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THE MAKING OF A NATION - Wilson Builds Public Support for the League of NationsBy Frank Beardsley

Broadcast: Thursday, April 27, 2006

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

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After the end of World War One, President Woodrow Wilson sought national support for his idea of a League of Nations. He took his appeal directly to the American people in the summer of nineteen-nineteen. I'm Frank Oliver. Today, Tony Riggs and I continue the story of Wilson's campaign.


Woodrow Wilson in 1919

VOICE TWO:

The plan for the League of Nations was part of the peace treaty that ended World War One. By law, the United States Senate would have to vote on the treaty. President Wilson believed the Senate would have to approve it if the American people demanded it. So he went to the people for support.

For almost a month, Wilson traveled across America. He stopped in many places to speak about the need for the League of Nations. He said the league was the only hope for world peace. It was the only way to prevent another world war.

Wilson's health grew worse during the long journey across the country. He became increasingly weak and suffered from severe headaches. In Witchita, Kansas, he had a small stroke. A blood vessel¹ burst inside his brain. He was forced to return to Washington.

VOICE ONE:

For a few days, President Wilson's condition improved. Then, his wife found him lying unconscious on the floor of his bedroom in the White House. Wilson had lost all feeling in the left side of his body. He was near death.

The president's advisers² kept his condition secret from almost everyone. They told reporters only that Wilson was suffering from a nervous breakdown³.

For the next few days, the medical reports from the White House were always the same. They said Mr. Wilson's condition had not changed.

People began to wonder. Were they being told the truth. Some people began to believe that the president was, in fact, dead. Vice⁴ President Thomas Marshall was worried. If the president died or could not govern, then he -- Marshall -- would become president. But even Vice President Marshall could get no information from Wilson's doctors.

VOICE TWO:

After several weeks, the president seemed to get a little stronger. He was still very weak. He could not work, except to sign several bills. This simple act took most of his strength.

Wilson's wife Edith guarded her husband closely. She alone decided⁵ who could see him. She alone decided what information he could receive. All letters and messages to Woodrow Wilson were given first to Edith Wilson. She decided if they were important enough for him to see. Most, she decided, were not. She also prevented members of the cabinet and other government officials from communicating with him directly.

Misses Wilson's actions made many people suspect that she -- not her husband -- was governing the country. Some spoke⁶ of her as the nation's first woman president.

VOICE ONE:

There was one issue Misses Wilson did discuss with her husband: the League of Nations.

The Senate was completing debate on the Treaty of Versailles. That was the World War One peace agreement that contained Wilson's plan for the league. It seemed clear the Senate would reject the treaty. Too many Senators feared the United States would lose some of its independence and freedom if it joined the league.

The leader of Wilson's political party in the Senate, Gilbert Hitchcock, headed the administration campaign to win support for the treaty. He received Misses Wilson's permission to visit her husband.

Hitchcock told the president the situation was hopeless. He said the Senate would not approve the treaty unless several changes were made to protect American independence. If the president accepted the changes, then the treaty might pass.

VOICE TWO:

Wilson refused. He would accept no compromise. He said the treaty must be approved as written.

Senator Hitchcock made one more attempt to get Wilson to re-consider. On the day the Senate planned to vote on the treaty, he went back to the White House. He told Misses Wilson that compromise offered the only hope for success.

Misses Wilson went into the president's room while Hitchcock waited. She asked her husband: Will you not accept the changes and get this thing settled? He answered: I cannot. Better a thousand times to go down fighting than to surrender to dishonorable compromise.

VOICE ONE:

The Senate voted. Hitchcock's fears proved correct. The treaty was defeated. The defeat ended Wilson's dream of American membership in the League of Nations.

Misses Wilson gave the news to her husband. He was silent for a long time. Then he said: I must get well.

Woodrow Wilson was extremely sick. Yet he was not the kind of man who accepted opposition⁷ or defeat easily. From his sick bed, he wrote a letter to the other members of the Democratic Party. He urged them to continue debate on the League of Nations. He said a majority of Americans wanted the treaty approved.

Wilson probably was correct about this. Most Americans did approve of membership in the League of Nations. But they also wanted to be sure membership would not restrict American independence.

VOICE TWO:

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed to re-open discussion on the treaty. It searched yet again for a compromise. It made new efforts to get Wilson to accept some changes.

But, as before, Wilson refused. He was a proud man. And he thought many of the Senators were evil men trying to destroy his plan for international peace.

Wilson's unwillingness⁹ to compromise helped kill the treaty once and for all. The Senate finally voted again, and the treaty was defeated by seven votes. The treaty was dead. The United States would never enter the League of Nations. And one of the most emotional and personal stories in the making of the American nation had ended.

VOICE ONE:

The long battle over the Treaty of Versailles ended with political defeat for Woodrow Wilson. Yet history would prove him correct.

Wilson had warned time and again during the debate that a terrible war would result if the world did not come together to protect the peace. Twenty years later, war came. The First World War had been called 'the war to end all wars'. But it was not. And the Second World War would be far more destructive than the first.

VOICE TWO:

The debate over the Treaty of Versailles was the central issue in American politics during the end of Woodrow Wilson's administration. It also played a major part in the presidential election of nineteen twenty.

Wilson himself could not be a candidate again. He was much too sick. So the Democratic Party nominated a former governor of Ohio, James Cox. Cox shared Wilson's opinion that the United States should join the League of Nations. He campaigned actively¹⁰ for American membership.

The Republican Party chose Senator Warren Harding as its candidate for president. Harding campaigned by promising¹¹ a return to what he called 'normal times'. He said it was time for America to stop arguing about international events and start thinking about itself again.

VOICE ONE:

The two presidential candidates gave the American people a clear choice in the election of nineteen twenty.

On one side was Democrat⁸ James Cox. He represented the dream of Woodrow Wilson. In this dream, the world would be at peace. And America would be a world leader that would fight for the freedom and human rights of people everywhere.

On the other side was Republican Warren Harding. He represented an inward-looking America. It was an America that felt it had sacrificed enough for other people. Now it would deal with its own problems.

Warren Harding won the election.

VOICE TWO:

The results of the election shocked and hurt Woodrow Wilson. He could not understand why the people had turned from him and his dream of international unity¹² and peace. But the fact was that America was entering a new period in its history. For a long time, it would turn its energy away from the world beyond its borders.

That will be our story next week.

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VOICE ONE:

You have been listening to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America. Your narrators were Frank Oliver and Tony Riggs. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley.

1 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

2 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

3 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

4 vice   

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。

5 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。

6 spoke   

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。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

9 unwillingness   

n. 不愿意，不情愿

参考例句：

• Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。
• His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

10 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

11 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

12 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。