VOA慢速英语2014 布坎南被视为美国最糟糕总统

 

Buchanan Considered One of the Worst US Presidents 布坎南被视为美国最糟糕总统

From VOA Learning English, this is The Making of a Nation.  I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I’m Christopher Cruise. 

James Buchanan was sworn in as president in 1857.  He was almost 66 years old.  At the time, Buchanan was the oldest person ever elected president.  He was also the only president who never married. 

Buchanan had a successful political career before he became president.  But his administration struggled – and failed – to stop the country’s long dispute over slavery.  Many consider him one of the country’s worst presidents.

Jean Harvey Baker¹ is a historian.  She calls James Buchanan one of the country’s most interesting presidents. 

Buchanan was from Pennsylvania in the northern United States.  But many of his friends were from the South.  Ms. Baker says Buchanan admired the southern way of life.

“The most important thing to remember about him during his presidency² is that he was pro-Southern.  Not necessarily rabidly pro-slavery, but pro-Southern. And this colored all kinds of issues that he had to take a position on.”

President Buchanan faced important issues that involved slavery. One was a Supreme³ Court case brought by a man named Dred Scott. 

Dred Scott was a black man who had been born a slave.  But he had lived in some areas where slavery was banned.  So he claimed he was a free man.

President Buchanan thought the case could end the country’s long dispute over slavery.  He decided⁴ to intervene. 

Buchanan asked a Supreme Court justice from the north to support the southern justices’ decision.  The northern judge agreed. 

They determined⁵ Dred Scott was still a slave. And, the judges said Congress could not ban slavery anywhere in the country.

Historian Jean Baker says President Buchanan expected all Americans to accept the Court’s decision as the final word on slavery. 

“Of course, he was totally wrong.  And that’s one of the reasons he is considered to be one of our worst presidents.”

Ms. Baker says Buchanan also violated the U.S. Constitution by intervening in the case.  The Constitution says the powers of the president, legislature and courts must remain separate. 

Later in his term, Buchanan insisted that Congress support a pro-slavery government in Kansas territory.  He even offered Congress a bribe⁶ to accept the territory’s pro-slavery constitution. 

But most Kansans did not accept the territory’s government or want a pro-slavery constitution.  And many in Buchanan’s own political party disagreed with his efforts. 

In the end, Buchanan divided his party and failed to win support for slavery in Kansas.

Buchanan served only one term as president. He did not try to be re-elected.  Historian Jean Baker says President Buchanan did not defend the country’s interest well.

“He violated his constitutional pledge to support and protect the Constitution of the United States.”

In Buchanan’s final weeks in office, several southern states separated from the Union.  Shortly after, the country burst into civil war.

1 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

2 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。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 decided   

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 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。