VOA慢速英语2013 Jefferson Moves to Cut Debt, Spending - Pgm No. 32

 

Jefferson Moves to Cut Debt, Spending - Pgm No. 32

 Learning English, welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION, our weekly program of American history - for people learning English. I'm Steve Ember.

In our last program, we talked about President Thomas Jefferson's decisions about who would be in his new government. Jefferson was the leader of a new political party, the Republican Party. But not the Republican Party we know today; in fact, Jefferson's party laid the roots for today's Democratic Party.

During the election of 1800, the Jeffersonian Republicans struggled bitterly with the opposition¹ party, the Federalists. Jefferson won that election. In his inaugural² address of 1801, he said he wanted to work with the Federalists for the good of the nation.

But he chose no Federalists for his cabinet. All the cabinet officers were strong Republicans. All were loyal to Thomas Jefferson.

Once President Jefferson formed his cabinet, he began planning the policies of his administration.

"Jefferson, of course, thought central government should be almost invisible. He saw its prime role as acting³ as a referee⁴ between the states. He wanted to keep it to a minimum."

Andrew O'Shaughnessy directs a center for Jefferson studies at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home in Virginia. He says Jefferson was especially concerned about the public debt. In the first year of Jefferson's presidency⁵, the government owed millions of dollars. Each year, the debt grew larger because of the interest charged on these loans. Jefferson wanted to balance the budget.

Jefferson discussed his financial policy with his two closest advisers⁶. The advisers were Secretary of State James Madison and Treasury⁷ Secretary Albert Gallatin. The men agreed that the government must stop spending as much money as it did under former president John Adams. And they agreed that the government must pay its debts as quickly as possible.

Albert Gallatin said: We must have a strong policy. The debt must be paid. If we do not do this, our children, our grandchildren, and many generations to come will have to pay for our mistakes.

Jefferson began saving money by cutting unnecessary jobs in the executive branch. He reduced the number of ambassadors. And he dismissed all the tax inspectors⁸.

Congress would have to take the next steps. Most government offices, Jefferson said, were created by laws of Congress. Congress alone must act on these positions. The citizens of the United States have paid for these jobs with their taxes. It is not right or just for the government to take more than it needs from the people.

President Jefferson also wanted to cut taxes on the production and sale of some products, including whiskey and tobacco. He hoped the government could get all the money it needed from import taxes and from the sale of public lands.

The Federalists were furious. They warned that Jefferson's financial program would crush the nation. They declared there would be anarchy⁹ if Federalist officials were dismissed.

Most people, however, were happy. They liked what Jefferson said. They especially liked his plan to cut taxes.

Jefferson's biggest critic was his long-time political opponent, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton had served as the nation's first treasury secretary. Now, he was a private lawyer in New York City. He published his criticism of Jefferson in a newspaper he started, the New York Evening Post.

In Congress, elected officials also debated the president's proposal to cut taxes. Federalists said it was dangerous for the government to depend mainly on import taxes. They said such a policy would lead to smuggling¹⁰. People would try to bring goods into the United States secretly, without paying customs fees on them.

Federalists also said that if the United States cut taxes, it would not have enough money to pay its debts. Then no one would want to invest in the United States again.

Republicans said they were not afraid of smugglers. The danger, they said, would come from taxing the American people. There was no need for production and sales taxes. And, they said, the American people knew it. The Republicans also said they were sure the government would have enough money to pay its debts.

The Republicans won this legislative¹¹ fight. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives voted to approve the president's plan to cut taxes.

Congress also had another of Jefferson's proposals to debate. Jefferson wanted to reduce the number of federal courts. The issue had roots in the political divisions between the Federalist and Republican parties. And it started in the closing days of the previous president's term.

John Adams was a Federalist. Before Adams left office, Congress passed a Judiciary Act. This act gave Adams the power to appoint as many judges as he wished. The act was a way for the Federalists to keep control of one branch of government after losing the presidency and their majority in Congress in the election of 1800.

So, President Adams quickly created new courts and named new judges. Just as quickly, the Senate approved them. The papers of appointment were signed. The appointed men were known as "midnight judges."

However, some of the midnight judges did not receive their papers, or commissions, before Thomas Jefferson was sworn into office. The new president refused to give them their commissions.

Federalist congressmen claimed that the president was trying to interfere¹² with the judiciary. This interference, they said, violated the Constitution.

Republican congressmen argued that the Constitution gave Congress the power to create and eliminate courts. They said the former administration had no right to appoint the so-called "midnight judges."

The Republicans won this argument, too. Congress approved President Jefferson's proposal to reduce the federal courts.

Congress then turned to other business. But the question of the midnight judges would not die. One reason the issue remained important was because of a man named William Marbury. Marbury was one of the midnight judges who had never received his commission. He asked the Supreme¹³ Court to decide whether the government was required to give him his commission.

The chief justice of the United States, John Marshall, was a member of the Federalist Party.

"Jefferson and Marshall hate each other. In fact, Marshall gives him the oath for the inauguration¹⁴, and goes back to his room and says, ‘Well, a terrorist has just taken over the government. I hope we will be able to survive him.'"

Joseph Ellis is a historian who has written many books about early American history. He says John Marshall was "a towering figure" who had an entirely¹⁵ different view of the federal government than Jefferson.

Marshall believed the Supreme Court should have the right to veto bills passed by Congress and signed by the president. In the Marbury case, he saw a chance to put this idea into law.

Marshall wrote his decision carefully. First, he said that Marbury did have a legal right to his judicial¹⁶ commission. Then, he said that Marbury had been denied this legal right. He said no one -- not even the president -- could take away a person's legal rights.

Next, Marshall noted¹⁷ that Marbury had taken his request to the Supreme Court under the terms of a law passed in 1789. That law gave citizens the right to ask the high court to order action by any lower court or by any government official.

Marshall explained that the Constitution carefully limits the powers of the Supreme Court. The court can hear direct requests involving diplomats¹⁸ or the states. It cannot rule on other cases until a lower court has ruled.

So, Marshall said, the 1789 law allowed Marbury to take his case directly to the Supreme Court. But the Constitution did not. The Constitution, he added, is the first law of the land. Therefore, the congressional law is unconstitutional and has no power.

Chief Justice Marshall succeeded in doing all he had hoped to do. He made clear that Marbury had a right to his judicial commission. He also saved himself from a battle with the administration. Most importantly, he claimed for the Supreme Court the power to rule on laws passed by Congress.

The case of Marbury versus¹⁹ Madison established that the Supreme Court — not the president or the Congress — has the final say on what the Constitution means. Jefferson did not like Marshall's decision, but Joseph Ellis says that Jefferson was awed²⁰ by how the chief justice argued his case. 

"Jefferson says to his friend, 'If you ever talk to Marshall, don't say anything. Because whatever you say, he will take it and he will twist it.' He calls it the 'twistifications' of John Marshall."

Jefferson waited for the Supreme Court to use this new power to change Congress' laws. Several times during Jefferson's presidency, Federalists claimed that laws passed by the Republican Congress violated the Constitution. But they never asked the Supreme Court to reject those laws.

The case of Marbury versus Madison was one of the most important decisions about how America's government operates. But historians say another act during Thomas Jefferson's presidency affected²¹ America in an even bigger way. That will be our story next week.

I'm Steve Ember, inviting²² you to join us each week for THE MAKING OF A NATION – our program of American history from VOA Learning English.

1 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。

2 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

3 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

4 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

5 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。

6 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。

7 treasury   

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。

8 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

10 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

11 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

12 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

13 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。

14 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

15 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

16 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

17 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

18 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

20 awed   

adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声，人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 affected   

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。

22 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。