第6任：约翰·昆西·亚当斯：伟大的外交官,糟糕的政治家 – 棒小英

John Quincy Adams: Great Diplomat, Poor Politician

约翰·昆西·亚当斯:伟大的外交官,糟糕的政治家

Today we are talking about John Quincy Adams. Does his name sound familiar? John Quincy Adams, the sixth president, was the son of John Adams, the second president.

今天我们来讲述约翰·昆西·亚当斯。他的名字听起来熟悉吗?第六任总统约翰·昆西·亚当斯是第二任总统约翰·亚当斯的儿子。

Like his father, Quincy Adams had a sharp mind and a difficult personality. And, like his father, Quincy Adams served only one four-year term in office.

和他的父亲一样,昆西·亚当斯有敏锐的头脑和难以相处的性格。和他的父亲一样,昆西·亚当斯只担任了一届4年的总统任期。

But Quincy Adams went on to have many successful years working in a different job. He is the only former president (so far) to serve in the House of Representatives.

但是,昆西·亚当斯后来在另一份不同的工作中度过了多年成功的岁月。他是唯一一位(至今)在众议院服务的前总统。

Great expectations

伟大的期待

The parents of John Quincy Adams, John and Abigail, were strong patriots. Theirs was one of the founding families of America.

约翰·昆西·亚当斯的父母约翰和阿比盖尔都是坚定的爱国者。他们是美国建国家族之一。

Abigail Adams especially raised her son to serve his country. She expected him to become president. She told him that, with his good education and training, if he did not serve in a high public office it would be his own fault.

阿比盖尔·亚当斯特别培养儿子为国家服务。她期待他能成为总统。她告诉他,有了良好的教育和训练,如果他不在高级公职任职,那就是他自己的错。

Quincy Adams did not disappoint his mother. As a child, he learned to speak at least four languages and read Greek and Latin. He also studied Shakespeare’s plays.

昆西·亚当斯没有让母亲失望。小时候,他学会了至少四种语言,并读古希腊语和拉丁语。他也研究莎士比亚的戏剧。

At age 10, he traveled with his father to Europe. As a young man, he worked alongside John Adams in American diplomatic offices in Paris, Amsterdam and St. Petersburg.

10岁时,他随父亲前往欧洲。年轻时,他在巴黎、阿姆斯特丹和圣彼得堡的美国外交机构中与约翰·亚当斯一起工作。

Finally, Quincy Adams returned to his home in Boston in time to graduate from Harvard. He was working as a lawyer by the age of 23.

最后,昆西·亚当斯及时回到波士顿的家,从哈佛毕业。23岁时他已经成为一名律师。

Stories confirm that Quincy Adams was a brilliant boy and young man. But he rarely compromised his ideas. His inability to work with other lawmakers and to consider public opinion were partly to blame for his difficult presidency.

故事确认昆西·亚当斯是一位聪颖的男孩和年轻人。但是他很少妥协自己的想法。他无法与其他立法者合作,不考虑公众舆论,这在一定程度上应对他艰难的总统生涯负责。

Poor politician. Excellent diplomat

糟糕的政治家,出色的外交官

Quincy Adams may have been a poor politician, but he was an excellent diplomat. In the early part of his career, he served as the American ambassador to the Netherlands, Germany, Russia and Britain.

昆西·亚当斯可能是个糟糕的政治家,但他是一位出色的外交官。他早期职业生涯中,他担任过驻荷兰、德国、俄罗斯和英国大使。

He helped lead the negotiations that ended the War of 1812.

他帮助引导结束了1812年战争的谈判。

And he served for eight years as secretary of state under James Monroe.

在詹姆斯·门罗手下,他担任了8年的国务卿。

Some of that president’s accomplishments owe a lot to Quincy Adams. He helped negotiate the purchase of Florida from Spain.

那位总统的一些成就很大程度上要归功于昆西·亚当斯。他帮助谈判从西班牙购买了佛罗里达。

And, he was of the people responsible for the Monroe Doctrine. It warned Europe not to interfere in the Western Hemisphere.

他也是门罗主义的制定者之一。它警告欧洲不要干涉西半球。

But Quincy Adams could be impatient, especially with lawmakers. Many of them, he believed, did not care much about the country and wanted to help only themselves.

但是昆西·亚当斯可能会不耐烦,特别是对立法者。他认为,他们中许多人对国家并不关心,只想帮助自己。

Quincy Adams also avoided political battles. As secretary of state, he appointed people whom he thought were capable, even if they did not support his political party.

昆西·亚当斯也避免政治战斗。作为国务卿,他任命他认为称职的人,即使他们不支持他的政党。

Similarly, when he became president, he tried to bring political opponents — along with representatives of different parts of the country — together in his cabinet.

同样,当他成为总统时,他试图在内阁中把政治对手——以及不同地区的代表——聚集在一起。

His opponents, however, refused to serve.

然而,他的对手拒绝服务。

And, although his cabinet included southerners, he did not really have the support of the South.

而且,虽然他的内阁中包括南方人,他实际上并未得到南方的支持。

Presidency

总统生涯

Yet Quincy Adams talked about unity in his presidential inaugural speech. Adams said the Constitution and the representative democracy of the United States had proved a success. The nation was free and strong and stretched across the continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

尽管如此,昆西·亚当斯在就职演说中还是谈到了团结。亚当斯说,美国的宪法和代表民主已经证明是成功的。这个国家自由且强大,横跨大陆,从大西洋到太平洋。

He noted that political divisions had eased. So now, he said, it was time for the people to settle their differences and make a truly national government.

他指出政治分歧已经减轻。所以现在,他说,是人民解决分歧,建立真正的国家政府的时候了。

In his first message to Congress, President Adams described his ideas.

在他对国会的首次讲话中,亚当斯总统阐述了他的想法。

The chief purpose of the government, he said, was to improve the lives of the people it governed. To do this, he offered a national program of building roads and canals. He also proposed a national university and a national scientific center.

他说,政府的主要目的是改善它所治理的人民的生活。为此,他提出了建设公路和运河的国家计划。他还提议建立国家大学和国家科学中心。

Adams said Congress should not be limited to making laws only to improve the nation’s economic life. He said it should make laws to improve the arts and sciences, too.

亚当斯说,国会的立法不应仅限于改善国家的经济生活。他说还应制定法律来改善艺术和科学。

But many people of the West and South did not believe that the Constitution gave the federal government the power to do all these things. They believed these powers belonged to the states.

但是西部和南部的许多人不相信宪法赋予联邦政府这些权力。他们认为这些权力属于各州。

Their representatives in Congress rejected the president’s proposals.

他们在国会的代表拒绝了总统的提议。

In addition, a new opposition party was trying to weaken support for Quincy Adams. They supported a general from Tennessee named Andrew Jackson.

此外,一个新的反对党正在试图削弱对昆西·亚当斯的支持。他们支持一位来自田纳西州的将军安德鲁·杰克逊。

Historian Harlow Giles Unger says John Quincy Adams was never able to meet the high expectations many people had for him.

历史学家哈洛·吉尔斯·昂格尔说约翰·昆西·亚当斯从未能满足许多人对他的高期望。

“His presidency was a complete failure,” Unger told VOA. “He was able to accomplish nothing.”

昂格尔对美国之音说:“他的总统生涯完全失败了。他一无所成。”

Retirement … sort of

退休……算是吧

Quincy Adams lost the presidential election of 1828 in a landslide.

1828年大选,昆西·亚当斯惨败。

He refused to attend the inauguration of Andrew Jackson. He returned to his home in Quincy, Massachusetts depressed and worried about the country.

他拒绝出席安德鲁·杰克逊的就职典礼。他心情低落、担忧国家地返回马萨诸塞州昆西的家。

His wife, Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, believed they were returning to Massachusetts to stay. She was an American, but was born in England. Her mother was British. She was, at the time, the first foreign-born first lady.

他的妻子路易莎·凯瑟琳·约翰逊·亚当斯认为他们要永远留在马萨诸塞州了。她是美国人,但在英格兰出生。她母亲是英国人。当时,她是首位外国出生的第一夫人。

John and Louisa had four children, but their only daughter had died as a baby. Their sons were grown by the time Quincy Adams retired from the presidency.

约翰和路易莎有4个孩子,但是他们的独生女儿夭折了。当昆西·亚当斯退休时,他们的儿子们已经成年。

Soon he became restless.

不久他就变得焦躁不安。

Some neighbors asked if Quincy Adams would consider representing the district as a member of the U.S. Congress. He agreed – but only if voters would let him act as he believed was right, instead of as what would be politically popular.

一些邻居问昆西·亚当斯是否考虑作为众议院议员代表该地区。他同意了——但前提是选民允许他按自己认为对的方式行事,而不是讨好的政治方式。

Apparently they agreed, too, because voters elected Quincy Adams to the House of Representatives nine times.

显然他们也同意,因为选民9次选举昆西·亚当斯进入众议院。

In Congress, Quincy Adams often fought for citizen’s individual liberty. He strongly opposed slavery. His ideas were not widely popular at the time, especially among other lawmakers. They had created a rule that said Congress would not even consider any measures against slavery.

在国会里,昆西·亚当斯经常为公民的个人自由而战。他强烈反对奴隶制。当时,他的想法不受广泛欢迎,特别是在其他国会议员中。他们制定了一项规定,说国会甚至不会考虑针对奴隶制的任何措施。

Yet Quincy Adams defended the rights of enslaved people — frequently, and sometimes successfully.

然而,昆西·亚当斯经常为奴隶的权利辩护,有时也成功了。

He died at the age of 88, a few days after suffering a stroke on the floor of the House of Representatives.

他在众议院地板上中风几天后去世,享年88岁。

At the time, lawmakers were considering a proposal. And, as usual, John Quincy Adams was loudly voting no.

当时,议员正在考虑一项提案。像往常一样,约翰·昆西·亚当斯正在大声地投反对票。