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ANNOUNCER:

Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. Today we begin the story of Alexander Hamilton, one of the nation's most important early policy makers1.

The first government of the United States was weak. It had many debts and an empty treasury2. Its support from the people was not firm. There was some question about its future. Many wondered if it would last.

In a few years, however, there was a change. This change was produced in large part by the energy and imagination of one man, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton wanted to make the United States a strong and important nation. He wanted it to become the equal of the powerful nations of Europe. Here are Shirley Griffith and Frank Oliver with our story.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:
 
Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton firmly believed that no country could become a modern nation without industry. So, he carefully developed a program that would make the United States an industrial nation. He also organized the nation's finances. This was done by establishing government credit and a national bank.

The bank increased the flow of money needed for investment. It fed the needs of business and commercial activity. The need for money had brought much of this activity to a stop.

Finally, Hamilton took steps to protect American manufacturers from foreign competition. He did this by establishing a system of import taxes -- tariffs4 -- on some foreign goods brought into American ports. These import taxes forced foreign manufacturers to raise their prices. As a result, American manufacturers had much less competition in selling their products.

VOICE TWO:

Such a tariff3 system, Hamilton hoped, would strengthen American industry. He thought the United States should not have to depend on other nations for the things it needed. Such a system, he believed, would create a demand for all kinds of workers. It would increase immigration from other countries. And it would bring a new and greater demand for American farm products.

Hamilton's financial program helped manufacturers. But it did not seem to do much for farmers.

There was a loud protest, especially among farmers in the south. Everything he did, they said, helped the industrial and banking5 interests of the north. Yet the farmers had to pay more for the manufactured goods they needed. At the same time, they had to sell their crops at lower prices.

VOICE ONE:

Hamilton succeeded in getting Congress to approve his financial proposals. Yet his political victories brought him many enemies. And they started a Constitutional debate that continued throughout American history. The dispute involved this question: What exact powers do the government and the Congress have under the Constitution?

VOICE TWO:

Alexander Hamilton believed the Constitution gave the government a number of powers besides those written down. Otherwise, he said, the government could not work. For example, he believed that under the Constitution, the government had the right to start a national bank. It also had the right to put a tax on imported goods.

Hamilton's opponents disagreed sharply. They did not give the words of the Constitution such a wide meaning. They said the government had just those powers that were clearly spelled out in the Constitution, and nothing more. If not, they said, the government could become dangerously powerful.

VOICE ONE:

These disputes, and others, helped shape the new United States. In future programs, we will tell more about Alexander Hamilton's influence on political developments. Now, however, we will tell a little about his private life. What kind of man was he? Where did he come from? How did his political and economic beliefs develop?

There is much mystery about the early days of Alexander Hamilton. Some facts about his childhood and youth have been clearly established. Others have not.

VOICE TWO:

His mother was the daughter of French Huguenots who had settled in the West Indies. Her name was Rachel Lavien. Historians are not sure who his father was. One story says he may have been James Hamilton, a poor businessman from Scotland. Rachel Lavien lived with him after she left her husband.

One thing is certain. His mother died when he was eleven years old. When she died, friends of the family found work for the boy on the island of Saint Croix -- then called Santa Cruz -- in the Virgin6 Islands. He was to be an assistant bookkeeper. He would learn how to keep financial records.

VOICE ONE:

Young Alexander was considered an unusual child. Other children played games. He talked about becoming a political leader in the North American colonies.

He read every book that was given to him -- in English, Latin and Greek. At a young age, he learned a great deal about business and economics. And he developed an ability to use words to communicate ideas clearly and powerfully. This ability to write started him on the path to a new life.

VOICE TWO:

A severe ocean storm hit the West Indies. Hamilton wrote a report about the storm for a newspaper called the Royal Danish American Gazette. His story was so good that some of his friends decided7 to help him get a good education. They gave him money so he could attend a college in New York City.

The boy's plan was to study medicine and return to Saint Croix as a doctor.

VOICE ONE:

When Hamilton arrived in New York, he tried to enter King's College, which would later be known as Columbia University. However, he did not have enough education to enter King's College. So he went to a lower school at Elizabethtown, in New Jersey8.

He was one of the most serious students at the school. He read his books until midnight. Then he got up early and went to a cemetery9 to continue reading where it was quiet. He wrote many papers. Each time, he tried to improve his style. After a year at Elizabethtown, he was accepted at King's College.

VOICE TWO:

At King's College, both teachers and students were surprised by Hamilton's intelligence and his clear way of writing and speaking. The problems of the American colonies were very much on the young man's mind.

Hamilton protested against British rule. When colonists10 in the city of Boston seized a British ship and threw its cargo11 of tea into the water, Hamilton wrote a paper defending them. Then came the year seventeen seventy-six. The thirteen American colonies declared their independence from Britain. The declaration meant war.

VOICE ONE:
 

In this letter, George Washington thanks Alexander Hamilton for sending a copy of the pamphlet written by 'Publius'

As a boy, Alexander Hamilton had written, "I want success. I would put my life in danger to win success, but not my character. I wish there were a war where I could show my strength." Now, war had come.

The American Revolution gave Hamilton the chance to show his abilities. He wanted to be a great military leader. Instead, he became a valuable assistant to the commanding general, George Washington. In this job, he had to use all his political and communication skills to get money and supplies for the Revolutionary Army.

Hamilton also would become an influential12 thinker, writer, and journalist. For many years, he wrote editorials for the newspaper he established, the New York Evening Post. He also helped write the Federalist Papers with James Madison and John Jay. The Federalist Papers are considered the greatest explanation of the United States Constitution ever written.

VOICE TWO:

In addition to being a fine writer, Hamilton was a fine speaker, but only to small groups. He spoke13 the same way that he wrote: clearly, forcefully, and with knowledge. It was this ability that he used so well in the New York state convention that approved the Constitution.

More than any other man, it was Alexander Hamilton who made the delegates to that convention change their minds and accept the document.

After the new government was formed under the Constitution, Hamilton continued to play an important part in national politics. That will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER:

Our program was written by Harold Braverman. Shirley Griffith and Frank Oliver were the narrators. For transcripts14, podcasts and MP3s of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com. And join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION, an American history series in VOA Special English.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 makers 22a4efff03ac42c1785d09a48313d352     
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
  • The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 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。
3 tariff mqwwG     
n.关税,税率;(旅馆、饭店等)价目表,收费表
参考例句:
  • There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
  • The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。
4 tariffs a7eb9a3f31e3d6290c240675a80156ec     
关税制度; 关税( tariff的名词复数 ); 关税表; (旅馆或饭店等的)收费表; 量刑标准
参考例句:
  • British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
  • The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。
5 banking aySz20     
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。
6 virgin phPwj     
n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的
参考例句:
  • Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗?
  • There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。
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 jersey Lp5zzo     
n.运动衫
参考例句:
  • He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
  • They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
9 cemetery ur9z7     
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。
10 colonists 4afd0fece453e55f3721623f335e6c6f     
n.殖民地开拓者,移民,殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 cargo 6TcyG     
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物
参考例句:
  • The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
  • A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。
12 influential l7oxK     
adj.有影响的,有权势的
参考例句:
  • He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
  • He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。
13 spoke XryyC     
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。
14 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

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