interesting is the contradiction between his words in the Declaration of Independence and his personal actions.

“He is the most resonant17 figure in American history because he simultaneously18 wrote the magic words about freedom and individual rights and equality, and at the same time was embedded19 in the great sin of American history — slavery and racism20. So that he stands astride the great paradox21 that is the history of America.”

On July 4th, 1826, Americans began celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. But then, from Boston, came news that former president John Adams had died. His last words were: "Thomas Jefferson still lives."

But Adams was wrong. At 10 minutes before 10 in the morning, on that same Fourth of July, his friend, Thomas Jefferson, had died.  Jefferson died at Monticello, in his bed, surrounded by his family.

As the news of the deaths of the two great men spread across the country, the celebrations turned to mourning and sorrow. Jefferson was buried the next day, as he had ordered, in a simple grave on the quiet mountainside.

Thomas Jefferson continues to influence the United States – especially his words about freedom and democracy. And Jefferson’s influence remained especially strong for James Madison. The fourth president had to deal with the problems with Britain that Jefferson was not able to solve. James Madison’s presidency and the war of 1812 will be our story next time.

I’m Steve Ember, inviting22 you to join us each week for The Making of a Nation — our American history series from VOA Learning English. 


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 lasting IpCz02     
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持
参考例句:
  • The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
  • We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。
2 embargo OqixW     
n.禁运(令);vt.对...实行禁运,禁止(通商)
参考例句:
  • This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
  • During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间,他们禁止与敌国通商。
3 looming 1060bc05c0969cf209c57545a22ee156     
n.上现蜃景(光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼)v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近
参考例句:
  • The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看,在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
4 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。
5 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
6 vice NU0zQ     
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。
7 retirement TWoxH     
n.退休,退职
参考例句:
  • She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
  • I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。
8 presidency J1HzD     
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。
9 philosophical rN5xh     
adj.哲学家的,哲学上的,达观的
参考例句:
  • The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
  • She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。
10 rheumatism hDnyl     
n.风湿病
参考例句:
  • The damp weather plays the very devil with my rheumatism.潮湿的天气加重了我的风湿病。
  • The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
11 diabetes uPnzu     
n.糖尿病
参考例句:
  • In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者,医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
  • Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。
12 fully Gfuzd     
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。
13 creed uoxzL     
n.信条;信念,纲领
参考例句:
  • They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
  • Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。
14 odds n5czT     
n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别
参考例句:
  • The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
  • Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗?
15 whatsoever Beqz8i     
adv.(用于否定句中以加强语气)任何;pron.无论什么
参考例句:
  • There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
  • All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样,你就怎样对人。
16 genetic PgIxp     
adj.遗传的,遗传学的
参考例句:
  • It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
  • Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。
17 resonant TBCzC     
adj.(声音)洪亮的,共鸣的
参考例句:
  • She has a resonant voice.她的嗓子真亮。
  • He responded with a resonant laugh.他报以洪亮的笑声。
18 simultaneously 4iBz1o     
adv.同时发生地,同时进行地
参考例句:
  • The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
  • The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。
19 embedded lt9ztS     
a.扎牢的
参考例句:
  • an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
  • He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。
20 racism pSIxZ     
n.民族主义;种族歧视(意识)
参考例句:
  • He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
  • Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。
21 paradox pAxys     
n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法;自相矛盾的人(物)
参考例句:
  • The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
  • The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。
22 inviting CqIzNp     
adj.诱人的,引人注目的
参考例句:
  • An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
  • The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人,使人感到亲切温馨。

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