STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.
This week in our series, we tell the story of the thirty-eighth president of the United States.
今天我们要讲述美国第三十八届总统福特的故事。
GERALD FORD: "Mr. Chief Justice, my dear friends, my fellow Americans, the oath that I have taken is the same oath that was taken by George Washington and by every
president under the Constitution. But I assume the presidency under extraordinary circumstances, never before experienced by Americans."
福特说：“首席大法官先生，我亲爱的朋友们，我的美国同胞们，我像华盛顿总统及历任总统一样，对着宪法宣誓就职。但在美国历史上，从没有人像我一样在这种特殊情况下当上总统。”
(MUSIC)
Gerald Ford was sworn into office on August ninth, nineteen seventy-four. Ford was vice president to Richard Nixon, who had announced the day before that he would
resign.
这是杰拉尔德.福特在1974年8月9日宣誓就职时所说的话。福特本来在尼克松政府中担任副总统。他在尼克松宣布辞职的第二天当上了总统。
If Nixon had not resigned, he might have been removed from office. Congress had been moving to charge him with corruption in the Watergate case.
当时，尼克松如果不辞职的话很有可能被弹劾，因为美国国会已经开始筹划针对他在水门事件中的腐败行为而起诉他。
At his swearing-in ceremony, the new president spoke about the nation's future.
福特在就职讲话中谈到了国家的未来。
GERALD FORD: "My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the
people rule."
他说：“美国同胞们，漫长的噩梦已经结束。我们的宪法发挥了作用。我们伟大的共和国是一个法治政府，不是人治政府。在这里，人民做主。”
He went on to say:
GERALD FORD: "As we bind up the internal wounds of Watergate -- more painful and more poisonous than those of foreign wars -- let us restore the 'Golden Rule' to our
political process and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and of hate."
他接着说：“如今，我们正在治愈水门事件在我们心里留下的伤口，这种伤害比在外国打仗造成的伤害更痛苦，毒性更大。不过与此同时，让我们恢复我们政治程序中的“金科玉律”，让兄
弟般的爱清除我们心中的猜疑和仇恨。”
Gerald Ford became the only leader in American history to have served both as vice president and president without being elected.
福特是美国历史上唯一一个未经选举就当上副总统，又未经选举就成为总统的领导人。
Richard Nixon chose him as vice president in October nineteen-seventy-three. That was when Nixon's former vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigned because of criminal
charges that he failed to pay his taxes.
尼克松1973年10月挑选福特为副总统，因为原本的副总统阿格纽因为被控逃税而引咎辞职。
When Nixon himself resigned, Ford became president.
尼克松自己也辞职后，福特成了总统。
Ford was a longtime congressman from the state of Michigan. He was well-liked by his congressional colleagues. His education was in economics and political science at
the University of Michigan. Then he attended Yale Law School. During World War Two, he served as a Naval officer in the Pacific.
福特曾在很长一段时间里担任密歇根州的众议员。他在国会的同僚中人缘很好。他曾在密歇根大学学习经济及政治学，之后又就读耶鲁法学院。在二战中，他曾是驻太平洋战区的海军军官。
After the war, Ford entered politics. He was a member of the Republican Party. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in nineteen forty-eight. He won
re-election twelve times. Republicans in the House elected him the minority leader during the administration of Democratic President Lyndon Johnson.
战后，福特进入政坛，他是共和党人，1948年第一次当选众议员，之后连任12次。在民主党人约翰逊当总统的时候，众议院共和党人推选福特为少数派领袖。
Ford was still minority leader when Richard Nixon, a fellow Republican, was elected president in nineteen sixty-eight. In his leadership position, Ford helped win
approval of a number of Nixon's proposals. He became known for his strong loyalty to the president. It was no surprise, then, when Nixon named Ford as vice president.
共和党人尼克松1968年当选总统时，福特仍然是国会里的少数派领袖。福特利用自己的领导地位帮助尼克松通过了多项法案，以对总统的忠诚而闻名。因此，尼克松会任命福特为副总统也就
不足为奇了。
Gerald Ford was an "accidental president." He came to office in a sudden turn of events. Almost as suddenly, he had to decide what to do about the former president.
福特是个“意外总统”。他在一件突发事件后当上了总统，又马上要面对一个问题，就是怎么处理尼克松。
After Nixon left office, he could have been charged with crimes for his part in covering up the events of Watergate. Instead, one month after Nixon resigned, President
Ford settled the question. He pardoned Nixon for any crimes that he might have committed.
尼克松下台后本来有可能被控参与掩盖水门事件。然而，尼克松辞职一个月后，福特总统就解决了这个问题──他赦免了尼克松可能犯过的罪。
The pardoning of Nixon made many Americans angry. Some believed he should have been put on trial. They thought he might have answered more questions about Watergate if
he had not been pardoned.
美国民众对此非常愤怒。有人觉得尼克松应该被送上法庭受审。他们相信，如果尼克松没被赦免，他就不得不回答更多关于水门事件的问题。
Ford said he pardoned Nixon in an effort to unite the country. For a while, though, the pardon only seemed to intensify the divisions.
福特说，他赦免尼克松是为了让美国人团结起来，然而，他的做法在一段时间内反而加剧了社会的分裂。
REPRESENTATIVE ELIZABETH HOLTZMAN: "And I wondered if anyone had brought to your attention the fact that the Constitution specifically states that, even though
somebody is impeached, that person shall nonetheless be liable to punishment according to law."
霍尔茨曼问：“我想知道，到底有没有人提醒过你，美国宪法明确规定，即使在被弹劾之后，政府官员仍然应依法受到惩罚。”
In October nineteen seventy-four, President Ford appeared before a congressional hearing on the pardon. He gave a strong response to questioning by Democratic
Representative Elizabeth Holtzman.
1974年10月，福特出席国会就赦免尼克松举行的听证会，对众议员霍尔茨曼的质问做出了态度强硬的回答。
GERALD FORD: "Mrs. Holtzman, I was fully cognizant of the fact that the president, on resignation, was accountable for any criminal charges. But I would like to say
that the reason I gave the pardon was not as to Mr. Nixon himself. I repeat – and I repeat with emphasis: The purpose of the pardon was to try and get the United
States, the Congress, the president, and the American people focusing on the serious problems we have, both at home and abroad.
福特回答说：“霍尔茨曼女士，我完全明白，总统即使辞职也要对刑事指控负责，但我想说，这个赦免针对的并不是尼克松先生本人。我再说一遍，再强调一遍：赦免的目的是要让美国，国
会，总统和人民把注意力放在内政外交的重要议题上。”
"And I was absolutely convinced then, as I am now, that if we had had this series – an indictment, a trial, a conviction, and anything else that transpired after that
– that the attention of the president, the congress, and the American people would have been diverted from the problems that we have to solve. And that was the
principal reason for my granting of the pardon."
福特还说：“我当时和现在都绝对相信， 如果不赦免尼克松，而是按照程序，起诉，审判，定罪，以及面对这一切所引发的后果，那么，总统，国会和美国人民的注意力就会被转移，就无法
集中精力处理那些我们本该去解决的问题。这才是我赦免尼克松的主要原因。”
(MUSIC)
Anger about the pardon was still strong when President Ford made another controversial decision. He pardoned men who had illegally avoided military service in the
Vietnam War. Most of them were not sent to prison. Instead, they were offered a chance to do work for their communities. Many of the men, however, did not accept the
president's offer. Some stayed in Canada or other countries where they had fled to avoid the draft.
就在人民对赦免尼克松的决定依然忿忿不平的时候，福特又做了一个引发争议的决定，那就是，他赦免了非法逃避越战兵役的人，其中大部分不用去坐牢，而是换成在社区里从事劳动感化工
作。不过，许多人并没有领总统的情。一些逃到加拿大等国家去逃避兵役的人选择继续生活在国外。
President Ford received greater public support when he asked Congress to limit the activities of the nation's intelligence agencies. He hoped better control would
prevent future administrations from abusing the constitutional rights of Americans, as Nixon had done.
福特提出，国会应该限制美国情报机构的活动，这一提议得到了公众的支持。福特这么做是希望更好地控制情报机构，防止以后的行政当局像尼克松那样去伤害宪法赋予美国人的权利。
On another issue, Ford, while serving as vice president, had described inflation as America's "public enemy number one." He had supported several measures to fight it.
As president, however, an economic recession forced him to cancel some of those measures. Inflation decreased during the recession, but unemployment increased.
另外，福特在担任副总统时曾把通货膨胀形容为“美国的头号公敌”，并支持实行一些降低通胀的措施。不过，在他当上总统后，美国处于经济萧条中，现实情况让他不得不取消了当初的一
些抑制通胀的措施。经济衰退期间通胀率下降，但失业率升高了。
On foreign policy issues, Ford kept Henry Kissinger as secretary of state. Kissinger had won much praise for his service to Richard Nixon, including in the opening of
diplomatic ties with Communist China.
在外交方面上，福特留任了尼克松当政时的国务卿──基辛格。基辛格为尼克松的政策出力不少，包括他为美中建交所作的贡献，这也为他赢得了赞誉。
But Kissinger had also received much criticism. Critics accused him of interfering with civil liberties in the name of national security. They also accused him of
supporting the overthrow of the Marxist government of Salvador Allende in Chile.
不过，基辛格也受到很多批评。批评者指责他以国家安全的名义干涉公民自由。他们还指责他支持智利政变，为推翻那里的马克思主义阿连德政府提供支持。
By the time Ford became president, the United States and the Soviet Union had taken steps to try to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid
Brezhnev had signed two such agreements as part of the détente policy to ease Cold War tensions. Relations with China were also less tense than before.
另外，在福特就任总统时，美国和苏联已经采取措施，设法限制核武器扩散。尼克松和苏联领导人勃列日涅夫签署了两个这方面的协议，以缓和冷战的紧张局势。美国与中国的关系也没有以
前那么紧张了。
American policy in Southeast Asia, however, had failed. Involvement in the Vietnam War had officially ended the year before Gerald Ford became president. But fighting
continued between South Vietnam and communist forces from the North.
然而，美国在东南亚的政策却失败了。虽然在福特上台的前一年美国已正式脱离越战，但北越共产党军队同南越还在打仗。
The peace agreement signed by the United States and North Vietnam in nineteen seventy-three left South Vietnam to defend itself. By nineteen seventy-five, South
Vietnamese forces were clearly in danger of defeat.
美国和北越1973年签署和平协议，让南越自生自灭。到1975年的时候，南越面临被北越打败的危险。
President Ford tried to prevent a communist takeover. He asked Congress to approve seven hundred million dollars in military aid for South Vietnam. Congress said no.
The American people were tired of paying for the war.
福特为阻止共产党夺取对整个越南的控制权，要求国会拨款7亿美元，为南越提供军事援助，结果遭到了国会的拒绝。美国人民也厌倦了为战争买单。
(SOUND)
Saigon, the South Vietnamese capital, fell to communist forces on April thirtieth, nineteen seventy-five.
1975年4月30号，南越首都西贡被越共占领。
President Ford ordered the rescue of American citizens and South Vietnamese who had supported the American efforts. Few people who saw those struggling to escape
Saigon will ever forget that day.
福特下令救出那里的美国公民和曾支持美国的南越人。人们拼命逃亡，想离开西贡，那场景真是怵目惊心。
MARINE AT AMERICAN EMBASSY: "Please stop pushing – one at a time."
美国大使馆的海军陆战队员向人群喊：“不要推挤，一个一个走。”
Terrified Vietnamese were screaming for help at the American Embassy. Everyone was pushing, trying to escape the city. Some held on to overloaded military helicopters
as the aircraft tried to take off.
惊慌失措的越南人哭喊着，希望美国使馆能帮助他们。每个人都在向外挤，想逃离西贡。一些人拼命抓住已经超载的军用直升机，希望这些飞机能把他们带出西贡。
As a signal to American citizens to prepare to leave, Armed Forces Radio had played the song "White Christmas."
美国空军广播电台播放歌曲“白色圣诞节”，示意美国公民快做好准备，从西贡撤离。
(MUSIC: "White Christmas"/Bing Crosby)
Some were to go to an apartment building where a helicopter would pick them up from the roof. But other people also tried to get onto the helicopter -- a scene
captured in a famous news photo of the fall of Saigon.
一些人按计划跑到一座公寓楼去，那里有直升机，从楼顶接他们，但是其他人也想上飞机，这一幕被拍摄下来，成为见证西贡沦陷的著名新闻照片。
The former South Vietnamese capital was renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
西贡被北越占领后，改名为胡志明市。
(MUSIC)
In the Middle East, Henry Kissinger led negotiations after the nineteen seventy-three Arab-Israeli war. Israel agreed to give up some captured territory. In return,
the United States promised not to recognize or deal with the Palestine Liberation Organization unless the PLO met certain conditions.
在中东地区，1973爆发阿拉伯-以色列战争，基辛格主导了战后谈判。以色列同意放弃一些占领领土。作为回报，美国承诺，除非巴勒斯坦解放组织答应并满足一些条件，否则美国不承认巴解
组织，也不会和这个组织打交道。
In September nineteen seventy-five, Israel and Egypt signed an agreement that included permission for American civilians to act as observers along the ceasefire lines.
Henry Kissinger was praised for his peacemaking efforts, though peace in the Middle East would remain a challenge for future administrations.
1975年9月，以色列和埃及签署了一项协议，内容包括允许美国平民在停火线附近充当观察员。基辛格推动中东和平的努力受到了称赞，尽管中东和平将成为后来历届美国政府都要面对的挑战
。
(MUSIC)
At home, things seemed better as the presidential election campaign of nineteen seventy-six began. That year marked the nation's two hundredth birthday. The United
States was not fighting any wars. Unemployment remained high, but inflation had eased. Most importantly, Gerald Ford had led the country through the difficult period
after Watergate.
美国国内状况在1976年总统大选开始时似乎已经出现了好转。这一年是美国建国200周年。当时美国没有打仗，虽然失业率居高不下，但通货膨胀有所缓解。最重要的是，福特领导美国走过了
水门事件后的那段艰难时期。
The nineteen seventy-six election will be our story next week.
(MUSIC)
You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at 51voa.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm
Steve Ember, inviting you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.
___
Contributing: Jerilyn Watson
This was program #220.
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