VOA慢速英语--Grover Cleveland: Repeated

Grover Cleveland: Repeated

VOA Learning English presents America’s Presidents.

Today we are talking about Grover Cleveland. When Americans remember him, it is mostly because he makes writing presidential timelines difficult. Cleveland was the nation’s 22nd president, and also its 24th.

He remains¹ the only U.S. president to date whose second term did not immediately follow the first.

Cleveland is also notable because of his personal life, and because he held office during one of the country’s worst economic crises.

Early life

Stephen Grover Cleveland was born in the northeastern state of New Jersey² and grew up mostly in New York. He was a middle child in a family of nine children. His father was a minister, and the family did not have much money.

As a result, Cleveland had little formal education. He was one of the few presidents who did not go to college. But he was able to become a lawyer. He earned enough money and developed a good professional image.

In time, he became a sheriff, a mayor, and the governor of the state of New York.

In his early life, Cleveland did not marry and have children. Instead, he had many friends, with whom he enjoyed hunting, fishing, and eating and drinking in restaurants.

But Cleveland did have a relationship with a widow named Maria Halpin. She became pregnant and said Cleveland was the baby’s father.

Cleveland said he was not sure if he was. However, he gave the child some financial support, the name of one of his closest friends, and his own family name. The child was called Oscar Folsom Cleveland.

Shortly after the boy was born, his mother was sent to an institution for the mentally unstable³. Doctors quickly confirmed that her mental health was fine, but her son was taken from her and raised by another family.

The story about Halpin and the child became an issue in the election of 1884. The Democratic Party had nominated Cleveland as their candidate for president.

In general, voters liked his message of limiting federal spending, reducing the power of wealthy interests, and stopping political corruption⁴. Some called him “Grover the Good.”

But Cleveland’s opponents said his history with Maria Halpin showed that he was an immoral⁵ man. At anti-Cleveland rallies, Republicans chanted, “Ma, ma, where’s my Pa?” Pa is another word for father.

But Cleveland did not comment much on the matter. His defenders⁶ said Cleveland’s honesty as a public official was more important than his bad judgment⁷ as a private citizen.

Voters seemed to agree. Cleveland narrowly won the election. His supporters answered the Republicans’ chants of “where’s my Pa?” by saying, “Gone to the White House, ha, ha, ha!”

First presidential term

Grover Cleveland’s presidency⁸ was unusual because he did not want to use the office to propose laws. Instead, he mostly aimed to keep the federal government operating efficiently⁹. He also wanted to limit lawmakers’ power to help special interest groups.

As a result, Cleveland vetoed many bills in his first term. He set a record at that time for saying no to proposals from Congress.

One of the few ideas that he supported was reducing tariffs¹¹.

Many of his fellow Democrats¹² liked that idea, too. But a number of Republicans did not. In the next election, their candidate, Benjamin Harrison, defeated Cleveland.

Cleveland returned to being a lawyer in New York.

In 1892, Cleveland was chosen to run against Benjamin Harrison again. The tariff¹⁰ issue returned: the Republicans’ protective tariffs had hurt some industries, and voters answered this time by voting Harrison out of office.

Cleveland returned to the White House. But this time he was not alone.

White House Wedding

Two years into his first term as president, Cleveland married the daughter of his close friend, Oscar Folsom.

The bride’s name was Frances Folsom. She was 21 years old at the time. The president was 49.

Cleveland was not the first president to get married while in office. But he was the first one to be married in the White House.

The event captivated the public. What’s more, Americans adored the new first lady. She was known for being social, charming, and beautiful. Historians conclude that she was the most popular first lady since Dolley Madison. She remains the youngest.

Second presidential term

When the Clevelands returned to the White House, the country was entering a severe economic recession. Some of the country’s biggest businesses were failing, including a railroad and many banks.

As a result, investors¹³ withdrew their money from the stock market. The withdrawal¹⁴ caused many other businesses to fail. The series of events is known as the Panic of 1893.

Soon, more and more Americans were out of work. Many could not afford houses or food. Some begged President Cleveland to intervene. But he declined. He did not think it was the role of the federal government to create jobs in order to reverse the depression.

However, Cleveland did use the power of the federal government to intervene during a famous labor¹⁵ strike. In that event, workers in Chicago who helped keep the trains operating walked out of their jobs. They were protesting a major decrease in their pay that did not include a decrease in their living expenses.

Since the owner of the company also controlled the price of housing and food, workers appealed to him to treat them more fairly. But the company owner refused even to meet with the workers.

Soon, the workers’ boycott¹⁶ grew. Workers at other railyards stopped working. Farmers could not get their goods to market, and others could not get the supplies they needed. Even the mail stopped being delivered.

So Cleveland sent federal troops to break the strike.

In the short term, Cleveland’s actions worked. The trains moved again, and both the courts and most of the public agreed with the president’s decision.

But in the long term, Cleveland’s handling of the panic, depression, and workers’ strike lost the support of many voters. At the next opportunity, they voted him out of the White House again.

Cleveland’s Legacy¹⁷

Cleveland returned to New York, and later settled in a large house in Princeton, New Jersey.

There, he wrote, made speeches, sat on corporate¹⁸ boards, became a trustee of Princeton University and enjoyed the respect of the people who lived in the town.

He died at age 71 of problems with his stomach, heart, and kidneys. Several people said his final words were, “I have tried so hard to do right.”

Then and now, many people agreed with that idea. Cleveland was generally an honest man who worked hard and tried to act independently as president.

But he is not considered one of America’s best leaders. He did not have a clear idea about how to guide the country.

Yet the opposing party, at least, may have considered Cleveland’s presidency a success. After Cleveland’s final election defeat, six of the next seven presidents were Republicans.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Words in This Story

widow - n. a woman whose husband has died?

immoral - adj. not morally good or right : morally evil or wrong?

tariffs - n. a tax on goods coming into or leaving a country

captivate - v. to attract and hold the attention of someone by being interesting or pretty

trustee - n. a member of a group that manages the money of an organization

1 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。

2 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。

3 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

4 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。

5 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

6 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

8 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。

9 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

10 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

11 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

12 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

14 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

15 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。

16 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

17 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

18 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。