James Monroe: Likeable

詹姆斯·门罗：令人喜爱的总统

VOA Learning English presents America’s Presidents.
美国之音慢速英语介绍美国总统栏目。

James Monroe easily won election in 1816. He had a relaxed, likeable personality and was popular with voters. In addition, many saw him as a last connection to the country’s founding generation.
詹姆斯·门罗很轻易地就赢取了1816年的选举。他性格随和，受人爱戴，在选民当中很受欢迎。另外，很多人都视他为美国建国一代的最后纽带（总统）。

Monroe had fought in George Washington’s army during the Revolutionary War against British rule.
独立战争时期，门罗参加了乔治·华盛顿的军队来抵抗英国。

He was a diplomat during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency and helped complete the Louisiana Purchase.
他是托马斯·杰斐逊执政时期的外交官，并且帮助杰斐逊完成了路易斯安那购地。

Monroe served as James Madison’s secretary of state — and briefly as his secretary of war, as well – during the War of 1812.
门罗是詹姆斯·麦迪逊时期的国务卿（1811-1817） — 1812年战争时期也短暂做过战争部长（1814-1815）。

Voters’ positive feelings carried Monroe into office and defined his presidency.
选民对门罗的好感让他进入了总统办公室。

Era of Good Feelings 和睦年代

When Monroe became president, the United States had just declared victory against British forces in the War of 1812. The American economy also was doing well, at least at first. And the government was mostly united under a single party.
当门罗成为总统时，美国刚刚宣布在1812年战争中战胜了英国军队。美国经济也表现良好，至少一开始是这样的。并且，政府在一个政党的领导下基本团结一致。

But Monroe did have one immediate problem: He and his wife, Elizabeth, could not move into the president’s house right away. The British had burned it badly in an attack on Washington, D.C. Workers were busy making repairs.
但门罗确实遇到了一个迫在眉睫的问题：他和他的妻子伊丽莎白不能立即搬进总统住宅，因为在英国对华盛顿特区的一场袭击中被烧毁了，工人们正忙着修复。

So, Monroe decided to go on a trip. He spent the first weeks of his presidency traveling.
所以，门罗决定去旅行。他总统任期的前几个星期都在旅行。

He went north into New England, visiting important places from the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812. Everywhere he went he reminded Americans of their shared, proud history. He even wore clothes in the old colonial style. One of Monroe’s nicknames is “the last of the cocked hats.”
他往北去了新英格兰，拜访了独立战争和1812年战争时期的许多地方。他每到一个地方都唤起了美国民众共同并骄傲的历史。他甚至穿着具有旧殖民时期风格的衣服。门罗的一个昵称是“最后一顶三角帽”。

Then President Monroe turned west, toward lands that white migrants were increasingly settling. They were able to move west in part because American soldiers had defeated a powerful alliance of Native American tribes.
然后，门罗总统折向了西部，去往越来越多白人移民者定居的地方。他们之所以能够定居西部，在某种程度上是因为美军击败了美洲印第安人强大的部落联盟。

What had been a victory for the U.S. government was a crushing loss for Native Americans. Many tribes moved farther west. Others began to lose their languages and their customs as white settlers took control.
美国政府的胜利对于印第安人来说是一份沉重的损失。许多部落迁往了西部更远的地方。一些其他的部落因为白人定居者的控制，开始失去他们的语言和习俗。

For Monroe, however, the visit west was a positive sign of the country’s expansion.
然而，对门罗来说，西部之旅是国家拓展的一个积极信号。

By the time he returned to Washington, Monroe had met many Americans. He had learned for himself the geography of the country. And he had demonstrated that all parts of the U.S. could be connected by patriotism and a common federal government.
当门罗回到华盛顿的时候，他已经见过了很多美国人，并且了解了国家的地理形势。他证明了美国的所有部分都可以通过爱国主义和共同的联邦政府来连接。

One newspaper called Monroe’s presidency the beginning of an “Era of Good Feelings.”
那时的一份报纸称门罗总统是“和睦年代”的开始。

Four years later, Monroe won a second term even more easily than his first.
四年后，门罗甚至比第一届还容易就赢得了第二届任期。

The Missouri Compromise 密苏里妥协

Yet James Monroe’s presidency had several crises.
然而詹姆斯·门罗总统遇到了一些危机。

One was the country’s first economic depression in more than 30 years.
其中之一就是国家30多年来首次出现的经济萧条。

Another was over slavery. The country had been divided over the issue since its founding. By the end of 1819, eleven states, all in the South, permitted slavery. Eleven states, all in the North, did not.
另一个就是关于蓄奴，从国家建立以来就一直存在着分歧。1819年末，南方的11个州是允许蓄奴的，而北方的11个州是不允许的。

The question became: Would the new states in the West permit it?
然而问题是：西部新州允许蓄奴吗？

Monroe had to face the question when settlers asked Congress permission for Missouri Territory to become a state. Many enslaved people already lived there. White settlers expected to bring more.
当密苏里领地的居民向国会申请作为新的一州加入联邦时，门罗不得不面对这个问题。许多奴隶已经住在那儿，白人定居者希望携带更多过去。

But a member of Congress from a Northern state proposed that Missouri could become a state only if it banned slavery. That proposal started a debate that lasted more than a year.
但是北方一个州的国会议员提出密苏里只有禁止蓄奴才能够加入联邦，提案开始了长达一年多的辩论。

For the most part, the debate was not based on the moral problems with people owning other people. Instead, it involved economic and political concerns.
在很大程度上，辩论不是基于蓄奴的道德问题，而是关于经济和政治问题。

Northerners argued that slave-holding states had an unfair economic advantage. In addition, if Missouri entered the Union as a slave state, its lawmakers would move the balance of power toward the South.
北方认为蓄奴州会有不公平的经济优势。另外，如果密苏里作为蓄奴州进入联邦，立法者会把权利的天平倾向南方。

The debate continued so long that another area asked to enter the Union. People in northern Massachusetts wanted to organize into an independent state called Maine.
辩论持续了很久，当时另一个地区也要求加入联邦。马萨诸塞州的北部居民想组织成立一个独立的州叫缅因州。

After some time, lawmakers offered a compromise. They said Maine could be admitted as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. But they also made a line across a map of the country. They said Congress would not admit another slave state north of that line.
经过一段时间，立法者提供了一份妥协方案，缅因州作为自由州而密苏里作为蓄奴州加入联邦。并且划了一条线（北纬36.5°，密苏里州南界纬度），在界线以北地区禁止蓄奴。

James Monroe signed into law what became known as the Missouri Compromise. It settled the issue of slavery, at least officially, in the U.S. for more than 20 years. But everyone knew that the peace between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups was only temporary.
詹姆斯·门罗签署了这项《密苏里妥协》法律，至少官方上它解决了美国20多年的蓄奴问题。但其实所有人都知道，支持和反对蓄奴集团之间的和平只是暂时的。

The Monroe Doctrine 门罗主义

In 1823, Monroe made one of the most important foreign policy decisions in American history. It became known as the Monroe Doctrine. It related to Spain’s colonies in Latin America.
1823年，门罗发表了美国历史上最重要的一个外交政策，叫做门罗主义。它是关于西班牙在拉丁美洲的殖民统治。

Monroe had dealt with Spain before. In his first term, he and his secretary of state, John Quincy Adams, successfully negotiated with Spain to buy Florida for the United States.
门罗之前已经与西班牙交涉过。在他的第一届任期内，他和国务卿约翰·昆西·亚当斯成功地与西班牙达成协议购买了佛罗尼达州。

By Monroe’s second term, Spain had also lost control of some of its former colonies in Latin America. The president became concerned that Spain’s European allies would try to help the country re-gain power. He did not want European powers interfering in areas so close to U.S. territory and so important to U.S. trade.
门罗的第二届任期内，西班牙已经失去了部分拉丁美洲的殖民统治，但他担心西班牙的欧洲联盟会试图帮助西班牙重新获取统治权。他不希望欧洲势力干预邻近美国领土的地区，并且这对美国贸易是很重要的。

So Monroe gave a speech to Congress. He said the U.S. would stay out of Europe’s affairs. But he said Europe should also stay out of Latin America’s affairs.
所以门罗在国会发表了演讲。他说，美国不会干预欧洲事务，但欧洲也不应该干预拉丁美洲事务。

And, Monroe declared that European powers would not be permitted to begin colonizing any area in the Western Hemisphere.
并且，门罗宣称不允许欧洲势力殖民西半球的任何地方。

In other words, Monroe declared that the U.S. considered the entire Western Hemisphere its sphere of influence.
换句话说，门罗宣称美国会将整个西半球都视为其势力范围。

Historians note that Monroe did not aim for the declaration to be a major statement. But it became a base of American foreign policy and supported U.S. expansion throughout the 19th century.
历史学家注意到，门罗的目的并不是把宣言作为一项重要的声明，但这却成为了美国外交政策的基础，并且帮助美国在整个19世纪的扩张。

Final years 最后岁月

James Monroe was the fourth and last president in the “Virginia Dynasty.” Except for John Adams, four of the first five American presidents were from Virginia.
詹姆斯·门罗是第四位也是最后一位“弗吉尼亚时代”的总统。除了詹姆斯·亚当斯，前五位美国总统当中有四位来自弗吉尼亚。

Monroe and his wife returned to their home there after he left office. They had a close relationship with each other, as well as with their two surviving children, both daughters.
门罗卸任总统后和妻子返回了他们的庄园。他和妻子，以及两个幸存的女儿之间的感情很好。

Unlike many politicians of his time, Monroe had brought his family with him on his travels. He also believed strongly in education for girls. When the Monroes lived in France, young Eliza Monroe attended the best school for girls in Paris.
与他同时期的许多政治家不同，门罗在旅行中携带着他的家人。他非常认同对女儿的教育。当门罗一家居住在法国时，年轻的伊莉莎·门罗（大女儿）参加了当时最好的巴黎女子学院。

This loving family spent as much time together as possible. So, when Elizabeth Monroe died, James Monroe was filled with sorrow. His health also began to fail.
这一友爱的家庭尽可能地花时间在一起。所以，当伊丽莎白·门罗去世时，詹姆斯·门罗伤心欲绝（给门罗以极大打击），他的健康也开始（随之）告急。

He moved to the house of his younger daughter, Maria, in New York City. James Monroe died there one year later, at age 73.
他搬到了小女儿玛利亚在纽约的家中。一年后，詹姆斯·门罗在女儿家离开了人世，终年73岁。

Like two other former presidents, Monroe died on the 4th of July – America’s birthday.
与前两位总统一样，门罗也死于7月4日 — 美国国庆日。

I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

Words in This Story

relaxed - adj. informal and comfortable - 轻松的，不拘束的，不严格的

positive - adj. hopeful and optimistic - 积极的

remind - v. make someone think about something again - 使想起，提醒

crushing - adj. 压倒的；决定性的；不能站起来；支离破碎的；v. 压破，征服，冲入

crushing loss - 沉重的损失

geography - n. the natural features of a place - 地理，地形

divide over - 分歧

advantage - n. a condition that helps to make something better or more likely to succeed than others - 优势

signed into law - 签署成为法律 / sign the bill into law - 将法案签署为法律

affair - n. a matter that concerns or involves someone - 事务

sphere of influence - n. an area of control or activity - 势力范围，影响范围

dynasty - n. a family, team, etc., that is very powerful or successful for a long period of time - 朝代，王朝