VOA标准英语2013--Making of a Nation | American History: Ratifying the Constitution

 

Making of a Nation | American History: Ratifying² the Constitution

From VOA Learning English, welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

Today, we continue our story of the United States Constitution. In recent weeks, we told the story of how the Constitution was written. In the summer of 1787, a group of delegates gathered for a convention in Philadelphia. Their plan was to rewrite the Articles of Confederation. Those articles created a weak union of the 13 states.

Instead of rewriting the articles, however, they spent that summer writing a completely new plan of government. On September 17th, after four months of often bitter debate, the delegates finally agreed to the new plan. Now, they had to get at least nine of the 13 states to approve it.

Delegates to the Philadelphia convention had met in secret. They wanted to be able to debate proposals, and change their minds, without worrying about public reaction. Now, they were free to speak openly. Each had a copy of the new Constitution.

Newspapers also had copies. They published every word. Public reaction was great indeed. Arguments 'for' and 'against' were the same as those voiced by delegates to the convention: The Constitution would save the United States! The Constitution would create a dictator!

Yale Law School professor Akhil Reed Amar says the public debate about the Constitution was one of its first successes as a democratic document. He notes that even democracies of long ago, like those in Greece or Italy, did not let citizens vote on their constitutions.

 “People could be for the Constitution, or against it, no one was shut down, no one was put in prison if they liked George Washington or they didn’t like George Washington. Just this proliferation, robust³, wide-open, uninhibited discourse⁴, up and down the continent!”

Supporters of the new Constitution understood that to win ratification⁵, they must speak out. So, a few weeks after the document was signed, they began writing statements in support of the proposed Constitution.

Their statements appeared first in newspapers in New York. They were called the Federalist Papers. They were published under the name of “Publius.” But they were really written by three men: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.

Supreme⁶ Court Justice Clarence Thomas says he deeply respects the men who wrote the Federalist Papers.

 “These are people who were engaged, who knew the Constitution. I also want you to know, these were not scholars. These were farmers. These were businesspeople. Some of whom who had formal education. Some who did not. But they cared about this country.”

Years later, historians said the Federalist Papers were the greatest explanation of the Constitution ever written.  But in 1787, they had little effect on public opinion.

The debate over the Constitution divided Americans into two groups. Those who supported it were known as Federalists. Those who opposed it were known as anti-Federalists.

The anti-Federalists were not anti-American. They were governors, heroes of the Revolutionary War, and even a future president. Yet they distrusted the idea of a strong central government.

Give too much power to the president, Congress and the courts, they said, and citizens would no longer be free. They would lose the liberties gained in the war for independence from Britain.

Law professor Akhil Reed Amar says the anti-Federalists were an important part of the debate — and of history.

 “The people who opposed the Constitution, who think it could be better still, they’re not cast out. They become presidents of the United States, vice⁷ presidents of the United States, justices on the Supreme Court. It’s extraordinary how they’re kept in the process.”

There were both Federalists and anti-Federalists in the Continental⁸ Congress. The Congress had few powers. But it was the only central government the 13 states had at that time. It met in New York City.

The convention in Philadelphia had sent the Continental Congress a copy of the new Constitution. Within eight days, the Congress agreed that each state should organize a convention to discuss ratification. One by one, the states held those meetings.

Delaware was the first state to ratify¹, early in December, 1787. All the delegates voted to approve it. Pennsylvania was the next to ratify, also in December. New Jersey⁹ ratified¹⁰ the Constitution in December, followed by Georgia and Connecticut in January. That made five states. The Federalists needed just four more to win ratification.

Massachusetts voted in early February. Delegates to the state convention wanted the Constitution amended¹¹ to include guarantees to protect citizens' rights. They agreed to ratify if these guarantees were added later.

Maryland ratified the Constitution at the end of April. There, a number of delegates included a letter of protest with their vote. They said if the plan of government were not amended, the liberty and happiness of the people would be threatened.

At the end of May, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify. Just one more state and the new Constitution would become the law of the land. All eyes turned to Virginia.

Virginia was the biggest of the 13 states. One-fifth of all the people in America lived in Virginia. The men who attended the ratifying convention were among the most famous names in the nation: James Madison, Patrick Henry, George Mason, James Monroe, Edmund Randolph and John Marshall.

The most famous Virginian, George Washington, stayed at his home, Mount Vernon. All during the month of June, however, riders brought him messages from the convention and carried messages back.

Thomas Jefferson was still in Paris, serving as America's representative to France. But others kept him informed of everything that happened at home. Jefferson wrote back that he liked most of the Constitution. But, he said, I do not like the fact that it does not contain a declaration of the rights of citizens.

For three weeks, the Virginia delegates argued about the Constitution. By the end of June, they were ready to vote. Patrick Henry, the outspoken¹² anti-Federalist, asked to make a final statement.

"If this convention approves the Constitution," Henry said, "I will feel that I fought for good reasons…and lost the fight. If this happens, I will wait and hope. I will hope that the spirit of the American Revolution is not lost. I will hope that this new plan of government is changed to protect the safety, the liberty, and the happiness of the American people."

Then the convention voted. Virginia approved the Constitution. However, like Massachusetts, it added that the document must include a declaration of rights for the nation's people.

Federalists in Virginia thought their state was the ninth to ratify, the one that made the Constitution the law of the land. But they soon learned that New Hampshire had ratified a few days earlier. Virginia was number 10. That left three states: North Carolina, Rhode Island, and New York.

In a way, New York was the most important of all. If New York refused to join the union under the Constitution, it would be almost impossible for a central government to rule the nation. The 12 other states would be divided in two, geographically¹³ separated by New York state.

Alexander Hamilton was a leader of the Federalists. They used their right to filibuster¹⁴ -- to make many long speeches -- to delay the vote. They wanted to wait to hear what Virginia would do. Early in July, they got the news. But New York's anti-Federalists kept up the fight for three more weeks.

It was not until the end of July that New York finally ratified the Constitution. The vote was extremely close: 30 to 27. Like Massachusetts and Virginia, New York demanded a declaration of rights.

 The long struggle to give the United States a strong central government was over. It took four months to write a new Constitution. It took 10 months to ratify it.

Yale Law School professor Akhil Reed Amar says adopting the constitution was, in his words, “the most democratic deed in history.”

 “For the first time ever in the history of the planet, an entire continent got to vote on how they and their posterity¹⁵ would be governed. And there were lots of exclusions¹⁶ from our perspective, but we wouldn’t exist as a democratic country, as a democratic world, but for that.”

The Continental Congress declared that the Constitution would become effective the first Wednesday in March, 1789.  The last two states -- North Carolina and Rhode Island -- did not approve it until many months after that date.

Benjamin Rush of Pennsylvania, who had signed the Declaration of Independence, wrote down eight words when he heard that the Constitution had been ratified. "It is done," he said. "We have become a nation."

But before that, the nation’s founders¹⁷ had one more question to answer. How would the Constitution guarantee citizens’ rights? Delegates at the convention had raised the point many times. And several states made protecting citizens’ rights a condition for approving the document. The Bill of Rights will be our story next week.  

I'm Steve Ember, inviting¹⁸ you to join us again next week here at VOA Learning English for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.

1 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

2 ratifying   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They call their State Assembly a disgrace for ratifying the 35th. 他们把州议会通过的第35号修正案说成是可耻的行为。 来自辞典例句
• The Obama administration, unlike its predecessor, talks of ratifying the test-ban treaty. 该会议五年举办一次，回顾其间发生的事情。 来自互联网

3 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

4 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

5 ratification   

n.批准，认可

参考例句：

• The treaty is awaiting ratification.条约正等待批准。
• The treaty is subject to ratification.此条约经批准后才能生效。

6 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。

7 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。

8 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

9 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。

10 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

11 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

12 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

13 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

14 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

15 posterity   

n.后裔，子孙，后代

参考例句：

• Few of his works will go down to posterity.他的作品没有几件会流传到后世。
• The names of those who died are recorded for posterity on a tablet at the back of the church.死者姓名都刻在教堂后面的一块石匾上以便后人铭记。

16 exclusions   

n.不包括的项目：如接受服务项目是由投保以前已患有的疾病或伤害引致的，保险公司有权拒绝支付。；拒绝( exclusion的名词复数 )；排除；被排斥在外的人（或事物）；排外主义

参考例句：

• This is a trifle compared with the important exclusions. 比之其它重要的排除，这只是一件小事。 来自辞典例句
• For detailed exclusions, please refer to each policy's terms and conditions. 具体的免赔责任请详见条款。 来自互联网

17 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

18 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。