VOA新闻杂志2023--Woodrow Wilson: Idealist

Woodrow Wilson: Idealist

VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents.

Today we are talking about Woodrow Wilson. He served two terms, from 1913 to 1921, and led the United States through the first World War.

Wilson might have seemed an unlikely war president. He was a university professor before he entered politics.

And, when the conflict began in Europe in 1914, Wilson strongly rejected the idea of the U.S. getting involved. He even campaigned for his second term on the slogan "He kept us out of the war."

But Wilson's idealism eventually made him believe the U.S. must enter the conflict. He famously said, "The world must be safe for democracy."

He spent the last months of his presidency¹ fighting to create a league of nations that would prevent future wars.

Wilson did not succeed in that effort. But the effects of his presidency are still seen today in both the domestic and foreign affairs of the United States.

Early life

Woodrow Wilson was born in the state of Virginia in 1856 and grew up in the South.

Wilson's father was a Protestant Christian² minister who supported the views of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Wilson's mother had been born in England but raised in the United States. She was reportedly warm and loving, especially to her husband and four children.

Wilson's early life was marked by poor health and a passion for learning. His education included tutoring by Confederate soldiers, classes with his father, a year at Davidson College, a bachelor's degree from the school now called Princeton, one year of law school, and a doctoral degree in history and political science from the University of Johns Hopkins.

He remains³, so far, the only president with a Ph.D.

Wilson's academic interests were in government, and how it could be most effective. Even as a young man, he supported the idea of a strong executive, either a prime minister or a president.

He wrote a number of books, including a biography of George Washington, and a history of the United States. He also taught popular classes at several colleges, including Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania, Wesleyan in Connecticut, and Princeton in New Jersey⁴.

In time, Wilson became the president of Princeton. He made major reforms to the school until some faculty⁵ and alumni resisted his efforts.

Wilson had always been interested in political power. The Democratic Party in New Jersey became interested in Wilson when they were looking for a candidate with an honest public image.

In truth, party officials believed he would be a weak leader whom they could influence. Wilson surprised them by winning the seat as New Jersey governor easily, and then rejecting their efforts to control him.

He went on to pass major reform legislation in New Jersey that reduced corruption⁶ and protected the rights of workers. His actions drew the attention of Democratic Party leaders seeking a candidate for president in 1912.

Presidency: first term

Voters did not overwhelmingly choose Wilson in 1912. Although he did well in the Electoral College, he earned only a little more than 40 percent of the popular vote. Other votes were mostly divided between two former presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft.

Yet Wilson quickly asserted authority over Congress and pushed through a number of laws aimed at dramatic reform.

Historian Kendrick Clements at the University of South Carolina says Wilson had a strongly progressive vision.

He was interested in "expanding economic opportunity for people at the bottom of society and eliminating special privileges enjoyed by the richest and most powerful members of society."

One of Wilson's most important acts was to create a new federal agency called the Federal Reserve Board. It still regulates American banks, credit, and money supply. He also created the Federal Trade Commission to ensure fair business practices, and the Department of Labor⁷ to protect workers' rights.

And he supported laws to reduce working hours for railroad employees, bar child labor, and offer government loans to farmers.

But even during Wilson's busy lawmaking, the threat of world war demanded his attention. Wilson had declared that the U.S. would remain neutral in the growing conflict between the Allied⁸ and Central Powers.

One of his reasons was that people in the U.S. were immigrants from the countries that were at war. Wilson did not want the conflict to divide Americans.

However, he permitted international trade, including with Britain and France. As a result, many believed the U.S. was favoring those countries.

In 1915, a German submarine sank a British ship called the Lusitania and killed more than 100 Americans on board.

Wilson protested several times to Germany about the sinking. He warned that the U.S. would not accept another such aggression⁹. But two years later, Germany attacked U.S. commercial ships. It also invited Mexico to enter into an alliance against the United States.

At the beginning of Wilson's second term in office, he asked Congress to declare war on Germany.

Presidency: second term

The U.S. entered World War I on the side of the Allied Powers. The additional support came at an important time. American soldiers were able to help resist German troops in France.

In time, Germany asked for an armistice¹⁰ – an agreement to stop fighting.

Following the war, Wilson had a grand vision for how to gain lasting¹¹ peace in Europe. In a speech known as "Fourteen Points," he proposed that the countries that had won the war not punish Germany.

Wilson also wanted European colonies to rule themselves, and other areas be given immediate¹² independence.

Most importantly, Wilson suggested a League of Nations that would guarantee the member countries' independence and safety.

But few world leaders agreed with his plan completely.

Even in the U.S., many Republican lawmakers in Congress resisted Wilson's idea for a League of Nations. Some strongly objected to any treaty that would limit the country's independence. Others did not want the country to be involved in world issues at all.So Wilson began a trip across the U.S. to raise public support for the League of Nations. He traveled more than 15,000 kilometers in 22 days and gave 29 speeches.

Wilson's doctors warned him that the trip was hard on his health. But Wilson was firm about pressuring Senate Republicans to adopt the agreement.

Finally, he collapsed¹³ from exhaustion¹⁴. Shortly after, he suffered a major stroke. Although he recovered somewhat, he remained partly paralyzed. He rarely appeared in public again.Instead, Wilson communicated to Congress through his wife. When Republicans changed the treaty to deal with their concerns, Wilson told his supporters to reject it.

In the end, the U.S. never did join the League of Nations.

When a new president, Warren Harding, was sworn-in in 1921, Edith and Woodrow Wilson retired¹⁵ to a house in Washington, D.C. Three years later, the former president died quietly there, finally at peace.

Words in This Story

assert — v. to demand that other people accept or respect (something)

opportunity — n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

eliminate — v. to remove; to get rid of

privilege - n. a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others

regulate - v. to make rules or laws that control (something)

commercial - adj. related to or used in the buying and selling of goods and services

armistice - n. an agreement to stop fighting a war

exhaustion - n. the state of being extremely tired

paralyzed - adj. unable to move or feel all or part of the body

1 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。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 jersey   

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。

5 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 allied   

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。

9 aggression   

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。

10 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。

11 lasting   

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。

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 collapsed   

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。

14 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

15 retired   

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。