William McKinley: Imperial

威廉·麦金莱：帝国主义

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

Today we are talking about William McKinley. He took office in 1897 and was re-elected in 1900. He led the United States into the 20^th century.
今天，我们谈论的是威廉·麦金莱。他于1897年上任，并于1900年成功连任。他领导美国进入了20世纪。

One way to think of McKinley is as a transition president. In the 1800s, lawmakers were mostly concerned with how the country was growing in North America.
麦金莱是一位过渡时期的总统。1800年代，议员们主要关心的是美国在北美如何发展。

But during McKinley’s government, the U.S. looked beyond its borders. Congress declared war on Spain, the first time the U.S. had fought a European power since the War of 1812 against Britain.
但在麦金莱政府时期，美国着眼于海外。国会向西班牙宣战，这是美国自1812年英美战争之后第一次向欧洲国家宣战。

The U.S. also took control of overseas territories, annexed Hawaii, and tried to regulate the world’s trade with China.
美国也获得了部分海外领地控制权，吞并了夏威夷，并试图控制与中国的全球贸易。

Some historians say President McKinley himself wanted the U.S. to increase its international influence. Others argue that he was just answering the country’s mood at the time.
一些历史学家认为，麦金莱总统想要提升美国的国际影响力，另一些人则认为他只是顺应当时的国内情绪。

Either way, his presidency is often defined by the country’s rise as an imperial power.
无论哪种说法，他的总统生涯经常被认为是美利坚帝国主义的开始。

Early life 早年生活

McKinley was the sixth president to come from the state of Ohio. He was the seventh of eight children. Historians describe his childhood as loving and fun.
麦金莱是第六位来自俄亥俄州的总统。他是八个孩子中的老七，历史学家描绘了他的童年时期是充满爱和乐趣的。

His father owned a small iron factory. His mother raised her children to be honest and polite.
他的父亲拥有一间小型铁厂，母亲教育她的孩子们要诚实、有礼貌。

McKinley was a hard-working student. He briefly attended Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, but he did not have the money to finish his education there.
麦金莱是一位勤奋的学生。他曾短暂就读于宾夕法尼亚州的阿勒格尼学院，但因无力承担学费而中途辍学。

A few years after leaving that school, he volunteered for the Army on the side of the Union in the Civil War. He served under a man who would later become president himself, Rutherford B. Hayes. The two stayed close throughout their lives.
离开学校的几年后，内战爆发，他自愿参加了联邦军，并在拉瑟福德·B·海斯部下服役，海斯后来当上了总统。他们两人一生都亲密无间。

After the war ended, McKinley studied law, became involved in Republican Party politics, married, and had two daughters.
内战结束后，麦金莱学习了法律，进入了共和党，结婚并生育了两个女儿。

His wife, Ida, was an energetic, well-educated young woman from a wealthy family. For a while, she had worked in her father’s bank.
他的妻子艾达，是一位精力充沛，受过良好教育，来自一个富有家庭的年轻女子。他曾在父亲的银行工作过一段时间。

But Ida McKinley’s health began to suffer. She was struck by seizures. Then her mother died. A few months later, her younger daughter died while still an infant. Ida McKinley clung to her older daughter, but the little girl soon developed a fever disease, and she died, too.
但艾达·麦金莱的健康开始出现问题，她突然癫痫发作，然后母亲去世。几个月后，她的小女儿在襁褓中就死了。艾达·麦金莱守护着她的大女儿，然而小姑娘很快就得了热病也去世了。

William and Ida McKinley were never the same. Ida McKinley remained sick her entire life. She spent most of her hours in a small rocking chair sewing.
威廉和艾达·麦金莱从来都不一样。艾达·麦金莱一生都疾病缠身，她大部分时间都是在一个小小的摇椅上缝纫度过的。

William McKinley paid great attention to her. He organized his schedule to spend time near her, even as his political success grew.
威廉·麦金莱在妻子身上花费了很多精力，他把他的行程都安排在她附近，即使政治上越来越成功时也是如此。

In time, McKinley served in Congress and as the governor of Ohio. He was known as a likable person and a skilled politician.
最终，麦金莱进入了国会，并且担任了俄亥俄州的州长。他是一位讨人喜欢的人，也是一位老练的政治家。

His Republican Party nominated him on the first ballot at their convention. A few months later, voters elected McKinley into office in a landslide. He became the country’s 25^th president.
共和党代表大会第一轮投票提名了麦金莱为候选人，几个月后，在选民投票当中以绝对优势当选为总统。他成为了美国第25任总统。

Presidency 总统任期

When McKinley took office, the U.S. was just coming out of a severe economic depression.
麦金莱上任时，美国刚从严重的经济萧条当中走出来。

His government quickly approved a high protective tariff to help struggling workers. In general, his administration also permitted the growth of big business.
麦金莱政府很快通过了一项高关税保护法案来帮助挣扎中的工人。总的来说，他的政府也允许大企业的发展。

But most of McKinley’s attention as president was devoted to foreign policy. The main issue was Cuba.
但麦金莱的大部分关注都放在外交政策上。主要是古巴问题。

At that time, Spain controlled the island. Cubans revolted, and Spanish forces used violence and detainments to crush the rebellion.
当时，西班牙控制着古巴岛，古巴人起义反抗，西班牙军队使用了暴力和拘留来镇压起义。

In the U.S., many Americans denounced the events in Cuba. They wanted McKinley and his government to intervene.
在美国，许多美国人谴责了这一事件。他们希望麦金莱政府能够进行干预。

At first, President McKinley was unwilling. He tried to use diplomacy. He even ordered a U.S. ship into Spanish waters near Havana to show his continued support of Spain.
起初，麦金莱总统没有同意，他试图通过外交谈判，甚至派出了美国军舰进入靠近哈瓦那（古巴城市）的西班牙水域来显示他继续对西班牙的支持。

But the ship, called the Maine, exploded. Americans believed the Spanish were responsible. Relations between the two countries worsened fast. Spain declared war. The U.S. Congress answered in kind.
但这艘叫做缅因号的军舰爆炸了，美国人认为西班牙要负责任，两国之间的关系迅速交恶。西班牙对美宣战，美国国会宣布应战。

For 100 days, U.S. and Spanish forces fought in Cuba and other areas under Spanish control.
美国和西班牙军队在古巴和其他西班牙控制的区域进行了100天的战争。

The war quickly turned in the Americans’ favor. When the Spanish-American War ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1898, the U.S. took control of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines from Spain. Cuba was made independent; however, the U.S. continued to occupy the island for several more years.
战争很快变得对美国有利。美西战争于1898年结束，双方签署了巴黎和约，美国从西班牙取得了波多黎各，关岛和菲律宾。古巴获得了独立；然而，美国仍然一直掌控着古巴数年。

Not everyone approved of the actions of McKinley’s government. Even some members of Congress warned against the U.S. becoming an imperial power.
然而，并不是所有人都同意麦金莱政府的举措。甚至一些国会议员发出警告，美国正成为一个帝国主义。

But a majority of voters approved of McKinley as a victorious commander-in-chief. They also noted that the U.S. economy was getting stronger. In 1900, McKinley won re-election.
但大多数选民赞成麦金莱是一名胜利的司令官。他们也注意到美国的经济正变得更好。1900年，麦金莱赢得连任。

Assassination 遇刺

As it turned out, McKinley’s second term in office was short.
正如事情结果那样，麦金莱在第二任期内被暗杀了。

In September, only six months after his swearing-in, the president was receiving visitors at a fair in the city of Buffalo, New York.
九月，也就是麦金莱宣誓就职的六个月后，这位总统在纽约州布法罗市的一个博览会上接待来访者。

One of the visitors in line was a 28-year-old man named Leon Czolgosz. His family was from Poland, but he lived in the city of Detroit, Michigan. He had worked in a factory, but at the time was unemployed. He supported the idea of anarchy – no government at all.
其中有一位来访者是叫里昂·乔戈什的28岁年轻人。他的家庭来自波兰，但他住在密歇根州的底特律市。他曾在一家工厂工作，但当时已经被解雇了。他支持无政府主义思想。

When McKinley reached to shake the young man’s hand, Czolgosz shot the president twice in the stomach.
当麦金莱与这位年轻人握手时，乔戈什朝总统的腹部连开了两枪。

Although injured, McKinley spoke to his guards. He told them not to hurt the shooter. And, he expressed concern about how his wife would feel when she learned he had been shot.
尽管受伤，麦金莱还是告诉他的安保人员不要伤害刺客。并且，他表达了对妻子的担忧，怕他的妻子知道自己被枪击后情绪不稳定。

Quickly, McKinley was taken to a hospital. Doctors predicted that he would survive. And, for a few days, McKinley seemed to improve.
麦金莱很快被送到医院，医生预测总统会生还。而且几天后，麦金莱似乎有所好转。

But the wound became infected, and eight days after the attack McKinley died.
但伤口逐渐感染，被刺杀的八天后麦金莱去世了。

The president’s murderer did not say he was sorry for his act. He defended it, saying McKinley was an enemy of working people.
谋杀总统的罪犯没有为他的行为感到遗憾。他为自己辩解道，麦金莱是劳动人民的敌人。

Within a few weeks of the shooting, Czolgosz was tried, found guilty, and executed.
几周之后，乔戈什受审，被判有罪，并被处决。

Legacy 遗产

Both the nation and the world mourned when McKinley died. He had been one of the country’s most popular presidents in many years.
全国以及全世界人民都在为麦金莱的去世哀悼。他在很多年里都是美国最著名的总统之一。

He left behind the beginning of what some called an American empire. He also marked a change in the U.S. presidency.
他开启了一些人所谓的美帝主义，也标志着美国总统的改变。

When he first took office in the 19^th century, most presidents acted primarily as administrators.
他在19世纪第一次就任总统时，大多数总统主要是作为行政人员。

But President McKinley began to act in ways that are more like a modern president. He prepared remarks to give to the media. He traveled across the country speaking to voters. He used the power of his office to direct the armed forces.
但麦金莱总统开始以更像现代总统的方式行事。他准备言辞向媒体发表讲话，到全国各地进行演讲，使用政府权力来指挥武装部队。

McKinley laid the groundwork, but he did not completely change the presidency. He left that to the even more famous man who followed him into the White House.
麦金莱奠定了基础，但他并没有彻底改变总统职位。他将这些留给了接着他入主白宫甚至比他还出名的人（西奥多·罗斯福）。

After McKinley’s death, his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt, took office and truly brought the country into modern times.
麦金莱去世后，副总统西奥多·罗斯福宣誓成为总统，并真正将美国带进现代社会。

I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

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

Words in this story

transition - n. a change from one state or condition to another - 转变

annex - v. to add an area to a country : to take control of a place - 吞并

mood - n. an attitude or feeling shared by many people - 情绪；气氛

imperial - adj. of or relating to an empire or an emperor - 帝国的

clung - v. tried very hard to keep something that you are in danger of losing - 坚持，依附

landslide - n. election in which the winner gets a much greater number of votes than the loser - 大胜利；山崩

in kind - adj. in a way that is equal or very similar to what someone else has done to or for you - 以同样的方法

anarchy - n. a situation in which the people in a country are not controlled by rules or laws - 无政府状态

empire - n. a group of countries or regions that are controlled by one ruler or one government - 帝国