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THE MAKING OF A NATION - The Great Depression: How the Economic Crisis at Home Affected1 Relations OverseasBy David Jarmul

Broadcast: Thursday, August 10, 2006

VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

(MUSIC)

The stock market crash of nineteen twenty-nine began a long and difficult period for the United States. President Herbert Hoover struggled to find solutions as the nation sank into the worst economic crisis in its history.


Herbert Hoover

But the Great Depression was not the only problem demanding answers from Hoover. The president also had to deal with a number of important foreign policy issues. There were revolutions in South America. The economic situation created serious problems in America's relations with Europe. And Japan launched a campaign of aggression2 in northeastern China.

Hoover failed in his efforts to solve America's economic troubles. But as we will see in our program today, he did succeed with some of his foreign policies. He and most other Americans, however, would fail to understand the long-term importance of the forces gaining control in Germany and Japan.

VOICE TWO:

Herbert Hoover's foreign policies were marked by his desire to make friends and avoid war.

Like most Americans, the new president had been shocked by World War One. Hoover had seen the results of that terrible war with his own eyes. He led the international effort to feed the many European civilian3 victims of the fighting. And the new president was a member of the Quaker religious group that traditionally opposes armed conflict.

Hoover shared the wish of most Americans that the world would never again fight a major war. He felt the bloody4 bodies at Verdun, the Marne, and the other battlefields of World War One showed that conflict should be settled by peaceful negotiations6.

VOICE ONE:

Hoover worked toward this goal even before he entered the White House.

Following his election, he had several months free before becoming president. Hoover used this period to travel to Latin America for ten weeks. He wanted to show Latin American nations that they could trust the United States to honor their rights as independent nations.

Hoover kept his word. The year after he took office, his administration announced that it would recognize the governments of all Latin American countries, including governments that the United States did not like.


Theodore Roosevelt

Hoover told the nation that he would not follow the Latin American policies of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Roosevelt had decided7 in nineteen-oh-four that the United States had a right to intervene in Latin America if governments there did not act in the right way. Hoover said this was wrong. He told the country that it was more important to use friendship instead of force.

VOICE TWO:

Hoover withdrew American forces from Nicaragua. He arranged to withdraw them from Haiti. And he showed restraint as some fifty revolutions shook the nations of Latin America. Some revolutionary governments opposed the United States. They refused to pay debts to American companies or claimed ownership of foreign property. But Hoover refused to advance American interests by force. He wanted to prove that the United States could act towards Latin American nations as equals.

The policy was quite successful. And relations between the United States and Latin American countries generally improved under Hoover's leadership.

VOICE ONE:

The situation in Europe was much more difficult and serious for the United States. The problem was simple: money. The Great Depression did not stop at America's borders. It moved to Britain, Europe, and beyond. And it brought extremely hard economic conditions.

In Germany, the value of the national currency -- the mark -- collapsed8. German people were forced to buy goods with hundreds, thousands, and millions of marks. They lost faith in the existing system. And they looked for some new leader to provide solutions.

The economic crisis also put great pressure on the international circle of debt that had been created after the war. Suddenly, American bankers could no longer make loans to Germany. This meant that Germany could not pay back war debts to France and the other Allied9 nations of World War One. And without this money, the Allied nations could not repay money they owed American banks.

The circle of debt fell apart.

VOICE TWO:

The situation grew steadily10 worse throughout the early months of nineteen thirty. Hoover finally had to announce that all nations could delay their debt payments to the United States for one year.

Hoover's action did what he wanted it to. It put a temporary stop to the international debt crisis. But it caused great damage to private banks. People lost faith in banks. Throughout Europe, people withdrew their money from banks. As a result, the European banks could not repay more than a thousand million dollars they had borrowed from private American banks.

VOICE ONE:

This was not the only problem. Nations throughout Europe also were forced to take their currencies off the gold standard. This meant their money no longer could be exchanged for gold. The economic situation grew worse. And as it did, serious political tensions began to threaten peace in Asia and Europe.

VOICE TWO:

The threat in Asia became clear first.

Japan had defeated Russia in a war in nineteen-oh-five. The victory gave Japan control over the economy of southern Manchuria in the northeastern part of China. As years passed, Japan began to feel threatened by two forces. First, Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek was trying to organize all of China under the control of his Nationalist forces. Second, Russia was extending the Chinese eastern railway to the Siberian city of Vladivostok.

Japan's army took control of the government in Tokyo in late nineteen thirty-one. The army was fearful of the growing threat to Japan's control of Manchuria. So it moved Japanese troops immediately into several Manchurian cities. And it claimed political control of the whole area.

President Hoover and most Americans opposed Japan's aggression strongly. But they were not willing to take any action that might lead to another major war.

VOICE ONE:

Japan's military leaders knew that the people of Europe and America had no desire to fight to protect China. And so their army marched on. It invaded the huge city of Shanghai, killing11 thousands of civilians12. Western leaders condemned13 the action. American Secretary of State Henry Stimson said the United States would not recognize Japanese control in these areas of China.

But again, Hoover refused to consider any economic actions against the Japanese. And he strongly opposed taking any military action.

The League of Nations also refused to recognize Japan's takeover. It called Japan the aggressor in Manchuria. Japan reacted simply. It withdrew from the League of Nations.

VOICE TWO:


Henry Stimson

Most Americans were not happy about Japan's clear aggression. But they were not willing to fight force with force. This was less true for Secretary of State Stimson. Stimson was a follower14 of the old ideas of President Theodore Roosevelt. He believed a nation could only have a strong foreign policy by being strong and using its military power in times of crisis.

But Stimson's voice was in the minority. Most Americans did not believe Japan really threatened the security of the United States. And they were not ready to risk their lives to help people in China. Many Americans would change their opinion about Japan only after its airplanes attacked the American military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in nineteen forty-one.

VOICE ONE:

The same story was true in Europe. France was worried about the rising power of the Nazis15 in Germany, and of Fascists16 in Italy and Spain. It proposed creation of an international army.

Hoover opposed the plan. He called for all nations to reduce their weapons. He believed negotiation5, not force, was the way to solve the problem. But the new leaders in Germany and Japan would listen much more closely to the footsteps of marching troops than to the high words of political leaders or peace supporters.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION, a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Your narrators have been Maurice Joyce and Larry West. Our program was written by David Jarmul.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 affected TzUzg0     
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。
2 aggression WKjyF     
n.进攻,侵略,侵犯,侵害
参考例句:
  • So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结,就不必惧怕外来侵略。
  • Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。
3 civilian uqbzl     
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
参考例句:
  • There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
  • He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
4 bloody kWHza     
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染
参考例句:
  • He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
  • He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。
5 negotiation FGWxc     
n.谈判,协商
参考例句:
  • They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判,他们的食糖生意成交了。
  • The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。
6 negotiations af4b5f3e98e178dd3c4bac64b625ecd0     
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过
参考例句:
  • negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
  • Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
7 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。
8 collapsed cwWzSG     
adj.倒塌的
参考例句:
  • Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
  • The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
9 allied iLtys     
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。
10 steadily Qukw6     
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
参考例句:
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
11 killing kpBziQ     
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
参考例句:
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
12 civilians 2a8bdc87d05da507ff4534c9c974b785     
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓
参考例句:
  • the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
  • At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后,至少有300名平民下落不明。
13 condemned condemned     
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
  • The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。
14 follower gjXxP     
n.跟随者;随员;门徒;信徒
参考例句:
  • He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
  • Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
15 Nazis 39168f65c976085afe9099ea0411e9a5     
n.(德国的)纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 );纳粹主义
参考例句:
  • The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》
16 fascists 5fa17f70bcb9821fe1e8183a1b2f4e45     
n.法西斯主义的支持者( fascist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists. 老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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