川普总统上任首周签署了很多文件。
The documents set out Trump's policies on health care and international trade, among other things.
这些文件提出了川普在医保、国际贸易上的政策。
Some of these measures are called executive orders. Others are considered White House or presidential memoranda.
其中一些措施被称之为行政命令，其它措施被视为白宫或总统备忘录。
In this report, we explain the difference between the two and tell what kind of power each has. We also tell about some of the famous executive orders American presidents have signed.
在这份报道中，我们解释两者之间的区别，并说明各自有什么样的效力。我们还会谈到美国总统签署的一些著名的行政命令。
Executive orders vs. memoranda
行政命令和备忘录
Both executive orders and memoranda have what is known as the "force of law." In other words, they have the same power as legislation approved by Congress and signed by the president.
行政命令和备忘录都具有所谓的法律效力。换句话说，它们与国会批准并由总统签署的法律具有相同的法律效力。
But there are differences.
但是还是有些区别。
Executive orders are numbered and published in the Federal Register, the official record of actions of the United States government. Memoranda do not need to be published in the Federal Register.
行政命令纳入美国政府官方行为记录，即联邦公报并公布。备忘录无需在联邦公报上公布。
Executive orders must identify whether the order is based on the U.S. Constitution or a law. They must also tell the cost of carrying out the order. Memoranda do not have to state such a cost, unless it is more than $100 million.
行政命令必须确定该命令是否是基于美国宪法和法律。它们还必须说明执行该命令的费用。备忘录无需说明这样的成本，除非超过了1亿美元。
Every president except one has signed executive orders and memoranda. The exception is William Henry Harrison, who served just one month in office. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the only president who served more than two terms, signed 3,721 executive orders – more than anyone else. Most of them dealt with measures to help the country fight the Great Depression and World War II.
除了一位总统之外，其他总统都签署过行政命令和备忘录。唯一例外的就是在任只有一个月的威廉·亨利·哈里森（William Henry Harrison）总统。富兰克林·德拉诺·罗斯福(Franklin Delano Roosevelt)这位唯一的一位任期超过两届的总统签署过3721项行政命令，比任何人都要多。
The Emancipation Proclamation
解放黑奴宣言
President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. This executive order freed all slaves living in states not under Union control during the Civil War. Since the southern states had rebelled against the federal government and left the Union, the order had little effect. But it did ensure that any slaves who escaped to the northern states were free.
林肯总统于1863年1月1日签署了解放宣言。这项行政命令解放了美国内战期间不受联邦控制的州的所有奴隶。由于南方州已经背叛联邦政府并离开联邦，该命令并没有什么效果。但它确保了逃到北方各州的任何努力都是自由的。
The New Deal
罗斯福新政
During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt signed many executive orders designed to create work for jobless Americans. In 1933, he used an executive order to create the Civil Works Administration. This created about four million new government jobs. He also used an order to create the Export/Import Bank. In 1934, he used an order to create the Rural Electrification Administration to bring electricity to rural, undeveloped areas of the country.
在大萧条期间，罗斯福总统签署了很多行政命令，旨在为失业的美国人创造就业。1933年，他使用行政命令创建了土木工程管理局。这一措施创造了大约400万个新的政府工作岗位。他还使用行政命令创建了美国进出口银行。1934年，他使用行政命令创建了农村电气化管理局，为美国不发达的偏远地区带来电力。
Japanese-American Internment
日裔美国人拘留营
President Roosevelt signed an executive order shortly after the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1941. The order gave military leaders rights to identify some parts of the country as "military areas ... from which any or all persons may be excluded." It also required the military to give food, transportation and housing to anyone forced to leave their home. As a result of the order, 120,000 men, women and children were required to leave the U.S. West Coast and stay in internment camps between 1942 and 1945. Most of them were American citizens of Japanese descent.
罗斯福总统在1941年日本袭击美国夏威夷珍珠港海军基地后不久签署了一项行政命令。该命令授权军方领导人把该国部分地区划定为军事区，阻止任何人或者一切人进入。该命令还要求军方向任何被迫离家者提供食物、交通和住房。这项命令导致1942年到1945年期间，有12万名成人和儿童被要求离开美国西海岸，呆在拘留营里。他们大多数都是日裔美国人。
Desegregation of the Military
废除军中种族歧视
In 1948, after the end of World War II, President Harry Truman signed an executive order that officially ended racial barriers in the United States military. The words of the order were simple: "There shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the Armed Services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin."
二战之后的1948年，杜鲁门总统签署行政命令，正式结束了美国军队中的种族壁垒。该命令的言辞非常简单：“军队中所有人不分种族、肤色、宗教或民族血统，待遇和机会平等。”
Before the order was signed, military forces trained, worked and even fought in groups separated by race.
在此之前，军队在培训、工作甚至是战斗中按种族区分团体。
A sign of the times
时代标志
Very few of the thousands of executive orders and memoranda are as famous as those noted in this story. Some of them are signed because a president was dealing with a Congress unwilling to pass legislation that he wants. Others express the president's opinions about a subject of importance.
在成千上万条行政命令中，很少有行政命令像这篇新闻中提到的这些一样著名。有些行政命令的出台只是总统在国会不愿意通过他想要的法案时的应对之举。还有些表达了总统对一些重要主题的看法。
Together these documents tell about American history and the goals of each president and the times in which he served.
这些文件加起来讲述了美国的历史，每位总统的目标以及他所任职的这个时代。
I'm Dorothy Gundy.
我是多萝西·甘地。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)