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<b>How the Revolution Against Britain Divided </b>

<b>Families and Friends</b>

This is Rich Kleinfeldt. And this is Ray Freeman with <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>, a VOA Special
English program about the history of the United States. Today, we continue the story of the American
Revolution against Britain in the late 1700s.

Delegates to the American Continental Congress approved and signed a Declaration of Independence on
July Fourth, 1776. The new country called the United States of America was at war with Britain. Yet,
not everyone in the former colonies agreed on the decision.

No one knows for sure how many Americans remained loyal to Great Britain. The Massachusetts
political leader, John Adams, thought about thirty-three percent of the colonists supported independence,
thirty-three percent supported Britain, and thirty-three percent supported neither side. Most history
experts today think that about twenty percent of the colonists supported Britain. They say the others were
neutral or supported whichever side seemed to be winning.

As many as thirty thousand Americans fought for the British during the war. Others helped Britain by
reporting the movements of American rebel troops.

Who supported Britain? They included people appointed to their jobs by the king, religious leaders of the
Anglican Church, and people with close business connections in Britain.

Many members of minority groups remained loyal to the king because they needed his protection against
local majority groups. Other people were loyal because they did not want change or because they

believed that independence would not improve their lives. Some thought the actions of the British
government were not bad enough to make a rebellion necessary. Others did not believe that the rebels
could win a war against such a powerful nation as Britain.

Native American Indians did not agree among themselves about the revolution. Congress knew it had to

make peace with the Indians as soon as the war started, or American troops might have to fight them and
the British at the same time. To prevent trouble, American officials tried to stop settlers from moving
onto Indian lands.

In some places, the Indians joined the Americans, but generally they supported the British. They

expected the British to win. They saw the war as a chance to force the Americans to leave their lands. At
times, the Indians fought on the side of the British, but left when the British seemed to be losing the
battle. Choosing to fight for the British proved to be a mistake. When the war was over, the Americans
felt they owed the Indians nothing.

Black slaves in the colonies also were divided about what side to join during the American Revolution.
Thousands fought for the British, because that side offered them freedom if they served in the army or
navy. Some American states also offered to free slaves who served, and hundreds of free blacks fought
on the American side. Many slaves, however, felt their chances for freedom were better with the British.
Details are not exact, but history experts say more blacks probably joined the British in the North than in
the South.

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In the South, many slave owners kept their slaves at home. Later in the war, every man was needed,
although most slaves did not fight. Instead, they drove wagons and carried supplies. Many
African-Americans also served in the American navy. Blacks who served in the colonial army and navy were not
separated from whites. Black and white men fought side by side during the American Revolution.

History experts say, however, that most black slaves spent the war as they had always lived: working on
their owners' farms.

The American rebels called themselves patriots. They called British supporters Tories. Patriots often
seized Tories' property to help pay for the war. They also kidnapped Tories' slaves to be used as laborers
for the army. Many Tories were forced from towns in which they had lived all their lives. Some were
tortured or hanged. In New Jersey, Tories and patriots fought one another with guns, and sometimes

burned each other's houses and farms.

Some history experts say the American Revolution was really the nation's first civil war. The revolution
divided many families. Perhaps the most famous example was the family of Benjamin Franklin. Ben
Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence. His son William was governor of the colony of New
Jersey. He supported the king. Political disagreement about the war tore apart this father and son for the
rest of their lives.

Different ideas about the war existed among the patriots, too. That is because the colonies did not really
think of themselves as one nation. They saw themselves as independent states trying to work together
toward a goal. People from Massachusetts, for example, thought Pennsylvania was a strange place filled
with strange people. Southerners did not like people from the North. And people who lived in farm areas
did not communicate easily with people who lived in coastal towns and cities.

This meant that the Continental Congress could not order the states to do anything they did not want to
do. Congress could not demand that the states provide money for the war. It could only ask for their
help.

George Washington, the top general, could not take men into the army. He could only wait for the states
to send them. History experts say George Washington showed that he was a good politician by the way
he kept Congress and the thirteen states supporting him throughout the war.

As the people of America did not agree about the war, the people of Britain did not agree about it, either.
Many supported the government's decision to fight. They believed that the war was necessary to rescue
loyalists from the patriots. Others did not think Britain should fight the Americans, because the

Americans had not invaded or threatened their country. They believed that Britain should leave the
colonies alone to do as they wished.

King George was not able to do this, however. He supported the war as a way to continue his power in

the world, and to rescue British honor in the eyes of other national leaders.

Whichever side British citizens were on, there was no question that the war was causing severe problems
in Britain. British businessmen could no longer trade with the American colonies. Prices increased.
Taxes did, too. And young men were forced to serve in the royal navy.

At the start of the war, the British believed that the rebellion was led by a few extremists in New
England. They thought the other colonies would surrender if that area could be surrounded and

controlled. So, they planned to separate New England from the other colonies by taking command of the
Hudson River Valley.

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They failed to do this, although they did occupy New York City for the whole war, and at times had
control over Philadelphia and Charleston.

The British experienced many problems fighting the war. Their troops were far from home, across a wide
ocean. It was difficult to bring in more forces and supplies, and it took a long time. As the war continued,
American ships became more skilled at attacking British ships at sea.

The colonial army had problems, too. Congress never had enough money. Sometimes, it could not send
General Washington the things he needed. Often, the states did not send what they were supposed to.
Americans were not always willing to take part in the war. They were poorly trained as soldiers and
would promise to serve for only a year or so.

The political and economic developments of the American Revolution concerned not just the Americans
and the British. European nations were watching the events in America very closely. Those events, and
the reactions in Europe, will be our story next time.

Today's MAKING OF A NATION program was written by Nancy Steinbach. This is Rich Kleinfeldt.
And this is Ray Freeman. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the

history of the United States.

<b>The Constitution Goes to the States for Approval</b>

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In recent weeks, we told the story of how the United States Constitution was written. In 1787, a group of
delegates gathered for a convention in Philadelphia. Their plan was to rewrite the Articles of

Confederation. Those articles created a weak union of the thirteen states.

Instead of rewriting the articles, however, they spent that summer writing a completely new plan of
government. On September seventeenth, after four months of often bitter debate, the delegates finally
signed the new document. Now, they had to get at least nine of the thirteen states to approve it. Today,
Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe tell the story of ratifying the Constitution.

Delegates to the Philadelphia convention had met in secret. They wanted to be able to debate proposals,
and change their minds, without worrying about public reaction. Now, they were free to speak openly.
Each had a copy of the new Constitution.

Newspapers also got copies. They printed every word. Public reaction was great indeed. Arguments 'for'
and 'against' were the same as those voiced by delegates to the convention:

The Constitution would save the United States! The Constitution would create a dictator!

The leaders who supported the new Constitution understood quickly that to win ratification, they must
speak out. So, just a few weeks after the document was signed, they began writing statements supporting
the proposed Constitution.

Their statements appeared first in newspapers in New York. They were called the Federalist Papers.
They were printed under the name of 'Publius'. But they were really written by three men: Alexander

Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.

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The debate over the Constitution divided Americans into two groups. Those who supported it were
known as Federalists. Those who opposed it were known as anti-Federalists.

The anti-Federalists were not anti-American. They were important leaders who loved their country.
They were governors, heroes of the Revolutionary War, and even a future president. Yet they distrusted
the idea of a strong central government.

Give too much power to the president, the Congress and the courts, they said, and citizens would no
longer be free. They would lose the liberties gained in the war for independence from Britain.

One anti-Federalist was Patrick Henry of Virginia. James Madison called him the most dangerous enemy
of the Constitution.

Patrick Henry and other anti-Federalists tried to create distrust and fear about the new plan of
government. Farmers against city people. North against South. Small states against big states.

An anti-Federalist newspaper in Philadelphia carried this commentary: "Citizens! You are lucky to live
in Pennsylvania, where we have the best government in the world. Do not let this government be

destroyed by the new Constitution. Do not let a few men -- men with great names -- seize control of your
lives."

One Federalist noted that it was easier to frighten the people than to teach them.

There were both Federalists and anti-Federalists in the Continental Congress. The Congress had few
powers. But it was the only central government the thirteen states had at that time. It met in New York
City.

The convention in Philadelphia had sent the Continental Congress a copy of the new Constitution. Within
eight days, the Congress agreed that each state should organize a convention to discuss ratification. One
by one, the states held their conventions.

Delaware was the first state to ratify, early in December, 1787. All the delegates voted to approve it.
Pennsylvania was the next to ratify, also in December.

New Jersey ratified the Constitution in December, followed by Georgia and Connecticut in January. That
made five states. The Federalists needed just four more to win ratification.

Massachusetts voted in early February. Delegates to the state convention wanted the Constitution
amended to include guarantees to protect citizens' rights. They agreed to ratify if these guarantees were
added later.

Maryland ratified the Constitution at the end of April. There, a number of delegates included a letter of
protest with their vote. They said if the proposed plan of government were not amended, the liberty and
happiness of the people would be threatened.

South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify, at the end of May. Just one more state and the new
Constitution would become the law of the land. All eyes turned to Virginia.

Virginia was the biggest of the thirteen states. At that time, its western border stretched all the way to the
Mississippi River. One-fifth of all the people in America lived in Virginia. The men who attended the
ratifying convention were among the most famous names in the nation: James Madison, Patrick Henry,
George Mason, James Monroe, Edmund Randolph and John Marshall.

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Constitution. But, he said, I do not like the fact that it does not contain a declaration of the rights of
citizens.

The most famous Virginian, George Washington, stayed at his farm, Mount Vernon. All during the

month of June, however, riders brought him messages from the convention and carried messages back.
For three weeks, the Virginia delegates argued about the Constitution. By the end of June, they were
ready to vote. Patrick Henry, the outspoken anti-Federalist, asked to make a last statement.

"If this convention approves the Constitution," Henry said, "I will feel that I fought for good reasons…
and lost the fight. If this happens, I will wait and hope. I will hope that the spirit of the American
Revolution is not lost. I will hope that this new plan of government is changed to protect the safety, the
liberty, and the happiness of the American people."

Then the convention voted. Virginia approved the Constitution. However, like Massachusetts, it added
that the document must include a declaration of rights for the nation's people.

Federalists in Virginia were proud. They thought their state was the ninth to ratify, the one that made the
Constitution the law of the land. But they soon learned that New Hampshire had ratified a few days
earlier. Virginia was number ten. That left three states: North Carolina, Rhode Island, and New York.
In a way, New York was the most important of all. If New York refused to join the union under the
Constitution, it would be almost impossible for a central government to rule the nation. The twelve other
states would be divided in two, geographically separated by New York state.

The Federalists were led by Alexander Hamilton. They used their right to filibuster -- to make many long
speeches -- to delay the vote. They wanted to wait to hear what Virginia would do. Early in July, they
got the news. But New York's anti-Federalists kept up the fight for three more weeks.

It was not until the end of July that New York finally ratified the Constitution. The vote was extremely
close: thirty to twenty-seven. Like Massachusetts and Virginia, New York demanded a declaration of
rights.

The long struggle to give the United States a strong central government was over. It took four months to
write a new Constitution. It took ten months to ratify it.

The Continental Congress declared that the Constitution would become effective the first Wednesday in
March, 1789. The last two states -- North Carolina and Rhode Island -- did not ratify it until many
months after that date.

Benjamin Rush of Pennsylvania, who had signed the Declaration of Independence, wrote down eight
words when he heard that the Constitution had been ratified. "It is done," he said, "we have become a
nation."

Our program was written by Christine Johnson. The narrators were Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe. Join
us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American history series in VOA Special
English.

<b>The Heart and Spirit of the Constitution</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

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Last week in our series, we described how the Constitution became law once nine of America's first
thirteen states ratified it. The Continental Congress set a date for the new plan of government to take
effect. The first Wednesday in March, 1789. Now, here are Richard Rael and Shep O’Neal to continue our
story.

In 1789, the population of the United States was about four million. The thirteen states had been loosely
united for a short time, only about ten years. Before that, they were separate colonies of Britain.

Because the colonies were separate, their people developed different ways of life. Their economies and
traditions were different. As a result, Americans were fiercely independent. An emergency -- the crisis of
the revolution -- brought them together.

Together, they celebrated the Fourth of July, the day America declared its independence from Britain.
Together, they fought British troops to make that declaration a political reality. Together, they joined

under the Latin phrase 'E Pluribus Unum' -- one out of many.

Yet when the war ended, the soldiers returned to their home states. They still thought of themselves as
New Yorkers, or Virginians, or Marylanders. They did not consider themselves a national people.
Americans of 1789 were sharply divided on the need for a national government. Many were afraid the
new government would not survive. They feared the anarchy that would result if it failed. Others hoped it
would fail. They wanted strong state governments, not a strong central government.

For those who supported the national government, there were good reasons to hope for success. The
country had great natural resources. And its people were honest and hard-working.

Also, in 1789, the American economy was improving after the destruction of the Revolutionary War.
Agriculture, trade, and shipbuilding were coming back to life. Roads, bridges, and canals were being built
to improve travel and communication.

The country's economy had many problems, however. Two major issues had to be settled. One was
repayment of loans made to support the Revolutionary Army. The other was creation of a national money
system. Both issues needed quick action.

But before the new government could act, the old government had work to do. It had to decide where the
capital city of the new nation would be. It also had to hold elections for president and Congress. First, the
question of a capital.

At the time the states ratified the new Constitution, the Continental Congress was meeting in New York
City. And that is where it decided to place the new government. Later, the capital would be moved to
Philadelphia for a while. Finally, it would be established at Washington, D.C.

Next, the Continental Congress had to decide when the states would choose a president. It agreed on
March fourth, 1789. That was when the new Constitution would go into effect.

The eleven states that ratified the Constitution chose electors to vote for a president. The result was not a
surprise. They chose the hero of the Revolutionary War: George Washington. No one opposed the choice.
Washington learned of his election while at his home in Virginia, Mount Vernon. He left for New York
and was inaugurated there on April thirtieth.

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Now, for the first time, Americans had something many of them had talked about for years -- a working
national government. There was much work to be done. The machinery of government was new, untested.
Quick decisions were needed to keep the new nation alive and healthy.

One of the first things the Congress did was to re-open debate on the Constitution itself. Several states
had set a condition for approving the document. They said a Bill of Rights must be added to the
Constitution, listing the rights of all citizens.

When the Constitution was written, a majority of the states already had their own bills of rights. So some
delegates to the convention said a national bill was unnecessary. Others argued that the Constitution
would be the highest law of the land, higher than state laws. So a national bill of rights was needed to
guarantee the rights of the citizens of the new nation.

Time proved this to be a wise decision. The Bill of Rights gave the Constitution a special strength. Many
Americans consider the Bill of Rights to be the heart and spirit of the Constitution.

What is this Bill of Rights that is so important to the citizens of the United States? It is contained in the
first ten amendments to the Constitution.

The First Amendment is the basic statement of American freedoms. It protects freedom of religion,
freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

The First Amendment guarantees that religion and government will be separate in America. It says
Congress will make no law establishing an official religion. Nor will Congress interfere in the peoples'
right to worship as they choose. The First Amendment also says Congress will not make laws restricting

the peoples' right to gather peacefully and to make demands on the government.

The Second Amendment guarantees the peoples' right to keep weapons as part of an organized militia.
The Third Amendment says people may not be forced to let soldiers stay in their homes during peacetime.
The Fourth through the Eighth Amendments all protect the peoples' rights in the criminal justice system.
The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures. If police want to search
a suspect's house or papers, they must get special permission from a judge. The document from the judge
must say exactly what police are looking for. And it must describe the place to be searched.

The Fifth Amendment says no one can be put on trial for a serious crime unless a grand jury has first
examined the evidence and agreed that a trial is needed. No one can be put on trial more than once on the
same criminal charge. And no one can be forced to give evidence against himself in court.

The Fifth Amendment also says no one can lose their freedom, property, or life except by the rules of law.
And the government cannot take people's property for public use without paying them a fair price.

The Sixth Amendment says all persons accused of crimes have the right to a fair and speedy public trial
by a jury. This guarantees that people cannot be kept in prison for a long time unless a jury has found
them guilty of a crime.

The Sixth Amendment also guarantees the right of accused persons to be defended by a lawyer. It says
they must be informed of the nature and cause of the charges against them. And it says they have the right
to face and question their accusers.

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The Ninth Amendment provides protection for other rights not stated directly in the Constitution. And the
Tenth Amendment says any powers which the Constitution does not give to the national government
belong to the states or to the people themselves.

A majority of the states approved the Bill of Rights by the end of 1791. As we have seen, these

amendments limited the powers of the national government. As a result, many anti-Federalists ended their
opposition. They accepted the new government. Many agreed to help with the job of building the new
nation.

President Washington wanted the best men -- Federalist or anti-Federalist -- to be in his administration.
The new nation needed strong leadership. George Washington provided it. General Washington's work as
the first president will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Christine Johnson and Carolyn Weaver. The narrators were Richard Rael and
Shep O’Neal. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us
again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>, an American history series in VOA Special
English.

<b>From Revolutionary War Hero to President</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

The United States declared its independence from Britain on July fourth, 1776. The new nation was a
loosely formed alliance governed under the Articles of Confederation. All this changed when a new plan
of government, the Constitution, went into effect on March fourth, 1789. There was much to be done to
make it work. The machinery of government was untested. Strong leadership was needed. Today, Harry
Monroe and Kay Gallant tell the story of America's first president, George Washington.

Many historians believe there would never have been a United States without George Washington. He led
the American people to victory in their war for independence from Britain. He kept the new nation united
in the dangerous first years of its life.

Washington had a strange power over the American people. His name still does. During his lifetime, he

was honored for his courage and wisdom. After his death in 1799, he became almost god-like. People
forgot that he was human, that he had faults and made mistakes.

For well over one hundred years, Americans found it difficult to criticize George Washington. He
represented the spirit of America -- what was best about the country.

Recent historians have painted a more realistic picture of Washington. They write about his weaknesses,
as well as his strengths. But this has not reduced his greatness and importance in the making of the nation.
The force of Washington's personality, and his influence, was extremely important at the Philadelphia
convention that wrote the new Constitution. Had he not agreed to attend, some say, the convention would
not have been held. Later, as the first president, he gave the new nation a good start in life.

Washington was able to control political disputes among officials of the new government. He would not
let such disputes damage the nation's unity.

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He said, some things may not seem important in the beginning, but later, they may have bad permanent
results. It would be better, he felt, to start his administration right than to try to correct mistakes later…
when it might be too late to do so. He hoped to act in such a way that future presidents could continue to
build on what he began.

Washington had clear, firm ideas about what was right and what was wrong. He loved justice. He also
loved the republican form of government.

Some people had difficulty seeing this part of the man. For Washington looked like an aristocrat. And, at
times, he seemed to act like one. He attended many ceremonies. He often rode through the streets in a
carriage pulled by six horses. His critics called him "king."

Washington opposed rule by kings and dictators. He was shocked that some good people talked of having
a monarchy in America. He was even more shocked that they did not understand the harm they were
doing.

Washington warned that this loose talk could lead to an attempt to establish a monarchy in the United
States. A monarchy, he said, would be a great victory for the enemies of the United States. It would prove
that Americans could not govern themselves.

As president, Washington decided to do everything in his power to prevent the country from ever being
ruled by a king or dictator. He wanted the people to have as much self-government as possible. Such
government, Washington felt, meant a life of personal freedom and equal justice for the people.
The 18th century has been described as the age of reason and understanding for the rights of people.
Washington was a man of his times. He said no one could feel a greater interest in the happiness of
mankind than he did. He said it was his greatest hope that the policies of that time would bring to
everyone those blessings which should be theirs.

Washington was especially happy and proud that the United States would protect people against
oppression for their religious beliefs.

He did not care which god people worshipped. He felt that religious freedom was a right of every person.
Good men, he said, are found all over the world. They can be followers of any religion…or no religion at
all.

Washington's feelings about racial oppression were as strong as his feelings about religious oppression.
True, he owned Negro slaves. But he hated slavery. "There is not a man alive," he once said, "who wishes
more truly than I to see a plan approved to end slavery." By his order, all his slaves were freed when he
died.

From the beginning, George Washington was careful to establish a good working relationship with the
Congress. He did not attempt to take away any powers given to the Congress by the Constitution. By his
actions, he confirmed the separation of powers of the three branches of the government, as proposed in
the Constitution.

The Congress, too, was ready to cooperate. It did not attempt to take away any powers given to the
president by the Constitution. The Congress, for example, agreed that President Washington had the right
to appoint his assistants. But Congress kept the right to approve them.

Washington asked some of the nation's wisest and most able men to serve in the new government.

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While Congress was considering Jefferson's nomination, Washington heard of threatening events in
France. He learned that a mob had captured the old prison called the Bastille. Washington was worried.
The United States had depended on France for help during its war for independence. And it still needed
French help. A crisis in France could be bad for America.

The information Jefferson brought home would prove valuable if the situation in France got worse.
Washington also thought Jefferson's advice would be useful in general, not just on French developments.
For Secretary of the Treasury, Washington chose Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton had served as one of
Washington's assistants during the Revolutionary War.

For Chief Justice of the United States, he chose John Jay. Jay helped write the Federalist Papers, which
are considered the best explanation of the Constitution ever written. Two delegates to the Constitutional
convention were named associate justices of the Supreme Court: James Wilson and John Rutledge.
For Attorney General, Washington wanted a good lawyer and someone who supported the Constitution.
He chose Edmund Randolph of Virginia. It was Randolph who proposed the Virginia Plan to the

Philadelphia convention. The plan became the basis for the national Constitution. Randolph refused to
sign the document, because he did not believe it could be approved. But he worked later to help win
Virginia's approval of the Constitution.

President Washington named his assistants, and the Congress approved them. The president was ready to
begin work on the nation's urgent problems. And there were many.

One problem was Spain's control of the lower part of the Mississippi River. American farmers needed to

use the river to transport their crops to market. But the Spanish governor in Louisiana closed the

Mississippi to American boats.

There also were problems with Britain. The United States had no commercial treaty with Britain. And
Britain had sent no representative to the new American government.

Equally urgent were the new nation's economic problems. Two major issues had to be settled. One was
repayment of loans made to support the American army in the war for independence. The other was
creation of a national money system. Both issues needed quick action.

Finding solutions would be the job of President Washington's treasury secretary, Alexander Hamilton.
Alexander Hamilton will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Harold Braverman. The narrators were Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant. Join
us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>, an American history series in VOA Special
English. Our programs are online with transcripts, MP3s and podcasts at voaspecialenglish.com. You can
also learn about the history of the series itself. <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> was first broadcast in
1969, ten years after VOA started Special English.

<b>The Imagination of Alexander Hamilton</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

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The first government of the United States was weak. It had many debts and an empty treasury. Its support
from the people was not firm. There was some question about its future. Many wondered if it would last.
In a few years, however, there was a change. This change was produced in large part by the energy and
imagination of one man, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton wanted to make the United States a strong and

important nation. He wanted it to become the equal of the powerful nations of Europe. Here are Shirley
Griffith and Frank Oliver with our story.

Alexander Hamilton firmly believed that no country could become a modern nation without industry. So,
he carefully developed a program that would make the United States an industrial nation. He also

organized the nation's finances. This was done by establishing government credit and a national bank.
The bank increased the flow of money needed for investment. It fed the needs of business and commercial
activity. The need for money had brought much of this activity to a stop.

Finally, Hamilton took steps to protect American manufacturers from foreign competition. He did this by
establishing a system of import taxes -- tariffs -- on some foreign goods brought into American ports.
These import taxes forced foreign manufacturers to raise their prices. As a result, American

manufacturers had much less competition in selling their products.

Such a tariff system, Hamilton hoped, would strengthen American industry. He thought the United States
should not have to depend on other nations for the things it needed. Such a system, he believed, would
create a demand for all kinds of workers. It would increase immigration from other countries. And it
would bring a new and greater demand for American farm products.

Hamilton's financial program helped manufacturers. But it did not seem to do much for farmers.

There was a loud protest, especially among farmers in the south. Everything he did, they said, helped the
industrial and banking interests of the north. Yet the farmers had to pay more for the manufactured goods
they needed. At the same time, they had to sell their crops at lower prices.

Hamilton succeeded in getting Congress to approve his financial proposals. Yet his political victories
brought him many enemies. And they started a Constitutional debate that continued throughout American
history. The dispute involved this question: What exact powers do the government and the Congress have

under the Constitution?

Alexander Hamilton believed the Constitution gave the government a number of powers besides those
written down. Otherwise, he said, the government could not work. For example, he believed that under
the Constitution, the government had the right to start a national bank. It also had the right to put a tax on
imported goods.

Hamilton's opponents disagreed sharply. They did not give the words of the Constitution such a wide
meaning. They said the government had just those powers that were clearly spelled out in the

Constitution, and nothing more. If not, they said, the government could become dangerously powerful.
These disputes, and others, helped shape the new United States. In future programs, we will tell more
about Alexander Hamilton's influence on political developments. Now, however, we will tell a little about
his private life. What kind of man was he? Where did he come from? How did his political and economic
beliefs develop?

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His mother was the daughter of French Huguenots who had settled in the West Indies. Her name was
Rachel Lavien. Historians are not sure who his father was. One story says he may have been James
Hamilton, a poor businessman from Scotland. Rachel Lavien lived with him after she left her husband.
One thing is certain. His mother died when he was eleven years old. When she died, friends of the family
found work for the boy on the island of Saint Croix -- then called Santa Cruz -- in the Virgin Islands. He
was to be an assistant bookkeeper. He would learn how to keep financial records.

Young Alexander was considered an unusual child. Other children played games. He talked about
becoming a political leader in the North American colonies.

He read every book that was given to him -- in English, Latin and Greek. At a young age, he learned a
great deal about business and economics. And he developed an ability to use words to communicate ideas
clearly and powerfully. This ability to write started him on the path to a new life.

A severe ocean storm hit the West Indies. Hamilton wrote a report about the storm for a newspaper called
the Royal Danish American Gazette. His story was so good that some of his friends decided to help him
get a good education. They gave him money so he could attend a college in New York City.

The boy's plan was to study medicine and return to Saint Croix as a doctor.

When Hamilton arrived in New York, he tried to enter King's College, which would later be known as
Columbia University. However, he did not have enough education to enter King's College. So he went to
a lower school at Elizabethtown, in New Jersey.

He was one of the most serious students at the school. He read his books until midnight. Then he got up
early and went to a cemetery to continue reading where it was quiet. He wrote many papers. Each time, he
tried to improve his style. After a year at Elizabethtown, he was accepted at King's College.

At King's College, both teachers and students were surprised by Hamilton's intelligence and his clear way
of writing and speaking. The problems of the American colonies were very much on the young man's
mind.

Hamilton protested against British rule. When colonists in the city of Boston seized a British ship and
threw its cargo of tea into the water, Hamilton wrote a paper defending them. Then came the year 1776.
The thirteen American colonies declared their independence from Britain. The declaration meant war.
As a boy, Alexander Hamilton had written, "I want success. I would put my life in danger to win success,
but not my character. I wish there were a war where I could show my strength." Now, war had come.
The American Revolution gave Hamilton the chance to show his abilities. He wanted to be a great
military leader. Instead, he became a valuable assistant to the commanding general, George Washington.
In this job, he had to use all his political and communication skills to get money and supplies for the
Revolutionary Army.

Hamilton also would become an influential thinker, writer, and journalist. For many years, he wrote
editorials for the newspaper he established, the New York Evening Post. He also helped write the

Federalist Papers with James Madison and John Jay. The Federalist Papers are considered the greatest
explanation of the United States Constitution ever written.

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More than any other man, it was Alexander Hamilton who made the delegates to that convention change
their minds and accept the document.

After the new government was formed under the Constitution, Hamilton continued to play an important
part in national politics. That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Harold Braverman. Shirley Griffith and Frank Oliver were the narrators. For
transcripts, podcasts and MP3s of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com. And join us again next
week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>, an American history series in VOA Special English.

<b>For a New Nation, Hamilton Seeks a Bank</b>

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Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

He was the top planner and policy maker under President George Washington. He was also the nation’s
first secretary of the Treasury. Today, Maurice Joyce and Shep O’Neal continue the story of Alexander
Hamilton.

As we said in our last program, young Alexander Hamilton wanted to be a military commander. He hoped
to demonstrate his bravery by fighting in a war. So, when the thirteen American colonies rebelled against
Britain in the 1770s, he joined a militia in New York state.

It was not long before Hamilton met the commander-in-chief of American forces, George Washington.
General Washington invited Hamilton to become one of his assistants.

One of Hamilton's jobs was to get money and supplies for the army. He asked the thirteen state

governments. He also asked the Congress, which had little political power at that time. He got almost no
help from either.

Hamilton felt the American system of government was too weak and disorganized. He did not like
democracy, rule by the people. Instead, he liked aristocracy, rule by a rich upper class.

Alexander Hamilton was a proud man. He was quick to criticize others. He even criticized George
Washington. Once, during the war, he was late to a meeting with the general. Washington protested.
Hamilton resigned.

Washington was sorry. He had a high opinion of Hamilton's abilities. That is why he was willing to forget
the incident and appoint Hamilton to the new Treasury Department.

The job would be difficult. The new nation had to find ways to bring in money and pay what it owed. The
new Constitution said the national government was responsible for re-paying the states' wartime loans.
One way to get money was to borrow it. But no one wanted to lend money to the United States unless
they were sure they would get it back. So, the Congress asked Treasury Secretary Hamilton to write a
report about how to build up the government's credit.

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Many of the debts were in the form of government notes. The notes promised to pay someone for
supplying food, clothing, and weapons to the rebel army. Some promised to pay soldiers for joining the
army.

The notes really were worth nothing, however. The wartime Congress had no money. People who got
them lost hope of ever getting re-paid. So they sold them to anyone willing to pay even part of the value.
Hamilton's plan would repay the full value of the notes to those who owned them last. This meant the
people who first got the notes from the government would receive nothing. And the people who bought
them at low cost would receive much more than they paid.

Congressman James Madison of Virginia protested. He said the people who bought the notes at low cost
should be paid, but not in full. Some of the money, he said, should go to those who got the notes in
exchange for supplies or services.

Madison made an emotional speech in Congress. He described the situation of former soldiers forced by
hunger to sell their government notes for almost nothing. He noted that the Union was established to
protect the people against such injustice.

Hamilton said the purpose of his plan was greater than simply paying debts. He said it was a way to build
up the nation's credit so it could borrow money more easily in the future.

Hamilton believed that those who bought the notes had a right to earn money from them. These men took
a chance that the worthless notes would be worth something, someday. The government could not deny
them their profits.

Many members of Congress felt sorry for the poor soldiers and their families. Yet they voted against
Madison's proposal and supported Hamilton's plan.

Hamilton's plan raised old fears. The agricultural south was sure he was trying to make the industrial
north more powerful. Hamilton did not deny this. His purpose was to strengthen the nation. He believed
all areas would be helped if industry and commerce were stronger.

Still, to win support for his plan, Hamilton had to make a political deal with several Congressmen. They
would support his financial plan. But he had to use his influence to get the capital of the United States
moved.

At that time, the capital was in the north, in New York City. Two Congressmen from Virginia wanted it in
the south near their homes along the Potomac River. Several Congressmen from Pennsylvania agreed. But
they said the capital first must be moved to Philadelphia, the biggest city in their state. And it must remain
there ten years.

Congress accepted this plan by a close vote. President Washington signed it.

It was well known that George Washington wanted the capital closer to his Virginia farm, Mount Vernon.
Yet, there is no evidence that he ever asked any member of Congress -- or anyone else -- to help get it
moved there.

Alexander Hamilton's plan to re-pay the nation's debts caused much protest. However, another one of his
financial plans caused even more. It was his plan to create a national bank.

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Hamilton said a central bank in the United States would increase the flow of money throughout the
country. It would help the national government negotiate loans and collect taxes.

Critics argued that a national bank would give too much power to a few rich men in the north. It would
take control of state banks, on which southern farmers and small businessmen depended. It would
increase the use of paper money, instead of gold and silver.

James Madison led the opposition against Hamilton's plan in Congress.

Madison believed the United States should not put all its wealth in one place. So, he proposed a system of
many smaller banks in different parts of the country. He also argued that the idea of a central bank was
unconstitutional.

No one knew more about the American Constitution than James Madison. He was given credit for most of
the ideas in it. Everyone respected his explanation of its wording.

Madison noted that the Constitution gives Congress a number of powers, which are stated. Congress has
no powers beyond this. For example, he said, Congress has the power to borrow money. But it is

permitted to borrow money only to re-pay debts, to defend the country, and to provide for the general

good of the people.

Madison rejected the idea that the right to create a central bank came from the power to provide for the
general good of the people. He said such an idea twisted the meaning and purpose of the Constitution.
That, he said, was most dangerous.

Madison's argument was powerful. Yet, once again, Hamilton won more Congressional support. He got
enough votes to approve his proposal to establish a national bank. Still, President Washington had to sign
the bill into law. He worried about the possibility that the bill was not constitutional.

So he asked three men for advice: Attorney General Edmund Randolph. Secretary of State Thomas
Jefferson. And Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton.

Randolph had no firm answer. Jefferson agreed with Madison. Creating a national bank violated the
Constitution.

Hamilton, of course, disagreed. He said the Constitution gave the government certain powers, and named
them. But it included others, without naming them. It did this so the government could put its powers to
work and act like a government. Such was the purpose of the Constitution, Hamilton said.

These arguments did not completely answer all of President Washington's questions. But he went ahead
and signed the bill to establish a national bank in America.

Hamilton and Jefferson came to disagree on most issues. Their struggle for power in the new government
led to the creation of America's political party system. That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Christine Johnson. The narrators were Maurice Joyce and Shep O’Neal. Join
us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>, an American history series in VOA Special
English.

<b>Two-Party Political System Takes Hold in US</b>

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Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

George Washington became America's first president in 1789. He had commanded the forces of the
American colonies in their successful rebellion against Britain. Washington was elected without

opposition. But American politics were about to change. This week in our series, Frank Oliver and Ray
Freeman describe the beginnings of the two-party political system in the United States.

George Washington did not belong to a political party. There were no political parties in America at that
time. This does not mean all Americans held the same political beliefs. They did not. But there were no
established organizations that offered candidates for elections.

Two such organizations began to take shape during President Washington's first administration. One was
called the Federalists. Its leader was Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. The other was called the
Republicans. Its leader was Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Each group represented the political
beliefs of its leader.

Hamilton and the Federalists wanted a strong national government with a powerful president and courts.
They supported policies that helped bankers and wealthy businessmen. They urged close economic and
diplomatic ties with Britain. They did not like democracy, which they described as mob rule.

The Federalist Party led by Alexander Hamilton was not the same as an earlier group also called
Federalists.

The word was used to describe those who supported the new American Constitution. Those who opposed
the Constitution were known as anti-Federalists.

Some early Federalists, like Hamilton, later became members of the Federalist Party. They were

extremely powerful. They controlled the Congress during the presidency of George Washington. And
they almost controlled Washington himself, through his dependence on Alexander Hamilton.

Thomas Jefferson and the Republicans supported the Constitution as a plan of government. But they did
not think the Constitution gave the national government unlimited powers.

They supported policies that helped the nation's farmers and small businessmen. They urged closer ties
with the French people, who were rebelling against their king. And they demanded more rights, more
democracy, for the people of the United States.

The men who led these two groups were very different.

Alexander Hamilton of the aristocratic Federalists was not born to an established, upper-class American
family. He was born in the West Indies to a man and woman who were not married. However, Hamilton
was educated in America. And he gained a place in society by marrying the daughter of a wealthy
landowner in New York state.

Money and position were important to Hamilton. He believed men of money and position should govern
the nation.

Thomas Jefferson of the Democratic Republicans could have been what Alexander Hamilton wanted to
be. Through his mother, he was distantly related to British noblemen. And he liked fine food, wine,
books, and music.

But Jefferson had great respect for simple farmers and for the men who opened America's western lands
to settlement. He believed they, too, had a right to govern the nation.

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opposing opinions on how America's government should operate.

Their personal disagreements turned into a public dispute when they served in President Washington's

cabinet. The two men did not argue directly in public, however. They fought their war of words in two
newspapers.

Both knew the power of the press. Jefferson, especially, felt the need for newspapers in a democracy. He
believed they provided the only way for a large population to know the truth. He once said: "If I had to
choose between a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I would choose
newspapers without a government."

Hamilton already had experience in using newspapers for political purposes.

During the American Revolutionary War, Hamilton served as an assistant to George Washington, the
commander-in-chief. One of his jobs was to get money and supplies for the army.

Hamilton asked the thirteen state governments. He also asked the Congress, which had little political
power at that time. He got almost no help from either.

Hamilton felt the new system of government under the Articles of Confederation was weak and

disorganized. He did not think the states should have so much power. What America needed, he said, was
a strong central government. Without it, the Confederation would break apart.

Hamilton expressed his opinions in several newspaper articles. He did not put his own name on the
articles. He signed them "The Continentalist."

He soon became one of the strongest voices calling for a convention to amend the Articles of

Confederation. This was the convention that finally met in Philadelphia in 1787 and wrote the American
Constitution.

Hamilton was one of the delegates. Afterwards, he helped write a series of newspaper articles to win

support for the Constitution. These were the Federalist Papers, written together with James Madison and
John Jay.

When Hamilton became treasury secretary under President Washington, he continued to use the press.
Only now, he was trying to win support for his own policies.

Hamilton spoke through a newspaper called the Gazette of the United States. Its editor was John Fenno.
Jefferson won the support of several newspapers. But these were not part of his political movement. It
was important, he felt, to have one newspaper speak for him. James Madison found it for him. It would be
edited by Madison's old friend Philip Freneau. It would be called the National Gazette.

Most of the people who supported Hamilton lived in the cities of the northeast. They were the nation's
bankers and big businessmen. They were lawyers, doctors, and clergymen.

Jefferson respected Hamilton's political power. But he saw that Hamilton did not have a national
organization of common people.

In the 1790s, ninety percent of Americans were farmers, laborers, and small businessmen. They were
bitter over government policies that always seemed to help bankers, big landowners, and wealthy
businessmen. They had no political party to speak for them. These were the people Thomas Jefferson
wanted to reach.

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area. Many were not permitted to vote, because they did not own property.

Jefferson looked at the situation in each state. Almost everywhere he found local political groups fighting
against state laws that helped the rich. Here was what Jefferson needed. If these local groups could be
brought together into a national party, the Federalists would finally have some organized opposition.
Jefferson's party included rich men and poor men. They joined together to fight what they saw as a misuse
of power by Federalists in the national government.

We will continue our story next week.

Our program was written by Christine Johnson and read by Frank Oliver and Ray Freeman. Join us again
next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>, an American history series in VOA Special English.
Transcripts, podcasts and MP3s of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com.

<b>How a Dispute Helped Lead to Party System</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton had opposing ideas about how the new nation should be
governed. Their dispute helped create the system of political parties in the United States. This week in our
series, Maurice Joyce and Blake Lanum have more in our story of these two early American leaders.
The Federalist Party, led by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, supported a strong national

government with a powerful president and courts. Federalists thought men of money and position should
rule the country. And they did in the early seventeen nineties.

Federalists controlled the Congress. They also had great influence over the nation's first president, George
Washington. The Republicans, led by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, did not want a strong national
government with unlimited powers. And they believed political power should be spread throughout the
population.

The two sides carried on a war of words in their party newspapers. Historians believe Hamilton himself
wrote much of what appeared in the Federalist paper. Jefferson, they believe, acted mostly as an adviser
to the Republican paper.

Both papers carried unsigned articles attacking the opposition. Both printed stories that were false. At

times, the attacks were personal. Many people felt two cabinet secretaries should be above that kind of
public fighting.

Toward the end of president Washington's first administration, he received a letter from Jefferson. The
Secretary of State said he planned to resign. He said he disagreed with most of the administration's
national and foreign policies. He did not name Hamilton. It was not necessary. Washington knew what he
meant. For Hamilton was the chief planner of those policies.

The president tried to make peace between the two men. He liked them and respected them. He believed
the new nation needed the skills of both men. However, the dispute had gone too far. It was now more
than just a question of two strong men who could not agree. It was a battle of two completely different
philosophies of government.

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to resign. In a letter to his daughter, Jefferson said: "the attacks on me have changed a decision which I
did not think could possibly be changed. I must remain and fight."

The idea of organized political parties was new in the United States. There were no laws saying what they
could or could not do. There were no restrictions on the political activities of government officials. So,
while continuing to serve as Secretary of State, Jefferson began working to get his supporters elected to
Congress. He believed that was the only way to fight Hamilton. National elections were set for 1792.
There was no dispute about the highest office. In 1792, everyone wanted George Washington to be
elected president again. However, many Republicans saw no reason to re-elect John Adams as vice
president. Adams was a patriot and had served his country well. But he was not democratic. He made no
secret of his opinion that men born to the upper class should rule.

Republicans had another reason to campaign against the Federalists. Hamilton's financial policies made it
possible for bankers and other money lenders to invest in all kinds of deals. One man did this with
information he got as a high-level Treasury Department official. His investments turned bad and his
business failed. This caused other businesses to fail. There was a financial crash in New York City, the
center of business in the United States.

The Federalists were strong in the northeast. But the Republicans were gaining strength everywhere else.
The election of Republican representatives to Congress in 1792 would make them an important force in
the House of Representatives.

The Republicans did not, however, win the vice presidency. That office went once again to Federalist
John Adams. Perhaps the one thing that saved Adams was the belief of many Americans that President
Washington wanted him again as vice president. Yet Adams did not win a clear victory. The electors from
four states voted for Republican George Clinton of New York. One state voted for Jefferson, though he
was not a candidate.

The year 1793 saw a change in Alexander Hamilton's political powers. The Republicans in the House of
Representatives demanded answers to questions about his financial programs. Why did the Treasury
Secretary refuse to give Congress all the facts about government plans to borrow, to lend, and to tax?
For four years, the House had passed all the laws Hamilton asked for without being told why the laws
were needed. In his opinion, that was the only way to govern. Now, the House wanted to know more.
Hamilton considered the request an insult. Yet he answered it. He produced four reports about Treasury
Department activities. Republicans searched the reports for proof that Hamilton and his Federalist friends
had been dishonest. They found no such proof. And they did not accuse him of taking money for himself.
But they attacked him on several other issues.

For example, they said Hamilton had not followed President Washington's instructions for dealing with
the nation's foreign loans.

They said he paid too much interest to the National Bank of the United States. And, they said he did not
carefully obey laws passed by Congress concerning the use of government money.

Federalist members of Congress answered the accusations. They declared again and again that the
Republicans had not been able to prove even one criminal act by the Treasury Secretary.

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Most Americans were not excited by the debate between Federalists and Republicans on such issues as
the Bank of the United States. Farmers and laborers did not understand economics. But the French
Revolution was something else.

Federalists opposed the French Revolution. They denounced the violence and the murder of the king and
queen. They also wanted closer economic and political ties with Britain. Republicans welcomed the
revolution. They saw it as a fight for liberty and democracy -- the same ideas they fought for against
Britain. Besides, they said, Britain was no friend of America.

Britain still held land in the western United States in violation of the peace treaty between the two
countries. Britain still paid Native American Indians to kill White settlers in frontier areas. And Britain
still took sailors off American ships and forced them to serve in its Navy.

The revolution in France put the United States in a difficult situation. The situation became worse when
the kings of Europe sent their armies against the new French republic. The United States had a treaty with
France. It had agreed to aid France if France were attacked. But President Washington firmly believed the
United States should not become involved in the politics of Europe. So he declared the United States
would remain neutral.

The declaration was a victory for the Federalists. They still had a great deal of influence over President
Washington. But what would they do after 1796? Washington's second term would come to an end that
year. And he had announced he would not run again.

At that time, the Constitution did not limit the number of presidential terms. Yet, George Washington felt
two was enough. Who was the most likely candidate to succeed him? That will be our story next week.
Our program was written by Christine Johnson. The narrators were Maurice Joyce and Blake Lanum. Join
us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>, an American history series in VOA Special
English. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts are at voaspecialenglish.com.

<b>John Adams Is Elected Nation's Second President</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

The year 1796 saw a change in American politics. That year, the new nation held its third presidential
election. And for the first time, there was more than one candidate.

George Washington won the first two elections without opposition.

But now there were two political parties. The Federalists were led by former Treasury Secretary
Alexander Hamilton. The Republicans were led by former Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson.
This week in our series, Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant tell the story of the election of 1796 and the
winner, John Adams.

Most people expected John Adams to win. He was well known throughout the country. He had

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Adams was a Federalist. But he was not -- like other Federalists -- loyal to Alexander Hamilton. So
Hamilton worked against Adams. He tried to win electoral support for his own candidate for president,
Thomas Pinckney of South Carolina.

At last, the day arrived for counting the votes. The Federalists were shocked by the results. Seventy-one
electors voted for John Adams. Sixty-eight voted for Republican Thomas Jefferson. Only sixty voted for
Hamilton's choice, Thomas Pinckney.

Under the electoral system used at that time, the candidate with the most votes became president. The
candidate with the next largest number of votes became vice president. So America's second president
would be John Adams. Its second vice president would be Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson had resigned from public service a few years earlier. But he decided to accept his election as

vice president. He wrote to his friend James Madison: "I am willing to serve under President Adams. I
believe Adams is the only man who can stop Alexander Hamilton from becoming president in 1800."
To Adams himself, Jefferson wrote that he valued their long friendship and hoped it would continue.
Republican newspapers carried articles that were friendly to Federalist John Adams -- the first time they
had done so.

When Adams and Jefferson took office in March, 1797, some Federalists believed their political power
had come to an end. But Alexander Hamilton, sitting in his law office in New York City, did not lose
hope. He knew he still controlled the top Federalist leaders in Congress.

More than that, he believed he knew how to control John Adams.

The new president made Hamilton's job easy. Adams kept President Washington's cabinet. The three men
who were Washington's chief government officials would now advise President Adams. Washington had
appointed them at Hamilton's request. And they always did what Hamilton told them to do.

Historians still cannot explain why John Adams -- a man who did not like or trust Alexander Hamilton --
kept the three cabinet secretaries. If the secretaries had been men of great ability, then that might be an
explanation. But they were not.

One was a secretary of state who knew very little about foreign relations. The second was a secretary of
the treasury who knew less about finance. The third was a secretary of war who knew nothing about
military matters and defense.

Adams may have kept these men as an act of party unity. Or he may have kept them because he could not
get anyone else.

Whatever his reason, the decision was politically costly, for the three men worked together against him.
President Adams told his cabinet secretaries what he wanted. Then they went to Alexander Hamilton for
orders.

In the end, these secret activities helped destroy the Federalist Party. And so, they made the

administration of John Adams one of the most exciting and important periods in the political history of
the United States.

As we said earlier, John Adams was a great man and a true patriot. He was born in the village of

Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1735. He wanted to be a farmer. But he was sent to Harvard College to study
to be a clergyman. He had no interest in this life and became a lawyer, instead.

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George Washington as commander-in-chief of American forces. He argued for the creation of an
American Navy. And he helped develop the resolutions declaring American independence.

Adams spent most of the war years in Europe. He helped win Dutch recognition of the new American
nation. He also negotiated a loan from the Dutch government, as well as a treaty of friendship and
commerce. After American forces defeated British forces, he helped negotiate the peace treaty between
the two countries. Then he served as the first American minister to Britain.

Adams, like other Federalists, believed that men of money and position should govern America. He did
not trust the common people. He did not support democracy. He once wrote: "In the city of Boston, there
are four noble families. They are just as much a noble class as the nobility of Britain or Spain. And it is
good that this aristocracy exists."

Yet John Adams had a deep love for his country. He would do whatever was necessary to keep it free.
Adams was extremely intelligent and was a thoughtful, lively writer. However, he often acted very coldly
and said little. Or he became angry easily. His best friend probably was his wife, Abigail. He had few
other friends.

Adams' personal weaknesses caused trouble during his presidency. He belonged to the Federalist Party.

But he did not want to become involved in party arguments. And he did not want to make all the
compromises necessary in the world of politics. So, other Federalists often worked against him.

Not many people really liked this difficult, aristocratic man. Strangely enough, one of the few who did
was Thomas Jefferson. This was strange, because Jefferson's political philosophy was opposed to
everything Adams represented.

Perhaps Jefferson liked Adams because he respected him for his intelligence. Perhaps he never forgot that
Adams had fought hard for American independence. Or perhaps he understood that, under Adams'
selfishness and weaknesses, there was an honest man who would do anything for his country.

However, there were not many like Jefferson. Most men in politics just did not like Adams. They used
this fact as a weapon. It was such a strong weapon that it made people forget what Jefferson remembered.
John Adams had a good mind and loved the United States. He had given many years of his life to the
young nation and should be honored for it.

Federalist leaders, especially, appealed to Adams' weaknesses when they wanted his support.

For example, they knew Adams was jealous of President Washington. Adams felt Washington received
too much honor, while he received not enough. Sometimes, if Adams knew the president's opinion on a
question, he would develop a different opinion. Yet Washington -- like Jefferson -- respected Adams. He
felt the new nation needed Adams' skills.

Adams won the presidency in 1796. But his term would be difficult. His own party, the Federalists, did
not trust him. And he did not have the support of the general public. The people knew he did not like
them.

Adams did not expect the job to be easy. He once wrote: "In politics, a man must always walk on broken
glass and red-hot iron. It is not easy to do this when you are not wearing shoes. But some men must do it.
There are many dangerous things that have to be done for our country in these dangerous times. If nobody

else will do them, I will."

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Our program was written by Harold Braverman and Christine Johnson. The narrators were Harry Monroe
and Kay Gallant. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>, an American history
series in VOA Special English. Transcripts, podcasts and MP3s of our programs are at

voaspecialenglish.com.

<b>Adams Avoids War With France, Signs Alien and</b>

<b>Sedition Acts</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history series in VOA Special English.
This week on our program, we continue the story of America's second president, John Adams. Here are
Maurice Joyce and Richard Rael.

John Adams took office in 1797. He had served eight years as vice president under President George
Washington. Now, state electors had chosen him to govern the new nation.

Adams was an intelligent man. He was a true patriot and an able diplomat. But he did not like party
politics. This weakness caused trouble during his presidency. For, during the late 1700s, two political
parties struggled for power. He was caught in the middle.

Adams was a member of the Federalist Party. As president, he should have been party leader. But this
position belonged to a man who really knew how to get and use political power, Alexander Hamilton.
Hamilton served as treasury secretary under President Washington. Now, he was a private citizen, a
lawyer in New York City.

Through the Federalist Party, Hamilton continued to have great influence over the national government.

Federalists loyal to Hamilton controlled the Congress. Even President Adams' three cabinet ministers
were loyal to Hamilton. In fact, they worked together against the new president.

This political situation made Adams' term in office very difficult. Yet strangely, it also led to the end of
Federalist Party power.

Two major issues marked Adams' presidency. One concerned foreign policy. The other concerned the
rights of citizens.

The first involved America's relations with France.

Federalists, in general, were men of wealth and position. They did not believe in democracy, rule by the
people. For this reason, they strongly opposed the revolution in France. They were horrified by the
execution of the French king and queen. Federalists wanted an alliance with Britain. Over time, they
demanded war with France.

American support for France came from the opposition party, the Republicans. The leader of that party
was the country's vice president, Thomas Jefferson.

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The man who replaced him openly supported the French monarchy -- the losing side in the revolution.
After the revolution succeeded, the new French government demanded that he leave.

Most Federalists did not want good relations with France. They used their power to prevent the

government from sending a pro-French representative to Paris. They also searched for any signs of insult,
any excuse to declare war.

President Adams did not agree with the majority of Federalists. He wanted to improve relations with
France through negotiations. Yet he said the United States would strengthen its defenses. We will be
ready, he said, if war comes.

One incident, especially, brought the two nations close to war. It is known in American history books as
the "X, Y and Z Affair."

President Adams had appointed a committee of three ministers to negotiate with the French government.
French officials kept these three men waiting for several weeks. While they waited, they had a visit from
three Frenchmen -- later called X, Y and Z.

X, Y and Z told the Americans that France would sign an agreement if the United States did three things.
It had to lend the French government twelve million dollars. It had to apologize for anti-French statements
in a recent message from President Adams to the American Congress. And it had to pay the French
foreign minister two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

The American ministers were willing to pay. But they wanted to sign the agreement first. The French
foreign minister refused. First the money, then the agreement.

The Federalists finally had the excuse they were looking for. France had insulted the United States. We
must answer the insult. The only answer was war. Federalist newspapers added fuel to the fire by
publishing anti-French propaganda. In a few places, pro-war groups became violent.

The Republican Party could do little. Even Thomas Jefferson was helpless. He remained in Philadelphia,
the capital of the United States at that time. But he had few friends there anymore.

Congress quickly passed laws to create a permanent army and navy. It also approved new taxes to pay for
them.

Two new laws passed by a small vote. But they greatly increased the powers of the national government.
The laws were known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. Federalists said they were necessary to protect
national security. But, in effect, the Federalists used them to weaken the power of the Republican Party.
Under the Alien Act, the president could accuse any foreigner living in the United States of being a threat

to national security. He could order that person out of the country.

The act also increased the time a foreigner had to wait to become a citizen, from five years to 14 years.
Republicans were furious. Most foreigners, when they became naturalized citizens, joined the Republican
Party.

Republicans argued that the Alien Act violated the Constitution. They said it gave the government more
powers than were stated in the Constitution. Federalists said the act was Constitutional. They said the
Constitution gave the government the right to defend the country against foreign aggression.

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Republicans argued that this act violated Americans' Constitutional rights of free speech and a free press.
Federalists, once again, defended it as necessary for national security.

The Federalists tried to use the Sedition Act to quiet Republican critics of President Adams'

administration. About twenty-five persons were charged under the Sedition act. These included several
leading Republican newspapermen and a Republican member of Congress.

Some of the men were tried and found guilty and sent to prison. But other Republicans took their places
in the fight against the act. The Federalist plan to stop criticism did not succeed.

President Adams had signed the Alien and Sedition Acts into law. He believed they were necessary to
protect the United States at a time when war with France was still possible.

Then, in early 1799, Adams received several reports that France was ready to reopen negotiations on
improving relations. He immediately nominated a new minister to France. Federalist senators threatened
to reject the nomination. In the end, Adams agreed to nominate a committee of three ministers. The
Senate approved them.

It was many months before the three men went to France to negotiate the agreement. And it was many

more months before they completed their work. But they did so on September thirtieth, 1800.

After several years of bitter political struggle at home, President Adams finally prevented war with
France. Later he wrote: "There is one thing I would like to be remembered for more than anything else. I
gave myself the task of making peace with France. And I succeeded."

The year 1800 was another presidential election year in the United States. The Federalist Party appeared
to be dying. It failed in its effort to force the nation into war with France. And it failed to silence its critics
through the Alien and Sedition Acts. Party leaders knew the election would be their last chance to keep
political power.

The Republican Party had more popular support. It also had gained an increasing number of seats in state
legislatures and the national Congress. Party leader Thomas Jefferson was sure to be elected president --
unless the Federalists could find a way to change the electoral process.

That will be our story next week.
ANNOUNCER:

Our program was written by Christine Johnson. The narrators were Maurice Joyce and Richard Rael. Join
us again for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>, an American history series in VOA Special English. Next
week our subject will be the election of 1800. Transcripts, podcasts and MP3s of our programs can be
found at voaspecialenglish.com.

<b>US History Series: Jefferson Is Elected President </b>

<b>in 1800, But Only on the 36th Vote</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

</div>
<span class='text_page_counter'>(26)</span><div class='page_container' data-page=26>

The presidential election of 1800 is our subject this week. The candidates included President John Adams
of the Federalist Party and Vice President Thomas Jefferson of the Republican Party. Here with our story

are Frank Oliver and Shep O’Neal.

As president, John Adams was head of the Federalist Party. But the power of that position belonged, in
fact, to former treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton.

For this and other reasons, Adams did not like Hamilton. He said: "Thomas Jefferson will be a good
president, if elected. I would rather be a minister to Europe under Jefferson than to be a president
controlled by Hamilton."

Hamilton did not like Adams. He did everything he could to block Adams from becoming president
again. He gave his support to another Federalist candidate, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South
Carolina.

Under the electoral system of that time, the candidate with the most votes became president. The
candidate with the second highest number of votes became vice president.

A Federalist victory in the election of 1800 would not be easy. The Republicans had a very strong and
popular candidate -- Thomas Jefferson. So, Federalist Party leaders attempted to change the electoral
system.

The Constitution said state legislatures were to choose electors to vote for president. The Federalists tried
to gain control over the legislatures' decisions.

They wanted Congress to create a special committee to rule if an elector had -- or did not have -- the right
to vote. The committee could say if an elector's vote should be counted or thrown away.

The committee would have six members from the Senate and six members from the House of

Representatives. The thirteenth member would be the chief justice of the United States. Creating such a
committee violated the Constitution. Federalist leaders knew this. So, they wanted Congress to approve

the committee, but keep the measure secret until after the election.

The Federalists held a majority of seats in the Senate. And the Senate voted to approve the proposal. But
some Federalist members of the House of Representatives denounced it. They made many changes in the
proposal. The Senate refused to accept the changes. Without agreement by both houses of Congress, the
bill died.

Federalist leaders saw their hopes for an election victory begin to disappear.

By the summer of 1800, Thomas Jefferson's Republican Party had strong leaders in every state. It had
many newspapers to express party ideas. Jefferson decided to take a holiday at Monticello, his farm in
Virginia.

The Republican Party leader in New York was a lawyer, Aaron Burr. Burr had served as an officer under
General George Washington during America's war for independence from Britain. After the war, he
joined the Federalist Party and was elected to the United States Senate. Later, he changed parties and
became a Republican.

In 1800, a group of both Federalists and Republicans supported him as a candidate for president.

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"Anybody," he said, "even Thomas Jefferson, is better than Aaron Burr. Jefferson is not dangerous. Burr
is. Jefferson's ideas of government are wrong. But at least he is an honest man. Burr is a man without
honesty and character. He will destroy America."

The president elected in 1800 would govern in a new capital city. The national government would move
from Philadelphia to Washington, a newly built city in the District of Columbia. It was on the Potomac
River between the states of Maryland and Virginia.

When President Adams and his wife Abigail arrived in Washington, D.C., they found a frontier town.
There were few houses or streets. Mrs. Adams could not believe what she saw. She wrote to her daughter:

"This is a city only because we call it a city. Our house here is very big. But the rooms are not finished.
There is almost no furniture. There are not enough lamps for light."

A street called Pennsylvania Avenue went from the president's house to the Capitol building where
Congress would meet. On each side of the street -- where buildings stand today -- there were fields of
mud.

This was the new federal city, the new capital of the United States. This was where the winner of the
presidential election of 1800 would begin his term of office.

George Washington won America's first two presidential elections without opposition. John Adams won
the third presidential election by three votes. This time, in 1800, there was no clear winner.

When the electors' votes were counted, President Adams had sixty-five votes. But Thomas Jefferson and
Aaron Burr each had seventy-three votes. So, under the Constitution, the House of Representatives would
choose between Jefferson or Burr -- the candidates with the highest number of votes.

Each congressman could vote. But each state had just one vote. That vote would go to the candidate
supported by a majority of congressmen from the state. A candidate had to receive a majority of the state
votes to win. In 1800, that was nine of the 16 states.

The Federalists saw the situation as their last chance to control the presidency. They had two plans. They
would try to block the Congress from electing either Jefferson or Burr as president. Then they would try
to find a way to put executive power in the hands of a Federalist. If that plan failed, they were prepared to
elect Burr.

The Federalists tried to make people believe that Burr was working with them, against Jefferson. Burr
denied this. In a letter to Jefferson, Burr wrote:

"Every Republican wants you to be president of the United States. Every good Republican wants to serve

under you. I would be happy and honored to be your vice president. And, if you believe I could help you
better in some other position, I would do so."

On February eleventh, the House of Representatives began to count votes, state by state. Eight states
chose Jefferson. Six chose Burr. The representatives of two states -- Maryland and Vermont -- gave each
man an equal number of votes. There was no majority within those states. So neither man won the votes
of those states.

The voting continued. All that day and throughout the night the representatives voted. Twenty-seven
times the count remained the same. Eight states for Jefferson. Six for Burr. Two undecided.

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The thirteenth of February passed, then the fourteenth and fifteenth. Still no change. The House voted
thirty-three times. It could not elect a president.

A change in the vote of just one congressman from Maryland or Vermont could decide the contest.
Later, after the election, the representative from Delaware said he had met with two congressmen from
Maryland and one from Vermont. All were Federalists. All had voted for Aaron Burr.

The Delaware congressman said they claimed they spoke with a friend of Thomas Jefferson. He said they
told Jefferson's friend they would change their votes, if Jefferson made certain promises.

Jefferson denied that he had made any political promises. He said many men tried to get promises from
him. But he said he told them all that he would never become president with his hands tied.

History experts do not agree on what really happened. What is sure is that the House of Representatives
voted for the thirty-sixth time on February seventeenth. Ten states, including Maryland and Vermont,
voted for Thomas Jefferson. Four states voted for Aaron Burr.

Two states -- Delaware and South Carolina -- did not vote. But Jefferson had the majority he needed. He
would be the new president.

Our program was written by Harold Braverman and Christine Johnson. The narrators were Frank Oliver
and Shep O’Neal. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>, American history in
VOA Special English. Our series can be found online with transcripts and MP3s at

voaspecialenglish.com.

<b>Jefferson, at Inaugural, Urges Unity of Hearts </b>

<b>and Minds</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history series in VOA Special English.
On March 4, 1801, Thomas Jefferson walked to the Capitol building in Washington. He was about to be
inaugurated as the third president of the United States. He entered the Capitol to the thunder of cannon.
All the senators and representatives stood until Jefferson sat down. A few moments later, the newly
elected president rose and began to read his inaugural speech. Harry Monroe tells us what he said.

Friends and fellow citizens: I have been called to the position of chief executive of our country. I must tell
you how honored and thankful I am. But I must tell you, too, of my fears.

Yes, I must tell you that the duties of your president are too much for any one man. However, I tell myself
that I am not alone. When I see all your faces, I understand the wisdom of those who wrote our

Constitution. For in you, the members of Congress, and in the judicial branch of our government, I know
that I shall find the strength, the honesty, the courage that I shall need.

</div>
<span class='text_page_counter'>(29)</span><div class='page_container' data-page=29>

The majority of the people have won the contest. But we must always remember that there is a minority.
True, the majority must rule. But the rule of the majority must be just. The rights of the minority are equal
to the rights of the majority, and must be protected with equal laws.

Let us unite with hearts and minds. Let us have peace and love in our relations with each other. For
without peace and love, liberty and life are sad things indeed. Let us remember that the religious freedom
which we have in the United States is nothing if we do not have political freedom, if we permit men to be
punished because they do not agree with the majority.

For hundreds of years in Europe, men have killed and have been killed in the name of liberty. It is not
surprising, then, that even here -- in our peaceful land -- all cannot agree. But it is possible to have
different ideas without forgetting our common wish.

We are all republicans, we are all federalists. Most of us love our country. Most of us want it to grow.
There may be among us those who want to end the union of the states, or to end our republican

government. Well then, let those men speak freely, without fear. They are wrong. But America is strong
enough to let them say what they wish.

When men can think and speak freely, there is no danger to the nation. For those who do not agree with
them also have the right to think and speak freely.

There are some honest Americans who are afraid that a republican government cannot be strong. But I ask
these good men one question. Do they want us to destroy a government, which has kept us strong and free
for ten years? I hope not.

We have here in the United States the best and strongest government in the world. This is the only nation
on the Earth whose citizens know that the government belongs to them.

Then there are some who say that men cannot govern themselves. What do they offer us instead?
Government by kings? Are kings men, or are they angels? I will let history answer this question.
Let us keep our union and our government by the people through their elected representatives. We are
very fortunate here in the New World.

Three thousand miles of ocean separate us from the wars and the dictatorships of Europe. Here we do not
suffer as the people of Europe do. Here we have a great and rich land, with room for a hundred, perhaps a
thousand generations of Americans yet to be born.

We -- and the American children who will come after us -- all have equal rights. We honor a man not
because of his father, but for what the man is. We do not care what religion a man follows. In this
country, men practice religion in many ways. Yet all our religions teach honesty, truth, and the love of
man. All worship one God who rules the universe, who wants men to be happy in life.

Yes, we are a fortunate people. What more do we need to make us happy?

We need one more thing, my fellow citizens: a wise government. A government that keeps men from
injuring each other. A government that gives men freedom to live and work in peace as they wish, and
does not take from them the fruit of their labor. That is good government.

In my short speech, I cannot tell you all the things that I believe our government should do, and should
not do. But I will tell you what I believe to be the most important principles of our government. This is
what I believe in:

</div>
<span class='text_page_counter'>(30)</span><div class='page_container' data-page=30>

the state governments, which are the best defenders of our republic. A strong central government under
the Constitution to protect our peace at home and our safety in other parts of the world.

We must keep the right of the people to elect their representatives. This is the safe way to change
governments that make mistakes. Without the right of election, we will have bloody revolution. In our
election, the majority must rule. This is the lifeblood of a republic. If the majority is not allowed to rule,
then we will have dictatorship.

America should have a good volunteer army to protect us in peace and in the first days of war, until we
use professional soldiers. But at all times, the civil officers of the government must be first over the

military officers.

The rights of man will be of the highest importance in this government. Information, knowledge, and
opinions must move easily and swiftly. We will support freedom of religion, freedom of the press,

freedom of the person protected by the habeas corpus, and the right to trial by juries that are chosen fairly.
These are the freedoms that brought us through a revolution and that made this nation. Our wise men
wrote these freedoms. Our heroes gave their lives for these freedoms. They are the stones on which our
political philosophy must be built. If we make the mistake of forgetting them, let us return to them
quickly. For only these rights of man can bring us peace, liberty, and safety.

Well then, my fellow citizens, I go to the position which you have given me. I am no George Washington.
I cannot ask you to believe in me as you did in the man who led us through our revolution -- the man who
will always be first in the love of our country. I ask only that you give me your support and your strength.
I know that I shall make mistakes. And, even when I am right, there will be men who will say that I am
wrong. I ask you to forgive my mistakes which, I promise, will at least be honest mistakes. And I ask you
to support me when I am right against the attacks of those who are wrong. Always, my purpose will be to
strengthen the happiness and freedom of all Americans -- those who do not agree with me, as well as
those who do.

I need you. I go to my work as president of the United States, ready to leave that position when you and
the American people decide that there is a better man for it. May the power that leads the universe tell us
what is best, and bring to you peace and happiness.

Our program was written by Harold Braverman. Thomas Jefferson's inaugural address was read by Harry
Monroe. Next week, we begin the story of Jefferson’s presidency. Join us again for the <b>THE MAKING </b>
<b>OF A NATION</b>, an American history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Jefferson, at Inaugural, Urges Unity of Hearts </b>

<b>and Minds</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

</div>
<span class='text_page_counter'>(31)</span><div class='page_container' data-page=31>

Friends and fellow citizens: I have been called to the position of chief executive of our country. I must tell
you how honored and thankful I am. But I must tell you, too, of my fears.

Yes, I must tell you that the duties of your president are too much for any one man. However, I tell myself
that I am not alone. When I see all your faces, I understand the wisdom of those who wrote our

Constitution. For in you, the members of Congress, and in the judicial branch of our government, I know
that I shall find the strength, the honesty, the courage that I shall need.

We have passed through a hard year of bitter struggle between two political parties. We have shown the
world that in America all can speak, write, and think freely. The debate is over. The people have decided.
Now is the time for all of us to unite for the good of all.

The majority of the people have won the contest. But we must always remember that there is a minority.
True, the majority must rule. But the rule of the majority must be just. The rights of the minority are equal
to the rights of the majority, and must be protected with equal laws.

Let us unite with hearts and minds. Let us have peace and love in our relations with each other. For
without peace and love, liberty and life are sad things indeed. Let us remember that the religious freedom
which we have in the United States is nothing if we do not have political freedom, if we permit men to be
punished because they do not agree with the majority.

For hundreds of years in Europe, men have killed and have been killed in the name of liberty. It is not
surprising, then, that even here -- in our peaceful land -- all cannot agree. But it is possible to have
different ideas without forgetting our common wish.

We are all republicans, we are all federalists. Most of us love our country. Most of us want it to grow.

There may be among us those who want to end the union of the states, or to end our republican

government. Well then, let those men speak freely, without fear. They are wrong. But America is strong
enough to let them say what they wish.

When men can think and speak freely, there is no danger to the nation. For those who do not agree with
them also have the right to think and speak freely.

There are some honest Americans who are afraid that a republican government cannot be strong. But I ask
these good men one question. Do they want us to destroy a government, which has kept us strong and free
for ten years? I hope not.

We have here in the United States the best and strongest government in the world. This is the only nation
on the Earth whose citizens know that the government belongs to them.

Then there are some who say that men cannot govern themselves. What do they offer us instead?
Government by kings? Are kings men, or are they angels? I will let history answer this question.
Let us keep our union and our government by the people through their elected representatives. We are
very fortunate here in the New World.

Three thousand miles of ocean separate us from the wars and the dictatorships of Europe. Here we do not
suffer as the people of Europe do. Here we have a great and rich land, with room for a hundred, perhaps a
thousand generations of Americans yet to be born.

</div>
<span class='text_page_counter'>(32)</span><div class='page_container' data-page=32>

Yes, we are a fortunate people. What more do we need to make us happy?

We need one more thing, my fellow citizens: a wise government. A government that keeps men from
injuring each other. A government that gives men freedom to live and work in peace as they wish, and
does not take from them the fruit of their labor. That is good government.

In my short speech, I cannot tell you all the things that I believe our government should do, and should
not do. But I will tell you what I believe to be the most important principles of our government. This is
what I believe in:

The same and equal justice to all men no matter what their religion, their political beliefs, or their class.
Peace, trade, and friendship with all nations, but alliances for war with no nations. Support of the rights of
the state governments, which are the best defenders of our republic. A strong central government under
the Constitution to protect our peace at home and our safety in other parts of the world.

We must keep the right of the people to elect their representatives. This is the safe way to change
governments that make mistakes. Without the right of election, we will have bloody revolution. In our
election, the majority must rule. This is the lifeblood of a republic. If the majority is not allowed to rule,
then we will have dictatorship.

America should have a good volunteer army to protect us in peace and in the first days of war, until we
use professional soldiers. But at all times, the civil officers of the government must be first over the
military officers.

The rights of man will be of the highest importance in this government. Information, knowledge, and
opinions must move easily and swiftly. We will support freedom of religion, freedom of the press,

freedom of the person protected by the habeas corpus, and the right to trial by juries that are chosen fairly.
These are the freedoms that brought us through a revolution and that made this nation. Our wise men
wrote these freedoms. Our heroes gave their lives for these freedoms. They are the stones on which our
political philosophy must be built. If we make the mistake of forgetting them, let us return to them
quickly. For only these rights of man can bring us peace, liberty, and safety.

Well then, my fellow citizens, I go to the position which you have given me. I am no George Washington.
I cannot ask you to believe in me as you did in the man who led us through our revolution -- the man who
will always be first in the love of our country. I ask only that you give me your support and your strength.

I know that I shall make mistakes. And, even when I am right, there will be men who will say that I am
wrong. I ask you to forgive my mistakes which, I promise, will at least be honest mistakes. And I ask you
to support me when I am right against the attacks of those who are wrong. Always, my purpose will be to
strengthen the happiness and freedom of all Americans -- those who do not agree with me, as well as
those who do.

I need you. I go to my work as president of the United States, ready to leave that position when you and
the American people decide that there is a better man for it. May the power that leads the universe tell us
what is best, and bring to you peace and happiness.

Our program was written by Harold Braverman. Thomas Jefferson's inaugural address was read by Harry
Monroe. Next week, we begin the story of Jefferson’s presidency. Join us again for the <b>THE MAKING </b>
<b>OF A NATION</b>, an American history series in VOA Special English.

</div>
<span class='text_page_counter'>(33)</span><div class='page_container' data-page=33>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history series in VOA Special English.
In 1801, the United States had a new president, Thomas Jefferson. It also had a new party in power: his
Democratic-Republican Party. Though supporters of Jefferson were called Republicans, that party led to
the modern Democratic Party.

On taking office, Jefferson spoke of the bitter struggle between his party and the Federalist Party of
Alexander Hamilton. The United States now had a two-party system. Jefferson held out the hand of peace
and friendship to the Federalists. He said: "We are all Republicans. We are all Federalists. Let us unite
with hearts and minds. Let us have peace and love in our relations with each other."

Now, Jack Weitzel and Stuart Spencer continue our story.

Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, thus held out the hand of friendship to the
Federalists. But Alexander Hamilton did not accept it. As Jefferson became president, Hamilton made a

speech attacking Jefferson.

Hamilton had decided to continue fighting the democratic movement in the United States. This did not
worry Jefferson. He was sure he could show even the Federalists that his program was good for all.
Of course, he said, the top leaders of the Federalists -- men like Hamilton -- could never be changed. But
he was more interested in bringing their followers to his side.

Jefferson was a happy president in those early days of 1801. Jefferson said: "We can no longer say that
there is nothing new under the sun. What we have done in this country is all new. The force of public
opinion is new. But the most important and pleasing newness is that we have changed our government
without violence. This shows a strength of American character that will give long life to our republic.
"We have proved that freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of thought are necessary in a
healthy nation. Let men argue with each other. The arguments may become bitter. But the bitterness is
just a cloud that passes. And out of the arguments will come the truth."

As for the Federalist leaders, they too -- except for Hamilton -- were pleased. President Jefferson had said
in his inaugural speech: "We are all Republicans. We are all Federalists." This, the Federalist leaders said,
showed that Jefferson would not even think of trying to destroy their program.

George Cabot, the strongest Federalist leader in New England, usually agreed with Hamilton. But now, he
did not. Cabot said, "I believe that our new president wants to stay out of war. We do not have to worry
any longer that he plans to join France against England. He is friendly to us and wants our help.

Therefore, I am sure that he will not dismiss any of our people from their government positions."
Another Federalist leader -- Timothy Pickering -- the secretary of state under President Adams, said: "I
am satisfied that Jefferson will not make any important changes in government policy, and that he will
depend for support more on us Federalists than on the Democrats."

During those first few weeks of the new government, the Federalist leaders really believed that Jefferson
was afraid of them, that he had surrendered to them and would soon be destroyed as the leader of the

Republican Party. One Federalist wrote: "Soon Jefferson will feel the bite of his dirty Democrats when
they attack him!"

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William Giles, a Jeffersonian leader in Virginia, wrote: "Of course, I am very pleased by the president's
inaugural speech. The president's program is correct. It agrees with the opinions of the people. But I still
think that the president's success will depend on how he carries out his program.

"Let him offer friendship to the Federalists. But he must not permit friendship to become weakness. His
friends believe that the first thing he must do is to clean out the executive branch of the government. He
must dismiss from office all men who are enemies of the Republican program."

Even James Monroe wrote a strong letter to the president:

"Your speech and your program are healthy and good. But there are serious dangers ahead of you. There
are two parties in this country, not one. One of these parties, the Federalists, has controlled the

government for twelve years and has hurt our nation greatly. Some of these Federalists now speak softly
to you and promise their support.

"But you must remember, too, that there are thousands of good Republicans who have always supported
you. If you keep Federalists in office, if you appoint Federalists to office, many of these good

Republicans will stop believing in you.

"Certainly, there is no reason why you should give jobs to men who worked for the Federalist government
of John Adams. Certainly, you must throw out the officials of the last government who stole money and
sold their services. Do this and you will give strength to our Republican movement.

"Please understand me. I am speaking only of high offices. I do not ask that you dismiss small officials
because they are Federalists. They have a right to their political beliefs. Let them keep their jobs. This will

show that you are a president who can accept different political opinions."

As the Federalists and the Republican leaders kept asking Jefferson for positions in the government, the
president was thinking of his cabinet. He quickly decided who would be his secretary of state and
secretary of the treasury.

James Madison of Virginia -- Jefferson's old friend and the father of the Constitution -- would be
secretary of state. For secretary of the treasury, Jefferson chose Albert Gallatin of Pennsylvania, the
brilliant leader of the Republicans in Congress, the man who understood economics and finance as well as
Alexander Hamilton.

For the War Department, Jefferson turned to General Henry Dearborn of New England.

Jefferson's first choice to be secretary of the Navy was Judge Robert Livingston, the great lawyer from
New York. But Judge Livingston rejected this position. Jefferson finally chose Robert Smith of

Baltimore, Maryland.

The president had already appointed one man from New England to his cabinet, Secretary of War
Dearborn. Yet, he went to New England for two more appointments.

Jefferson knew that the strength of the Federalist Party was greater in New England than in any other part
of the country. He believed that there was no better way to move New England away from the Federalist
program than to give cabinet positions to men from New England.

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Jefferson went to New England, too, for the postmaster general. It was not yet a cabinet office. But its
importance was growing. The president gave this appointment to Gideon Granger -- lawyer, businessman,
and writer, one of the strong Jeffersonians in the state of Connecticut.

Such was Jefferson's cabinet. All strong Republicans. All completely loyal. The Federalists were shocked.

Not one of their men had been appointed.

Join us each week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American history series in VOA Special
English. Our narrators today were Jack Weitzel and Stuart Spencer. Transcripts, podcasts and MP3s of
our programs can be found at voaspecialenglish.com

<b>Jefferson Moves to Cut Debt, Spending</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history series in VOA Special English.
By 1801, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia had already done much for his country. He wrote the Declaration
of Independence in 1776. He served as America's first ambassador to France and its first secretary of
state. Now he would govern the nation.

This week in our series, Maurice Joyce and Richard Rael continue the story of America's third president.
Thomas Jefferson was happy and hopeful as he took office. His new political party, the Republicans, had
defeated the older Federalist Party. The Federalists had controlled the government for twelve years.
America's first president, George Washington, was not a Federalist. But Federalists controlled the cabinet
and the Congress during Washington's two terms. America's second president, John Adams, was a

Federalist. So the party continued its control during his term.

The Federalists and the Republicans held very different opinions about how to govern the nation. Yet the
change in power from one party to the other took place peacefully.

Thomas Jefferson recognized the importance of this fact. He said: "What we have done in this country is
all new. The force of public opinion is new. But the most important and pleasing newness is that we have
changed our government without violence. This shows a strength of American character that will give
long life to our republic."

President Jefferson wanted to work with Federalists for the good of the nation. But he chose no
Federalists for his cabinet. All the cabinet officers were strong Republicans. All were loyal to Thomas
Jefferson.

James Madison of Virginia was secretary of state; Albert Gallatin of Pennsylvania, secretary of the
treasury; General Henry Dearborn of New Hampshire, secretary of war; Robert Smith of Maryland,
secretary of the Navy; and Levi Lincoln of Massachusetts, attorney general.

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Federalist leaders denounced Jefferson's policy. They thought all Federalists should keep their

government jobs. Many Republican leaders denounced Jefferson, too. They thought no Federalist should
have a government job. The president was caught between the two groups.

He finally answered his critics. "Shouts and screams from Federalists or Republicans," he said, "will not
force me to remove one more official, or one less. I will do what I think is right and just."

Once President Jefferson formed his cabinet, he began planning the policies of his administration. His two
closest advisers were Secretary of State Madison and Treasury Secretary Gallatin. First, they discussed
financial policy.

They agreed that the government must stop spending as much money as it did under former president
Adams. So, government departments would get less money. They also agreed that the government must
pay its debts as quickly as possible.

The government owed millions of dollars. Each year, the debt grew larger because of the interest on these
loans.

Albert Gallatin said: "We must have a strong policy. The debt must be paid. If we do not do this, our
children, our grandchildren, and many generations to come will have to pay for our mistakes."

President Jefferson wanted to pay the government debt. He also wanted to cut taxes on the production and
sale of some products, such as whiskey and tobacco. He hoped the government could get all the money it
needed from import taxes and from the sale of public lands.

Jefferson began saving money by ending unnecessary jobs in the executive branch. He reduced the
number of American ambassadors. He dismissed all tax inspectors.

Congress would have to take the next steps. "Most government offices," Jefferson said, "were created by
laws of Congress. Congress alone must act on these positions. The citizens of the United States have paid
for these jobs with their taxes. It is not right or just for the government to take more than it needs from the
people."

Jefferson especially wanted Congress to reduce the judicial branch. He hoped to dismiss all the Federalist
judges former President Adams appointed during his last days in office. These men were known as
"midnight judges."

The Federalists were furious. They accused Jefferson of trying to destroy the courts. They warned that his
financial program would crush the nation. They declared there would be anarchy if Federalist officials
were dismissed.

Most people, however, were happy. They liked what Jefferson said. They especially liked his plan to cut
taxes.

Jefferson's biggest critic was his long-time political opponent, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton had served
as the nation's first treasury secretary. Now, he was a private lawyer in New York City. He published his
criticism of Jefferson in a newspaper he started, the New York Evening Post.

While the public debated Jefferson's policies, the Congress debated his proposal to reduce the number of
federal courts. Federalist congressmen claimed that the president was trying to interfere with the

judiciary. This, they said, violated the Constitution.

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The Republicans won the argument. Congress approved President Jefferson's proposal on the courts.
Next, Congress debated the president's proposal to cut taxes. Federalists said it was dangerous for the
government to depend mainly on import taxes. They said such a policy would lead to smuggling. People
would try to bring goods into the United States secretly, without paying taxes on them.

Federalists also said that if the United States cut taxes, it would not have enough money to pay its debts.
Then no one would want to invest in the United States again.

Republicans said they were not afraid of smugglers. The danger, they said, would come from taxing the
American people. There was no need for production and sales taxes. And, they said, the American people
knew it. The Republicans also said they were sure the government would have enough money to pay its
debts.

The Republicans won this legislative fight, too. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives voted
to approve the president's plan to cut taxes.

Congress then turned to other business. But the question of the midnight judges would not die. In fact, the
Supreme Court would hear the case of one of those judges. Its decision gave the court an extremely
important power, which it still uses today.

That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Christine Johnson and Harold Braverman. The narrators were Maurice Joyce
and Richard Rael. Join us each week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American history series
in VOA Special English. Transcripts, podcasts and MP3s of our programs can be found at

voaspecialenglish.com.

<b>Jefferson Gets Louisiana Territory From France</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In our last program, we talked about two proposals by President Thomas Jefferson. Congress approved
both of them. One proposal ended some taxes. The other reduced the number of judges appointed by John
Adams when he was president.

In the closing days of Adams' term, Congress passed a Judiciary Act. This act gave Adams the power to
appoint as many judges as he wished. It was a way for the Federalist Party to keep control of one branch
of government. The Federalists had lost the presidency and their majority in Congress to Thomas

Jefferson and his Democratic-Republican party -- known today as the Democratic Party.

Now, Tony Riggs and Shep O’Neal continue the story of America’s third president, Thomas Jefferson.
President Adams quickly created new courts and named new judges. Just as quickly, the Senate approved
them. The papers of appointment were signed. However, some of the judges did not receive their papers,
or commissions, before Thomas Jefferson was sworn-in. The new president refused to give them their
commissions.

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The Chief Justice was John Marshall, a Federalist. Marshall thought about ordering the Republican
administration to give Marbury his commission. On second thought, he decided not to. He knew the
administration would refuse his order. And that would weaken the power of the Supreme Court.

Marshall believed the Supreme Court should have the right to veto bills passed by Congress and signed
by the president. In the Marbury case, he saw a chance to put this idea into law.

Marshall wrote his decision carefully. First, he said that Marbury did have a legal right to his judicial
commission. Then, he said that Marbury had been denied this legal right. He said no one -- not even the
president -- could take away a person's legal rights.

Next, Marshall noted that Marbury had taken his request to the Supreme Court under the terms of a law
passed in 1789. That law gave citizens the right to ask the high court to order action by any lower court
or by any government official.

Marshall explained that the Constitution carefully limits the powers of the Supreme Court. The court can
hear direct requests involving diplomats and the separate states. It cannot rule on other cases until a lower
court has ruled.

So, Marshall said, the 1789 law permits Marbury to take his case directly to the Supreme Court. But the
Constitution does not. The Constitution, he added, is the first law of the land. Therefore, the

congressional law is unconstitutional and has no power.

Chief Justice Marshall succeeded in doing all he hoped to do. He made clear that Marbury had a right to
his judicial commission. He also saved himself from a battle with the administration. Most importantly,
he claimed for the Supreme Court the power to rule on laws passed by Congress.

President Jefferson understood the importance of Marshall's decision. He did not agree with it. He
waited for the Supreme Court to use this new power.

Several times during Jefferson's presidency, Federalists claimed that laws passed by the Republican
Congress violated the Constitution. But they never asked the Supreme Court to reject those laws.
During Jefferson's first term, the United States faced a serious problem in its relations with France.
France had signed a secret treaty with Spain. The treaty gave France control of a large area in North
America -- the Louisiana Territory.

Napoleon Bonaparte ruled France at that time. Jefferson did not want him in North America. He felt the
French presence was a threat to the peace of the United States. He decided to try to buy parts of

Louisiana.

Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris as a special negotiator.

Before sailing, Monroe met with the president and Secretary of State James Madison. They discussed
what the United States position would be on every proposal France might make.

First, Monroe would try to buy as much territory east of the Mississippi River as France would sell. If
France refused, then Monroe would try to buy an area near the mouth of the Mississippi River. The area
was to be large enough for a port.

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James Monroe was happy to negotiate the purchase of Louisiana. They agreed on a price of eighty million
francs for all the land drained by the great Mississippi River and all its many streams.

Federalists in the northeastern states opposed the decision to buy Louisiana. They feared it would weaken
the power of the states of the northeast. Federalist leaders made a plan to form a new government of
those states. But to succeed, they needed the state of New York.

Vice President Aaron Burr was the political leader of New York and a candidate for New York governor.
The Federalists believed Burr would win the election and support their plan. But Federalist leader

Alexander Hamilton did not trust Burr. The two had been enemies for a long time.

Hamilton made some strong statements against Burr during the election campaign in New York. The
comments later appeared in several newspapers. Burr lost the New York election. The Federalist plan
died for a new government of northeastern states.

After the election, Burr asked Hamilton to admit or deny the comments he had made against Burr.
Hamilton refused. The two men exchanged more notes. Burr was not satisfied with Hamilton's answers.
He believed Hamilton had attacked his honor. Burr demanded a duel.

A duel is a fight, usually with guns. In those days, a duel was how a gentleman defended his honor.
Hamilton opposed duels. His son had been killed in a duel. Yet he agreed to fight Burr on July eleventh,
1804.

The two men met at Weehawken, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from New York City. They
would fight by the water's edge, at the bottom of a high rock wall.

The guns were loaded. Burr and Hamilton took their places. One of Hamilton's friends explained the
rules. "Are you ready, gentlemen?" he asked. Both answered "yes." There was a moment of silence. He
gave the signal. Burr and Hamilton raised their guns. Two shots split the air.

Hamilton raised up on his toes, then fell to the ground. Burr remained standing. He looked at Hamilton
with regret, then left. Hamilton died the next day.

Newspapers throughout the nation reported Hamilton's death. Most people accepted the news calmly. To
them, it was simply the sad end to an old, private dispute. But Burr's political enemies charged him with
murder. The vice president fled to the southern state of Georgia.

The nation was preparing for the presidential election in a few months. Once again, the Republican Party
chose Thomas Jefferson as its candidate for president. But Republicans refused to support Aaron Burr for
vice president again. Instead, they chose George Clinton. Clinton had served as governor of New York
seven times.

The Federalist Party chose Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina as its candidate for president.
It chose Rufus King of New York to be its vice presidential candidate.

The campaign was quiet. In those days, candidates did not make many speeches.

Republican pamphlets told of the progress made during the past four years. The former Federalist
administration raised taxes, they said. Jefferson ended many of the taxes. The Federalists borrowed
millions of dollars. Jefferson borrowed none. And, Jefferson got the Louisiana Territory without going
to war.

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Jefferson received 162 electoral votes. Pinckney received just 14. Thomas Jefferson would be president
for another four years.

That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Christine Johnson and Harold Braverman. The presenters were Tony Riggs
and Shep O’Neal. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>, an American history
series in VOA Special English. Transcripts, podcasts and MP3s of our programs can be found at
voaspecialenglish.com.

<b>US History Series: A Supreme Court Justice Is </b>

<b>Put on Trial in 1805</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.
We talked last week about the presidential election of 1804. Thomas Jefferson, the nation's third
president, was easily re-elected. He was head of the Democratic-Republican Party, known today as the
Democratic Party. His political opponents were called Federalists.

Now, Doug Johnson and Richard Rael begin the story of his second term as president of the United
States.

Jefferson had a very good record during his first term as president.

He ended many taxes. He paid government debts. And he gained possession of the huge Louisiana

Territory from France without going to war. The Federalists were sure he would win the election of 1804.
Still, they were surprised by the strength of his election victory.

Jefferson won one hundred 62 electoral votes. His opponent, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, won just 14.
The Federalists had expected Pinckney to get about forty.

Jefferson received support even in the Northeast. That is where the Federalists had their greatest strength.
What was the explanation?

One man tried to explain the meaning of Jefferson's great victory. He was John Quincy Adams, son of
former president John Adams. President Adams had been a firm Federalist. This is what his son said:
"The power of Jefferson's administration rests on a strong majority of the American people. The president
has great popular support. His re-election shows that the experiment of the Federalists has failed. It never
can and never will be brought to life again. To try to bring it back would be foolish. It would be like
trying to put life into a body that has been buried for years."

After the election of 1804, only seven Federalists remained in the United States Senate. Only 25 remained
in the House of Representatives.

(MUSIC)

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Some used the courtroom as a place to attack his policies. Judges were not supposed to make political
speeches in court.

One of the most powerful anti-Jeffersonian judges was Samuel Chase. He was a member of the Supreme
Court.

Samuel Chase was from the state of Maryland. He was active in local and national politics for a long time.
He had signed America's Declaration of Independence from Britain. He had served in the Continental
Congresses that governed America during and after its Revolutionary War. Yet he did not agree with all
parts of the United States Constitution. When the Maryland legislature voted to approve or reject the
Constitution, he voted against it.

Samuel Chase was not a republican: he believed that Americans should not have the same rights. For
example, he believed that all citizens should not have the right to vote. He said this would lead to mob
rule. He declared that great trouble would come to the government if common people had the same rights
as educated people who owned property.

President Jefferson heard about Chase's statement. He told a member of Congress that he was concerned.
Jefferson asked: "Should this judge's attack on the ideas of our Constitution go without punishment? The
public will look to Congress to take the necessary action against him."

(MUSIC)

During the last months of Jefferson's first term as president, the House of Representatives began
discussing the possibility of removing Justice Chase from the Supreme Court.

A committee was named to investigate. The committee decided that there was enough evidence to bring
him to trial before the Senate. The full House agreed. The impeachment trial was to begin in February,
1805.

The judge in the trial was the chief officer of the Senate, Vice President Aaron Burr. Burr would decide
what evidence could or could not be heard. His actions would have great influence over the final decision.
Both Federalists and Republicans watched Burr closely during the trial. Both groups looked for some sign
of support. Burr gave none. No one found any reason to criticize his actions.

The Senate heard testimony for a little more than three weeks. Then it voted on each of the eight charges
against Justice Chase. A two-thirds vote was needed to declare him guilty. None of the charges received
the necessary two-thirds vote. The impeachment had failed. Samuel Chase could not be removed from the
Supreme Court.

President Jefferson had hoped that Chase would be found guilty. He did not get this wish. But, after the
trial, Chase no longer used the courtroom for political purposes.

(MUSIC)

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The senators were very interested in what Burr had to say. Even his political opponents sat up and

listened. Burr told his friends goodbye. He said he might never see them again. Yet he said they could still
join together in defending freedom and social justice.

He spoke of the senators' great responsibility to protect liberty, the law, and the Constitution. "If the
Constitution is ever destroyed," he said, "its final breaths will come on this floor."

Aaron Burr faced a future full of questions. He had lost all political power. He owed large amounts of
money. He could not return to his home in the New York area. He would face criminal charges there as a
result of his duel with Alexander Hamilton. Burr had shot and killed Hamilton in the duel.

At the end of March, 1805, Burr wrote to his daughter. "In ten or twelve days," he said, "I shall be on my
way west. The trip may lead me to New Orleans, perhaps even farther."

He also wrote to his daughter's husband. He said he would not return home. "In New York," he wrote, "I
would lose my freedom. In New Jersey, I would be hanged. So, for the present, I will not take a chance."
What would Burr do instead? For more than a year, he had thought about a secret plan. Details are not
clear, because he said different things to different people. But history experts say the plan involved an
attempt to seize Mexico from Spain.

Burr could not keep his plan a secret from everyone. He needed help. He worked with two men. One was
Jonathan Dayton, a former United States senator. The other was James Wilkinson, military governor of
the Louisiana Territory.

Burr also needed money. He got some from his daughter's husband. And he got some from a man in Ohio
named Harman Blennerhassett. Mr. Blennerhassett had become rich after coming to America from
Ireland.

History experts say Burr tried to get help from Britain, too. Burr told the British ambassador in
Washington that he wanted money and ships to create a new country. It would include Mexico and
several western states. The states would be split away from the Union.

The British ambassador liked Burr's plan. He told Burr that he would urge his government to support it. It
would take at least four months, however, for the ambassador to communicate with his government in
London. Burr decided not to wait for an answer. He began his trip to the West. That will be our story next
week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley and Christine Johnson. The narrators were Richard Rael and
Doug Johnson. Join us each week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history series in
VOA Special English. Transcripts, podcasts and MP3s of our programs can be found at

voaspecialenglish.com.

<b>The Treason Trial of Aaron Burr, Former VP</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

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Burr was not without plans, however. For some time, he had been considering an idea. He wanted to seize
Mexico from Spain. Burr made secret deals with a number of people. He told them different things to get
their help or their money for his plan.

What was Aaron Burr's real goal? Was it to seize Mexico? Or was it to create a country of his own out of
some of America's western lands? The facts are not clear.

This week in our series, Shirley Griffith and Steve Ember tell about Burr's secret activities, and the trial
that ended them.

VOICE TWO:

Burr traveled west in the spring of 1805. His trip would take him down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to
the port city of New Orleans. In that city, he talked with a number of rich, powerful men. He explained
his plan. And he found support among those who wished to end Spanish control of Mexico.

Burr was then ready to return east and put his plan into action.

On the way back, Burr stopped in Saint Louis to see General James Wilkinson, governor of the Louisiana
Territory. Wilkinson was plotting with Burr.

At the same time, however, Wilkinson was spying for Spain. He did not want to lose the money Spain
paid him for information. So he began to think about how he could pull out of Burr's plan.

He advised Burr that it might be best to forget Mexico, that perhaps the time was not right. He offered to
help Burr get back into politics as a congressman from Indiana.

Burr rejected Wilkinson's offer. He was not yet ready to give up his dream about Mexico.

Burr had hoped to begin his move against Mexico in the spring of 1806. Without money, however, he

could do nothing.

He tried to get money from people who might be interested in sharing the riches of Mexico. But he was
not successful. Nor did he get the money and ships he had asked earlier from Britain.

War between the United States and Spain was an important part of Burr's plan. Should there be such a
war, Burr was sure the men of the western lands would join him against the Spanish in Mexico. Without
war, the campaign might fail.

Burr received bad news after he returned to Washington.

He met with President Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson made clear that there would be no war with Spain.
After his meeting with Jefferson, Burr began to make new plans. He would forget the idea of invading
Mexico -- at least temporarily. Instead, he said he would build a settlement in Louisiana and wait for a
better time.

While Aaron Burr had been traveling in the west, stories began to spread about his activities. Newspaper
reports came close to accusing him of plotting to split the Union. People seemed willing to believe the
reports. This was the situation General Wilkinson would use to pull out of Burr's plan.

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It was not the first letter Jefferson received about Burr's Mexican campaign. Nor was it the first to say that
Burr was, in fact, planning to split some western states from the Union. But, unlike the other letters,
Jefferson accepted Wilkinson's as firm evidence against Burr.

The president called a cabinet meeting to discuss what should be done. The result of the meeting was this:
all American military commanders were ordered to stop Burr.

President Jefferson then made a public declaration. He said a private military campaign was about to
begin against the Spanish, and that anyone involved should leave it immediately. The declaration did not
speak of Aaron Burr by name.

Jefferson also spoke of the private military campaign in his yearly State of the Union message to

Congress. Congress asked for more information. In a special message, the president said Burr had several
plans. One was to split the western states from the Union. Another was to seize Mexico. He said Burr
wanted to make people believe he was building a settlement in Louisiana. But, he said, that was just a
trick.

The president said Burr had discovered that the people of the western states would not support any
attempt to take them out of the Union. So, the president said, Burr had decided to capture New Orleans.
Jefferson said there was no question that Burr was guilty.

Burr's guilt had not been proved in court. But to many Americans, Jefferson's statement was taken as
truth. Some demanded that Burr be put to death for treason.

The crime of treason, as explained in America's Constitution, is the act of a citizen making war against the
United States.

Burr was arrested in February, 1807, and taken to Richmond, Virginia. A federal grand jury hearing
would be held to decide if there was enough evidence to bring him to trial. In June, the grand jury
officially charged him with treason. Burr would stand trial before John Marshall, chief justice of the
United States.

At one point in court, Burr spoke for himself. "Treason," he said, "is not possible without action. Yet I am
being attacked -- not for acts -- but because of false reports about what I might do. The whole country has
been turned against me. Is this justice? Wilkinson frightened the president with his reports about me.
Then, the president frightened the people."

It was true that President Jefferson wanted to prove Burr guilty. He ordered government officials in all
parts of the country to find witnesses who could give evidence against Burr.

Some of Jefferson's opponents said he did this to turn the trial into a political battle. They believed he
wanted to use the trial record to attack Chief Justice Marshall, who was a member of the opposition
Federalist Party. Jefferson objected to the way Marshall controlled the Supreme Court. He felt Marshall
used his position to threaten the powers of the presidency and Congress.

Chief Justice Marshall knew of Jefferson's part in the accusations against Burr. He was extremely careful
and fair in giving his opinions and decisions.

At the end of August, Chief Justice Marshall stopped taking evidence. He told the court that -- under the
Constitution -- a charge of treason must be proved by two witnesses. He said the government's claim had
not been proved by even one witness. He ordered the jury to decide the case.

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than "guilty" or "not guilty." Marshall agreed. He ordered the decision to be changed to read, simply, "not
guilty." The trial was over.

Aaron Burr lived another twenty-nine years. He spent some time in Europe, and then New York City. A
few hours before he died, a friend asked if he had ever plotted -- as part of his plan to seize Mexico -- to
split the Union of American states. Burr answered: "No! I would as soon have thought of seizing the
moon and informing my friends that I would divide it among them."

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Shirley Griffith and Steve Ember. Join
us each week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history series in VOA Special English.
Transcripts, podcasts and MP3s of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com.

<b>Jefferson Suspends Trade with Europe in 1807</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

This week in our series, Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith continue the story of Thomas Jefferson's second
term as president.

In the early 1800s, Britain and France were at war with each other. The United States remained neutral.
President Jefferson did not want to become involved in a war. He believed it would destroy all the
progress he had made.

His economic policies had helped to pay much of the national debt. And he was able to reduce taxes.
Staying neutral was not easy, however. The United States was having trouble with Britain.

For many years, Britain had been taking men by force to serve in its navy. The custom was called
'impressment.' Britain claimed the right to impress -- or seize -- any British citizen, anywhere.

Conditions in the British navy were not good at that time, and many sailors deserted. Some went to work
on American ships. The American ships were stopped and searched in British waters.

Anyone born in Britain was seized. Several thousand sailors were taken off American ships during the
early 1800s. Sometimes, American citizens were taken by mistake.

Impressment was one of two major problems the United States was having with Britain in the early
1800s. The other problem was trade.

Britain wanted to stop the United States from trading with France and its colonies. British warships
blocked the port of New York all through the year 1805. No American ship could leave without being
searched. When goods for France were discovered, the ship was taken to Halifax on the coast of Canada.
There, a British court had the power to seize the goods and force the ship's owners to pay a large amount
of money.

President Jefferson protested this interference in American trade. He sent James Monroe to London to

negotiate a treaty. Jefferson wanted Britain to stop taking sailors from American ships, and to stop
interfering in the trade of neutral nations. Monroe tried many times to discuss such an agreement. But the
British foreign minister was always too busy to see him.

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two proposals.

One proposal would stop all goods from being imported into the United States from Britain and its
colonies. Imports would be permitted only after Britain had answered America's protests.

The representative who offered the proposal said: "We do not wish to destroy the ties that ought to join
nations of the same interests. To prevent this, we want an agreement that will satisfy both the United
States and Britain. But if Britain continues its hostile acts, then we must loosen these ties of friendship."
Some members of Congress felt that this measure was too extreme. They believed it might lead to war
with Britain. The second proposal was more moderate. It would ban only those British goods which could
be gotten from other places.

The House of Representatives debated the two proposals. After four months, it finally approved a ban on
the import of some British goods.

President Jefferson did not want the trade ban to last long. He pressed for an agreement with Britain. He
sent William Pinkney to assist James Monroe in London.

The two diplomats were told to make clear to Britain what it must do to end the limited ban on British
imports. Britain was to stop taking sailors from American ships. It was to stop interfering with trade
between the United States and the colonies of France. And it was to pay for all property seized from
American ships.

Monroe and Pinkney knew they could never reach an agreement if they obeyed their orders. So they
decided to negotiate on their own as best they could.

They dropped the demand for payment for seized property. And they accepted a note -- separate from the
agreement – about impressment. The note promised that Britain would be careful not to seize any more
American sailors.

At the end of December, 1806, Monroe and Pinkney sent word to Washington that the treaty was ready.
But from the way their note was written, it seemed the treaty might not be satisfactory.

Secretary of State James Madison wrote back. He said if the two diplomats could get no clear agreement
on the question of impressment, then the talks should end without a treaty.

But it was too late. Monroe and Pinkney had signed the agreement.

President Jefferson was angry. His negotiators had disobeyed his orders. He refused to send the treaty to
the Senate for approval. And he said he would tell Monroe and Pinkney to re-open negotiations.

Before that could happen, an incident added more fuel to the diplomatic fire. A British navy ship attacked
the American Navy ship Chesapeake while looking for deserters.

Britain believed that some of the deserters were on the American ship. The United States said the men
were American citizens who had been forced to serve in the British navy. It refused to return them.
When the Chesapeake sailed out of American waters, the British ship tried to stop it and search it. The
American captain did not stop. The British ship first fired two shots in front of the Chesapeake. Then it
fired all its guns directly at the American ship. The Chesapeake was able to answer with only one gun.
The American captain surrendered.

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who disobeyed his orders would be arrested.

In London, James Monroe protested the attack on the Chesapeake. But the British foreign minister did not
want to talk about the incident. Monroe saw little purpose in remaining. So he sailed for home.

A few days after he left London, the British government announced a new rule. It said any American ship
sailing to Europe must stop first in Britain to get permission. Ships violating the rule would be seized.
Relations between the two countries had reached the breaking point.

When President Jefferson learned of the new rule, he called a cabinet meeting to discuss the crisis. He
said the United States had three choices: Go to war with Britain. Stop all trade with Europe. Do nothing.
Jefferson supported the second choice -- a total embargo -- no trade with Europe.

The president sent a special message to Congress. He proposed that no ships be permitted to enter the
United States, and no ships be permitted to leave. Both houses of Congress approved Jefferson's proposal.
He signed the measure in the closing days of 1807.

Jefferson later explained why he thought the embargo was the best choice of action.

He said if American ships had sailed out of American waters, they would have been seized by Britain or
France. That would have forced the United States into war. Jefferson said: "It was far better to stop all
communications with these nations until they returned to some sense of justice."

Jefferson's decision, and continuing tense relations with Britain, caused problems through his final days as
president. The situation did not improve for America's next president, James Madison. That will be our
story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith. Join
us each week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history series in VOA Special English.
Transcripts, podcasts and MP3s of our programs can be found at voaspecialenglish.com.

<b>Jefferson Tries to Keep Trade Ban on Europe</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

This week in our series, Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith have the story of Thomas Jefferson's final acts
as president, and the election of James Madison.

In the closing days of 1807, President Thomas Jefferson signed a bill banning all trade with Europe. No
ships could enter the United States, and no ships could leave. The purpose of the trade ban was to keep
America out of the war between Britain and France.

Jefferson acted to protect American traders, ship owners and sailors. Yet those were the people who
protested loudest against the ban. They were willing to take the chance of having Britain or France seize
their ship and goods. They could make no money without trade.

The situation quickly turned into a political battle between Jefferson's party, the Republicans, and the
opposition Federalists.

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One Federalist senator wrote a pamphlet against the trade ban. He urged northeastern states to refuse to
enforce it. Then he went even further. He met secretly with the British official sent to Washington to
discuss the situation. He told the British official that President Jefferson would be forced out of office
because of the trade ban.

The Federalists tried hard to get Congress to end the ban. But they were not successful.

President Jefferson did not believe that trade bans -- embargoes -- were the best way to settle America's
problems with other nations. But at the time, he thought an embargo was the only way to deal with Britain
and France, short of war. And he did not want war.

Jefferson's economic policies had brought much progress during his two terms as president. He had been
able to pay much of the national debt, and still reduce taxes. He also had begun several projects to
improve communication and transportation throughout the country. He was afraid that a war would

destroy everything he had done.

Jefferson simply wished to give the trade embargo a fair chance. "For a time," he wrote, "I think the
embargo is less evil than war. But after a time, this will not be so. If the war should continue in Europe,
and if Britain and France continue to act against us, then it will be for Congress to say if war would not be
better than the embargo."

Jefferson hoped that the loss of American trade would force Britain and France to change their policies
toward the United States. And he hoped the change would come quickly, for he knew the American
people would not accept a long ban on trade.

A British traveler visiting New York City described what the embargo had done. He wrote: "The port is
full of ships. But all of them are closed. Only a few sailors can be seen. Many of the counting houses are
closed. The coffee houses are almost empty. The streets near the water are almost deserted. Grass has
begun to grow upon the docks."

America's northern industrial states felt the loss of trade most strongly. But the agricultural South also
was affected. Rich southern farmers and planters suddenly found themselves poor.

Tobacco was one of their major crops. And Britain bought more American tobacco than any other
country. Its price fell so low because of the embargo that it had almost no value. The price of wheat fell
from two dollars a bushel to seven cents a bushel. Good farmland dropped in value until it was worth
almost nothing. Opposition to the embargo was growing.

Opposition was strongest in the Northeast. Ship owners and traders there believed that the embargo was
wrong. They continued to export goods secretly.

Some traders began sending goods over land to Canada. From there, the goods were sent on to Britain.
Congress passed a law against this kind of trade. But the shipments did not stop. Too many people were
willing to violate the law for the large amounts of money they could make by trading secretly with

Britain.

By August, 1808, Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin had lost all hope that the embargo would be
successful. Gallatin told President Jefferson: "The embargo is now defeated by open violations, by ships
sailing without permission of any kind."

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Jefferson, however, was not ready to give up his plan. In his last State of the Union message to Congress,
he painted a bright picture of the nation.

He reported that American industry was making progress. Many goods which had been imported before
the embargo were now being made at home. He said almost all of the national debt had been paid. And he
said more than one hundred gunboats had been built -- enough, he declared, to defend the country.

Jefferson said nothing about opposition to the embargo. Nor did he talk of the serious economic problems
caused by it. He said only that Britain and France still refused to honor American neutrality, and so the
embargo must continue.

The rest of the nation was not so sure. Congress began debating a number of proposals to either lift or
amend the embargo. And the opposition Federalist Party used the issue to increase its strength in
northeastern states. Eighteen-oh-eight was, after all, a presidential election year.

Thomas Jefferson had served two four-year terms as president. No law prevented him from running again.
But Jefferson had decided years before that a man should be limited to two terms as president.

Without such a limit, Jefferson believed, a powerful man might be able to keep the position for as long as
he wished. George Washington had served two terms, and then retired. Jefferson would do the same.
Three members of Jefferson's Republican Party wanted to be president. One was James Madison, the
secretary of state. The second was James Monroe, who had served as a special assistant to the president.
The third was George Clinton, who was vice president during Jefferson's second term.

The Republican Party chose Madison as its candidate for president. It chose Clinton as its candidate for
vice president. The Federalist Party named the same candidates it had chosen four years earlier: Charles
Cotesworth Pinckney for president, and Rufus King for vice president.

The Federalists were sure of victory in the election. They thought that Jefferson's embargo on trade had
angered the people and turned them away from the Republican Party. Even some Republicans felt the
election could go very badly for their party.

But Jefferson remained calm. He believed that most Americans understood what he was trying to do with
the embargo. And he believed they would vote for his party's candidate. Jefferson was right. Madison was
elected.

As we said earlier, Congress was trying to resolve the issue of the embargo before Jefferson left office.
In the first months of 1809, it finally approved a bill. The bill lifted the ban on trade with all European
countries except Britain and France.

Jefferson had hoped to continue the embargo a little longer and with more powers to enforce it. He was
not satisfied with the final bill. But he signed it anyway on March first. Three days later, the
15-month-old embargo was dead. And the United States had a new president.

That will be our story next week.

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<b>The Last Days, and Lasting Influence, of Thomas </b>

<b>Jefferson</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Thomas Jefferson left the White House in March of 1809. His secretary of state, James Madison, had

been elected president. Jefferson believed the nation was in good hands. He returned to Monticello, his
country home in Virginia, and never went back to Washington again. But Jefferson and the new president
exchanged letters often. Jefferson offered advice on a number of problems that Madison faced as the
nation's fourth president.

There were many visitors to Monticello. But Jefferson was happiest when he could discuss books,
government, science and education.

This week in our series, Maurice Joyce and Kay Gallant discuss the final days of Thomas Jefferson and
his lasting contributions -- to Virginia and the nation.

Jefferson believed firmly in the value of education. His whole idea of government depended on the ability
of citizens to make intelligent decisions. He spent the final years of his life building a better educational
system for Virginia.

Jefferson had been interested in education for most of his life. He had developed many ideas about the
best way to educate the people. He believed that every citizen had the right to an education. But, he
understood that all people do not have the same ability to learn.

Jefferson divided the people into two groups: those who labor and those who use their minds. He thought
both should start with the same simple education -- learning to read and write and count. After these
things were learned, he believed the two groups should be taught separately.

Those in the labor group, he thought, should learn how to be better farmers or how to make things with
their hands. The other group should study science, or medicine or law.

Jefferson did not wait long to begin working to improve education in Virginia. A group of men decided to
build a college at Charlottesville, near Jefferson's home. Jefferson immediately offered to take a leading
part in starting the school. He said he would plan the buildings and also plan what the students would
study. He wrote to many of his friends -- experts in education. He asked for their advice.

One of the experts told Jefferson he should not include religion among the studies. Jefferson agreed. But
he understood that leaving out religious studies would cause problems. He explained it this way:

"We cannot always do what is absolutely best. Those with whom we act have different ideas. They have
the right and power to act on their ideas. We make progress only one step at a time. To do our fellow men
the most good, we must lead where we can, follow where we cannot. But we must still go with them,
watching always for the moment we can help them move forward another step."

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The first step would be elementary schools, where all children could learn reading, writing, arithmetic and
geography. These schools would be built in all areas of the state and would be paid for by the people
living in each area.

The second step would be colleges -- equal to the high schools of today. He proposed that nine of these
schools be built in the state. Students would begin the study of science, or would study agriculture, or
how to use their hands to make things. These schools would be paid for by the state.

The third step would be a state university, where students of great ability could go to get the best of
educations. The university would produce the lawyers, doctors, professors, scientists and government
leaders. Young men whose families had money would pay for their own educations. The state would pay
the costs of a small number of bright students from poor families.

Jefferson also proposed that the University of Virginia be built at Charlottesville. He already had begun
work on the college there and offered to give it to the university.

His education program was offered to the Virginia legislature. Many lawmakers thought it was excellent.
But many others opposed it. They did not want to raise taxes for the large amount of money such a system
would cost.

The legislature, however, agreed to part of the plan. It approved a bill to help pay the cost of educating

poor children. And it agreed to spend 15,000 dollars each year for a university. There was much debate
about where the university should be built. Several other towns wanted the school. Finally, Charlottesville
was chosen.

By this time, Jefferson had completed plans for the university buildings. He borrowed many of his ideas
from the beautiful buildings of ancient Greece and Rome. The buildings were so well planned that one
hundred years later, when the university was to put up a new building, the builder could find no reason to
change the plans drawn by Jefferson.

Work began on the university immediately. But it was six years before the school was open to students.
Jefferson was there almost every day, watching the workmen. He was quick to criticize any mistake or
work that was not done well. When he was sick and not able to go down to the university, he would watch
the work through a telescope from a window of his home.

The cost of the university kept growing. And Jefferson had to struggle to get the legislature to pay for it.
He also worked hard to get the best possible professors to teach at the university. He sent men throughout
the United States to find good teachers. He even sent a man to Europe for this purpose. Finally, in March,
1825, the University of Virginia opened.

Jefferson's health had suffered during his years of work for the university. He was eighty-two years old
and feeling his age. He suffered from rheumatism and diabetes, and was so weak he could walk only short
distances. Jefferson also found his memory was failing.

He knew he did not have much longer to live. He told a friend one day: "When I look back over the ranks
of those with whom I have lived and loved, it is like looking over a field of battle. All fallen."

As his health grew worse, Jefferson turned his thoughts to death. He wrote how he wished to be buried.
He wanted a simple grave on the mountainside below his house. He drew a picture of the kind of
memorial he wanted put at his grave.

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He did not choose his work as governor of Virginia, secretary of state, or president. There was not a word
about his purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, which added so greatly to the United States.
Jefferson did not explain why he chose the Declaration of Independence, the law for religious freedom,
and the university as his greatest works.

Writer Nathan Schachner, in his book on Jefferson, offers this explanation:

"He chose those points in his life when he performed some service in the unending struggle to free the
human mind. Freedom from political tyranny, freedom from religious tyranny, and finally, freedom
through education -- from all the tyrannies that have ever clouded and held back the human spirit."
On the Fourth of July, 1826, the nation began its celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration
of Independence. Then, from Boston, came news that former president John Adams had died. His last
words were: "Thomas Jefferson still lives."

But Adams was wrong. At ten minutes before ten in the morning, on that same Fourth of July, his friend,
Thomas Jefferson, had died.

As the news of the deaths of the two great men spread across the country, the celebrations turned to
mourning and sorrow. Jefferson was buried the next day, as he had ordered, in a simple grave on the quiet
mountainside.

To learn more about America's third president, go to voaspecialenglish.com. We have transcripts, MP3s
and podcasts of our programs along with historical images. Today's program was written by Frank
Beardsley. Join us each week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history series in VOA
Special English.

<b>Relations With Britain Hit a Low Point in 1811</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

James Madison of Virginia was elected president of the United States in 1808. He followed Thomas
Jefferson and served two terms.

Madison's first four years were not easy. He had to deal with a foreign policy problem that Jefferson was
not able to solve: increasingly tense relations with Britain. His second four years were worse. There was
war. Larry West and Leo Scully have our story.

James Madison was inaugurated in Washington on March fourth, 1809. The people of the city were happy
with the new president. But the nation was not yet sure what kind of leader he would be.

The French minister to the United States did not think much of him. He said: "Mr. Madison is an
intelligent man, but weak. He will always see what should be done, but will not do it."

Like the first three American presidents, Madison had a small cabinet. There would be a secretary of state
and a secretary of the treasury.

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Jefferson's biggest foreign policy problem arose from a war between Britain and France. The two nations
refused to honor America's neutrality. Each tried to prevent the United States from trading with the other.
Both interfered with American shipping. And the British navy sometimes seized American sailors.

President Jefferson ordered a ban on trade with Europe. But it failed to end the hostile acts against the
United States.

Britain and France were still at war when Madison was elected president. In place of the trade ban,
Congress had approved a new law. It was called the Non-Intercourse Act. The law prevented trade with
Britain and France. But it gave President Madison the power to re-open trade if either nation stopped
interfering with American ships.

Madison hoped the law would force Britain and France to honor American neutrality. He did not want
war. But neither did he want to surrender America's rights as an independent nation.

A month after Madison took office, the British minister in Washington, David Erskine, received new
orders from his government. He said he had been given the power to settle all differences between the
United States and Britain.

Erskine said Britain would stop seizing American ships if the United States would end the

Non-Intercourse Law. He did not make clear that the British government demanded several conditions before
an agreement could be reached.

One condition was that the United States continue the law against trade with France. Another was that
Britain be permitted to capture American ships that violated the law. Erskine called the conditions,
"proposals." He did not force the United States to accept them.

On April nineteenth, President Madison announced that an agreement had been reached. He said the
United States would re-open trade with Britain. The American people welcomed the agreement. It
appeared that -- after less than two months as president -- Madison had been able to remove the threat of
war.

The United States began trading again with Britain on June tenth, as agreed. Hundreds of ships left
American ports. Relations with Britain seemed to have returned to normal.

President Madison decided to spend the summer of 1809 at his home in the hills of Virginia. Soon after he
arrived, he received surprising news. The British government had rejected the agreement he had reached
with Erskine.

A British newspaper said the agreement was not what Britain wanted. It said Erskine had violated his
orders and was being called back to London. A new minister, Francis James Jackson, would take his

place.

Madison returned to Washington in the autumn, about a month after the new British minister arrived. He
learned that Secretary of State Smith had made no progress in talks with him. So the president decided to
deal with him directly. He wanted to know exactly why Britain had rejected the agreement. Madison
ordered that all communications between the two sides be written. There would be no more talks.

Letters were exchanged. But the British minister failed to explain satisfactorily what had happened. And
his letters seemed to charge that the United States had not negotiated honestly. Madison finally broke off
all communications, and the British minister left Washington.

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The bill ended the Non-Intercourse Act against Britain and France. It permitted trade with any nation. But
it gave the president the power to declare non-intercourse again with either Britain or France separately.
President Madison signed the bill into law.

Relations between the United States and Britain did not improve during the year. And President Madison
once again declared non-intercourse against Britain. Trade between the two countries was stopped at the
beginning of March, 1811.

Trade was not the only problem, however. A growing number of Americans believed that the British were
helping some Native American Indians to fight the United States.

As the people of the United States began to move to the northern and western territories, the government
made treaties with the different Indian tribes. The treaties explained which land belonged to the

Indians...and which land could be settled by the white men. The settlers did not always honor the treaties.
A leader of the Shawnee Indian tribe, Tecumseh, decided to take action. He started a campaign to unite all
Indians and to help them defend against the white men.

Throughout the west, many Americans believed that the British in Canada were responsible for

Tecumseh's efforts to unite the Indians. They demanded war with Britain to destroy the power of the
tribes.

In Washington, a new Congress was meeting. Some of the new members were very different from the
men who had controlled Congress before. They were less willing to compromise -- and more willing to go
to war to defend America's interests. They soon got the name "War Hawks."

The new Congress quickly approved several measures to prepare the United States for war. One bill
increased the size of the army by twenty-five thousand regular soldiers and fifty thousand volunteers.
At the same time, America had a new secretary of state. President Madison had not been pleased with the
work of Robert Smith. Nor did he trust Smith. The president could not be sure of Smith's support for
administration proposals.

Madison wanted his close friend, James Monroe, to be secretary of state. Monroe was then governor of
Virginia. He agreed to take the new job.

What the United States did not have at that troubled time was a representative in Britain. When Madison
broke off communications with British minister Jackson in Washington, Jackson returned to London. And
the American minister in London, William Pinkney, sailed home.

There was no official in either capital to report what was happening. And the two countries were moving
closer to war. That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Larry West and Leo Scully. Join us
again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history series in VOA Special
English.

<b>Madison Declares War on Britain in 1812</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

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In the spring of 1812, the United States and Britain were moving closer to war. Congress had approved a
ninety-day embargo to stop American ships from leaving home. And American ships in foreign ports and
at sea were ordered to return to the United States. President James Madison requested the embargo to
prevent the capture of these ships once a war started.

Today, Maurice Joyce and Stuart Spencer begin the story of the War of 1812.

The president was sure there would be war. He had seen the instructions from London to British minister
Augustus Foster. The British foreign minister warned Foster to say nothing about any compromise. He
wanted the United States to see how firmly Britain would continue its orders against neutral trade with the
enemies of Britain.

President Madison had hoped for some sign of compromise. But there was none. Congress continued to
prepare the nation for war. Lawmakers voted to increase the size of the army and to borrow money to pay
for things the larger army would need.

But not all members of Congress wanted war with Britain. Many Federalists, especially, opposed it. Some
of them tried to end the embargo only a month after it began.

Congressman Hermanus Bleecker showed the House a list of hundreds of names from his area of New
York. He said all these people opposed the embargo and the idea of war with Britain. "It is impossible,"
he said, "that we can go to war when the embargo ends, sixty days from now. Where are our armies? Our
navy? Have we the money to fight a war? Why, it would be treason to go to war this soon, so poorly
prepared."

(MUSIC)

Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin was having a difficult time finding money to borrow. He could get
almost no money at all from Federalist New England banks. Congress had approved borrowing eleven

million dollars. But Gallatin found the banks would lend only six million to the United States

government.

The Federalists charged that Gallatin's difficulties showed the people did not want war, especially the
people of New England. If the people of the West and the South wanted to fight, then let them pay for the
war.

Republican John Randolph also spoke against the war. "How could the administration speak of war when
it did not even have the courage to order taxes to raise money? Are we to go to war without money,
without men, without a navy? The people will not believe it."

John C. Calhoun answered Randolph. "So far from being unprepared, sir, I believe that four weeks from
the time war is declared, we will have captured much of British Canada.”

VOICE TWO:

Sure that Britain would not change its hostile policies, President Madison sent a secret message to
Congress on June first, proposing that war be declared. Madison listed the reasons for war:

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The president's message was sent to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House for discussion. The
committee's report was made two days later by chairman John C. Calhoun. He proposed that the House
declare war.

The House, meeting in secret, heard the report. Federalist Josiah Quincy proposed that the debate should
be made public. This proposal was defeated. The final vote on declaring war was seventy-nine for and
forty-nine against. In the Senate, the vote was even closer: 19 for and 13 against.

President Madison signed the bill on June 18th. The War of 1812 had begun.

The leaders in Washington did not know it, but Britain -- two days earlier -- had ended its orders against
neutral American trade. The orders might have been withdrawn earlier, except for a number of events.
British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval, under great political pressure, had decided to end the British
orders on neutral trade. Businessmen and traders were loudly protesting that the orders were destroying
England's economy. On May eleventh, before Perceval could act, he was shot to death. Not until June
eighth was agreement reached on a new prime minister, Lord Liverpool.

Eight days later, his government announced that the orders were ended immediately. This was only two
days before war was to be declared in Washington. And, with ships the only method of communication,
the British action was not learned of in time.

If the United States had had a minister in London during the spring of 1812, he would have been able to
report progress toward ending the orders. But the American minister, William Pinkney, had returned
home a year earlier.

On the day that war was declared, the United States was far from ready to fight. There were only about
eight thousand American soldiers. And most of them were serving in the West. The United States had
only a few warships and gunboats with which to face the British navy -- the most powerful naval force in
the world.

Worst of all was the division among the people of the United States about the war. It was strongly

opposed in the Northeast. Church bells were rung and flags lowered in New England when the declaration
of war was announced. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut refused to let their state soldiers
follow the orders of the national government.

The United States could not have lasted long against the military power of Britain had it not been for the
war in Europe. Most of Britain's forces were battling the soldiers of Napoleon Bonaparte. Britain could
send only small forces to fight the Americans.

The United States tried to increase the size of its army. But the United States had not fought a war, or
needed an army, for a long time.

The officers who led troops in the Revolutionary War were old men, and tired. The young men had never
fought and knew little about the ways of war. Two top generals were named by President Madison:
sixty-two-year-old Henry Dearborn, and Thomas Pinckney, sixty-three. Most of the other generals were almost
as old.

There also was the problem of getting enough men to serve as soldiers. Congress had approved an

increase of twenty-five thousand men. Only five thousand agreed to serve. Members of Congress from the
western states had spoken proudly of how their people would rush to fight the British. This did not

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The United States decided the first attacks should be made against Canada. There were only about
twenty-five hundred British soldiers guarding the border between the United States and Canada. Four campaigns
were planned. The first of these was led by an old Revolutionary War soldier, General William Hull.
General Hull and his 2,000 men were ordered to march from southern Ohio to the city of Detroit, in the
Michigan territory. They had completed the three hundred kilometer march before war was declared. Hull
was given immediate orders to invade Canada.

The old general crossed the border and attacked the British at Malden. But the British general there was
prepared, and the attack failed. Hull retreated back to Detroit. He was chased by a smaller force of British
soldiers and Indians.

Although Hull had the stronger force and plenty of supplies, he surrendered Detroit to the British. After
the war, Hull was tried by a military court on charges of cowardice. The court found him guilty and
ordered him shot. The president, because of Hull's service during the Revolutionary War, permitted the
old soldier to live.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Maurice Joyce and Stuart Spencer. Join

us each week for THE MAKING OF A NATION – an American history series in VOA Special English.

<b>British Set Fire to City of Washington in 1814</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

The United States declared war on Britain in 1812. It did so because Britain refused to stop seizing
American ships that traded with France -- Britain's enemy in Europe.

Britain finally suspended its orders against neutral trade, after a change in government. But the British
acted too late. The United States had declared war. Today, Larry West and Frank Oliver continue the
story of the War of Eighteen Twelve.

The United States navy was not ready for war. It had only a few real warships and a small number of
gunboats. It could not hope to defeat the British navy, the most powerful in the world. What the United
States planned to do was seize Canada, the British territory to the north. Twenty-five hundred British
soldiers guarded the border. And American generals believed they could win an easy victory. They were
wrong.

An American general named William Hull led 2,000 men across the Canadian border. British soldiers
were prepared, and they forced the Americans back. The British fought so well that General Hull
surrendered all his men and the city of Detroit.

The next American attack was made from Fort Niagara, a military center in New York on the shore of
Lake Ontario. A small group of American soldiers crossed the Niagara River and attacked the British.
Other Americans -- state soldiers of New York -- refused to cross the border to help against the British.
They calmly watched as British soldiers shot down the attacking Americans.

The third campaign was made by General Henry Dearborn. He led an army of state soldiers from

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British forces at this time were winning victories. They captured an American fort in northern Michigan.
And Indians -- fighting for the British -- captured a fort at the place now known as Chicago.

Instead of marching through Canada without difficulty, the Americans found themselves trying hard to
keep the British out of the state of Ohio.

For a while, the weak little American navy was doing better than the army.

Just two months after the war started, the United States warship Constitution forced a British ship to
surrender. Several months later another American ship, the Wasp, captured the British ship Frolic. Then
the frigate the United States defeated one of Britain's most famous fighting ships, the Macedonian. The
British ship was captured and brought to the United States.

There were other victories at sea. At the end of six months, the United States navy had captured six
British ships and lost only one of its own vessels.

Private American trade ships had been armed with guns when the war started. They, too, were successful
against the British. They captured more than three hundred British trade ships.

The American successes forced Britain to bring more of its fighting ships into the war with the United
States. By the middle of 1813, a year after the war started, British ships controlled the United States coast.
Not an American ship could enter or leave any port south of New England.

The military situation was improving in the West. William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana
territory, formed a large force to try to capture Detroit from the British. At the same time, Captain Oliver
Perry built five warships on Lake Erie. With these and four he already had, Perry met and completely
defeated an English naval force.

Perry reported his victory to Harrison: "We have met the enemy, and they are ours."

Perry's victory and Harrison's large force caused the British to withdraw from Detroit, and from a British
fort at Malden, in Canada. Harrison's men continued to chase the enemy. They caught them and defeated
them in the battle of the Thames. Killed in this battle was the great Indian chief Tecumseh who had been
fighting for the British.

United States forces made new attempts to win control of Lake Ontario and invade Canada across the
Niagara River. But none of these succeeded. Late in 1813, British soldiers crossed the river and captured
Fort Niagara. They also burned the town of Buffalo.

By April 1814, Napoleon was forced from power in Europe. And the war between France and Britain was
over. This permitted Britain to send many of its soldiers in Europe to fight against the United States.
Fourteen thousand troops were sent to Canada. A smaller force was put on ships that sailed along the
American coast. Another group of British soldiers was sent to Jamaica to prepare for an attack on New
Orleans.

The British planned to send an army of eleven thousand men down from Canada into New York. But
before this, the soldiers aboard ships along the American coast were to attack the Chesapeake Bay area
and threaten Washington and Baltimore.

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The two sides met at Bladensburg, a town ten kilometers from Washington. The British attacked and at
first the American defenders held their ground. But then, British soldiers broke through the American
lines, and the Americans began to run away.

General Winder ordered his men back to Washington. A group of sailors refused to retreat with their
artillery. Commanded by Joshua Barney, the four hundred sailors chose to stand and fight. The struggle
did not last long against the four thousand British soldiers.

Barney held his position for a half hour before enemy soldiers got behind his men and silenced the guns.
Barney was wounded seriously. The British thought so much of his courage that they carried him to a

hospital for their own soldiers at Bladensburg. Barney himself said the British officers treated him as a
brother.

Once the British force had smashed through Barney's navy men, nothing stood between it and
Washington.

The enemy spent the night about half a kilometer from the Capitol building. The commanders of the
British force, General Robert Ross and Admiral Sir George Cockburn, took a group of men to the Capitol
and set fire to it. Then the two commanders went to the White House to burn it.

Before setting fire to the president's home, Cockburn took one of President Madison's hats and the seat
from one of Dolley Madison's chairs. The admiral found the president's table ready for dinner. As a joke,
he took a glass of wine and toasted the health of "President Jemmy."

President Madison had fled the White House earlier. He crossed the Potomac River and started toward his
home in Virginia. He joined his wife on the road the second day. And they decided to wait with others
about twenty-five kilometers from Washington. The president returned to the capital three days after he
left it. The British, after burning most public buildings, had withdrawn.

The British coastal force next attacked the city of Baltimore. But this time, the defenses were strong, and
the attack failed.

Baltimore port was guarded by Fort McHenry. British warships sailed close to the fort and tried to destroy
it with their guns. But the attack did little real damage to the fort.

A young American civilian, Francis Scott Key, was aboard one of the British warships during the
twenty-five-hour shelling of Fort McHenry. He and a group of others had gone to the ship with a message from
President Madison. The message asked the British to release an American doctor they were holding.
All through the night, the young man watched the shells bursting and the rockets exploding over the fort.
In the first light of morning, he saw that the American flag still flew. On the back of an old letter from his

pocket, Francis Scott Key wrote the words of "The Star-Spangled Banner," the national anthem of the
United States.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Larry West and Frank Oliver.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us each week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history
series in VOA Special English.

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Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

As we described last week, British forces attacked Washington in the summer of 1814. They burned the
Capitol building, the White House and other public buildings before withdrawing to their ships in the
Chesapeake Bay. Today, Harry Monroe and Maurice Joyce tell the story of how a British attack on Fort
McHenry in the port of Baltimore led to "The Star-Spangled Banner," America's national anthem.
British General Robert Ross and Admiral Sir George Cockburn led the attack on Washington. They
planned next to attack Baltimore. But the people of Baltimore expected the attack, and began to prepare
for it. Fifty thousand of them built defenses around the city.

The port of Baltimore was protected by Fort McHenry. The guns and cannon of the fort could prevent
British ships from reaching the city.

The British began with a land attack against Baltimore. General Ross, Admiral Cockburn, and about four
thousand British soldiers landed at North Point, a finger of land reaching into the Chesapeake Bay.
From North Point, it was a march of about twenty-two kilometers to Baltimore. The march began about
seven in the morning. General Ross and Admiral Cockburn stopped their men after an hour. The two
commanders and several of their officers rode to a nearby farmhouse and forced the family living there to
give them breakfast.

When the British officers had finished eating, the farmer asked General Ross where the British were
going. "To Baltimore," answered Ross. The farmer told Ross that he might have some difficulty getting
there, because of the city's strong defenses. "I will eat supper in Baltimore...or in hell," answered the
British general.

Ross and Cockburn moved far in front of the British forces. A group of several hundred Americans
opened fire on the British officers. Ross was hit and died soon afterwards.

The Americans retreated, but slowed the progress of the British soldiers. It was late the next day before
the British force arrived to face the army of Americans near Baltimore. The Americans were on high
ground and had about one hundred cannon to fire down on the British. The British commander ordered
his men to rest for the night. He sent a message to the British warships to attack the city with guns and
mortars. Such an attack, he felt, might cause the Americans to fall back. But the British ships already had
been firing since early morning at Fort McHenry. The British guns were more powerful than those of the
fort. This let the ships fire from so far away that the American guns could not hit them.

Shells and bombs from British mortars fell like rain over Fort McHenry. But few Americans in the fort
were hurt or killed. Most of the rockets and shells exploded in the air or missed. Many of them failed to
explode.

On a tall staff from the center of the fort flew a large American flag. The flag could be seen by the
soldiers defending the city and by the British warships. The flag also was seen by a young American. His
name was Francis Scott Key.

Key was a lawyer who once had thought of giving his life to religious work. He was a poet and writer.
Key opposed war. But he loved his country and joined the army in Washington to help defend it.

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also carried letters from wounded British soldiers in American hospitals. In one of the letters, a British
soldier told of the excellent medical care he was being given.

Cockburn agreed to free the doctor after he read the reports of good medical care given his wounded men.
But Cockburn would not permit Key, the doctor, or a man who came with Key to return to land until after
the attack.

Francis Scott Key watched as the shells and rockets began to fall on Fort McHenry.

"I saw the flag of my country," Key said later, "waving over a city -- the strength and pride of my native
state. I watched the enemy prepare for his assault. I heard the sound of battle. The noise of the conflict fell
upon my listening ear. It told me that the `brave and the free' had met the invaders."

All through the rainy day, the attack continued. Doctor Beanes, watching with Key, had difficulty seeing
the flag. He kept asking Key if the "stars and stripes" still flew above the fort. Until dark, Key could still
see it. After then, he could only hope.

Britain tried to land another force of men near the fort. But the Americans heard the boats and fired at
them. The landing failed. Shells and rockets continued to rain down on Fort McHenry. At times, the fort's
cannon answered. And Key knew the Americans had not surrendered.

The British land force east of Baltimore spent most of the night trying to keep dry. Commanders could
not decide if they should attack or retreat. Finally, orders came from the admiral: "Withdraw to your
ships." A land attack against Baltimore's defenses would not be attempted.

At first light of morning, British shells were still bursting in the air over the fort. The flag had holes in it
from the British shells. But it still flew. The British shelling stopped at seven o'clock. Key took an old
letter from his pocket and wrote a poem about what he had seen.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

For more than one hundred years, Americans sang this song and remembered the attack at Fort McHenry.
In 1931, Congress made the "Star-Spangled Banner" the national anthem of the United States.

The unsuccessful British attack on Baltimore was followed by news that Britain also had suffered a defeat
to the north.

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He requested the support of four British ships and about ten gunboats. A group of American ships of
about the same size also entered the lake. In a fierce battle, the American naval force sank the British
ships. The large land army of Prevost decided not to attack without naval support. The 11,000 British
soldiers turned around and marched back to Montreal.

By the time these battles of 1814 had been fought, the two sides already had agreed to discuss peace. The
peace talks began in the summer at Ghent, in Belgium.

The British at first were in no hurry to sign a peace treaty. They believed that their forces would be able to
capture parts of the United States.

Britain demanded as a condition for peace that the United States give large areas of its northwest to the
Indians. It also said America must give Canada other areas along the border. And Britain would not
promise to stop seizing American seamen and putting them in the British navy.

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER:

British policy at the peace talks changed after the battles of Baltimore and Plattsburgh. That will be our
story next week. Join us each week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history series in
VOA Special English.

<b>War of 1812 Ends, but Fighting Continues</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Most recently in our series, we have been talking about the War of Eighteen Twelve between the United
States and Britain. In the summer of 1814, the two countries opened peace talks at Ghent, in Belgium. But
Britain was in no hurry to agree on a peace treaty. This week, Maurice Joyce and Stuart Spencer tell us
about how the War of Eighteen Twelve ended.

(MUSIC)

British forces were planning several campaigns in the United States later in the year. Successful military
campaigns could force the United States to accept the kind of treaty Britain wanted.

British representatives to the talks demanded that the United States give control of its Northwest Territory
to the Indians. They also asked that the United States give part of the state of Maine to Canada, and make
other changes in the border.

United States representatives were led by John Quincy Adams, son of former president John Adams.
They made equally tough demands. The United States wanted payment for damages suffered during the
war. It also demanded that Britain stop seizing American seamen for the British navy. And the United
States wanted all of Canada.

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John Quincy Adams had little hope the talks would succeed. The Americans would surrender none of
their territory. Old John Adams, the former president, told President James Madison: "I would continue
this war forever before surrendering an acre of America."

His son, John Quincy, did not believe the British would reduce any of their demands. But another of the
Americans at Ghent, House Speaker Henry Clay, felt differently. Clay was right. After Britain received
word that its military campaigns had failed at Baltimore and Plattsburgh, its representatives became easier
to negotiate with. They dropped the demand that the United States give the Northwest Territory to the
Indians.

Britain still hoped for military successes in America. The British government asked the Duke of
Wellington to lead British forces in Canada. The duke had won important victories in the war against
Napoleon. Perhaps he could do the same in America. The duke was offered the power to continue the war
or to make peace.

Wellington told the government he would go to America if requested. But he refused to promise any
success. He said it was not a new general that Britain needed in America, but naval control of the Great
Lakes that separated the United States from Canada.

"The question is," Wellington said, "can we get this naval control? If we cannot, then I will do you no
good in America. I think," said Wellington, "that you might as well sign a peace treaty with the United
States now. I think you have no right to demand any territory from the United States. The failure of the
British military campaigns in America gives you no right to make such demands."

The British government accepted this advice from its top military expert. It ordered the British

representatives at Ghent to drop the demands for American territory. The Americans then dropped their
demands for Canadian territory.

The things that led to the war no longer existed. Britain's war with France had caused the British and
French to interfere with neutral American trade. And Britain had needed men for its navy. Now, the war
with France was over. No longer was there any reason to interfere with the trade of any nation. And no
longer was there any need to seize Americans for service in the British navy.

On the day before Christmas, 1814, the United States and Britain signed a simple treaty. In it, each side
agreed to stop fighting. They agreed to settle all their differences at future negotiations.

The war had ended. But one more battle was to be fought before news of the peace treaty reached the
United States.

During the autumn of 1814, British soldiers at Jamaica began preparing for an attack against New

Orleans, at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Late in November, this force of about seven thousand five
hundred men sailed from Jamaica to New Orleans.

The British soldiers were commanded by General Sir Edward Pakenham. The general did not take his
men directly to the mouth of the Mississippi River. Instead, they sailed across a lake east of the city.
Early during the afternoon of December twenty-third, General Andrew Jackson, the commander of
American forces at New Orleans, learned the British force was near.

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When war broke out in 1812, he was elected general of a group of volunteer soldiers from Tennessee.
Jackson was a rough man. His soldiers feared and respected him. They called him "Old Hickory,” because
he seemed as tough as hickory wood.

Jackson was given responsibility for defending the Gulf coast. Earlier in the year, he had attacked
Pensacola, in east Florida, and forced out several hundred British marines. Jackson believed the British
would attack Mobile before attacking New Orleans. He left part of his forces at Mobile and took the
others to the mouth of the Mississippi.

Jackson was a sick man when he got to New Orleans. And what he found made him feel no better. Little
had been done to prepare for the expected British attack. Jackson declared martial law and began building
the city's defenses.

Most of the work on the defenses had been completed when Jackson got word that the British were only a
few kilometers from New Orleans. "Gentlemen," Jackson told his officers, "the British are below. We
must fight them tonight."

The British soldiers rested. They believed it would be easy to capture the city the next day. But Jackson
rushed up guns and men, and attacked the British by surprise just after dark. Then, the Americans
retreated to a place about eight kilometers south of the city.

Jackson had chosen this place carefully. On the right was the Mississippi River. On the left was a swamp
-- mud and water that could not be crossed. In front of the American soldiers was an open field.

For two weeks, the British soldiers waited. They tested the American defenses at several places, but found
no weaknesses. Every day, Jackson had his men improve their positions. At night, small groups of

Jackson's soldiers would slip across the field and silently attack British soldiers guarding the other side.
Finally, on January eighth, the British attacked. They expected the Americans to flee in the face of their
strong attack. But the Americans stood firm.

Jackson's artillery fired into the enemy. When the British got as close as one hundred fifty meters, the
Americans began to fire their long rifles. The rain of bullets and shells was deadly. General Pakenham
was wounded twice and then killed by a shell that exploded near him. Only one British soldier reached the
top of the American defenses.

The British finally retreated. They left behind more than 2,000 dead and wounded. Five hundred other
British soldiers had been captured. Thirteen Americans were killed. It was a great victory for the United
States, but one that was not necessary. The war had ended, by treaty, two weeks earlier.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Maurice Joyce and Stuart Spencer. Join
us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history series in VOA Special
English.

<b>War of 1812 Ends With Treaty of Ghent</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

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<span class='text_page_counter'>(65)</span><div class='page_container' data-page=65>

agreement to reach Washington. This resulted in two events that would not have happened had
communications across the Atlantic been faster.

One of the events was the battle of New Orleans. British forces had begun the attack about the time the
peace treaty was being signed in Ghent. The American commander, General Andrew Jackson, had
prepared his defenses well. He won a great victory against the British in a battle that was unnecessary,
because the war was already over.

Now, Maurice Joyce and Jack Moyles continue our story.

The other event was a convention of New England Federalists at Hartford, Connecticut. The meeting
began in the middle of December and lasted through the first few days of January. Most of the

representatives were from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. There were a few from New
Hampshire and Vermont.

The Federalists called the meeting to protest the war with Britain. Many of them had opposed the war
from the beginning. Federalist state governments refused to put their soldiers under control of the central
government. And Federalist banks refused to lend to the government in Washington.

During the early part of the war, many businessmen in the New England states traded with the enemy. All
these things had caused people in other parts of the country to turn against the Federalists. This, in turn,
caused some Federalist extremists to talk of taking the New England states out of the union.

There was some fear that representatives to the Hartford convention would propose a separate and
independent government for New England. Such a proposal -- while the nation was at war with Britain --
would seriously threaten America's future. Not only were the representatives at Hartford to protest the
war, they also were there to plan a convention to change the United States Constitution. They wanted
changes that would protect the interests of the New England states. These states felt threatened because
new states were being created from the western territories.

These new states would weaken the power of New England. Some of the more extreme Federalists, led by
Timothy Pickering, believed Britain would capture New Orleans. By doing so, Britain could control the
Mississippi River, which the western states needed to move their products to market. "If the British
succeed against New Orleans," wrote Pickering, "and I see no reason to question that they will be
successful, then I shall consider the Union as cut in two. I do not expect to see a single representative in
the next Congress from the western states. "

Not all the representatives at the convention were as extreme as Pickering. The majority of them were
more moderate. They did not want to split the union. They only wanted to protect the interests of the New
England states. These more moderate federalists controlled the secret meetings and prevented any

extreme proposals. They were able to do so because of the Republican strength in New England. True, the
federalists controlled the governments of these states, but only by small majorities. There would surely
have been violence had the federalists tried to take these states out of the union.

The federalist leaders made a public statement at Hartford, January fifth. They sharply criticized the war
and President Madison. But they said there was no real reason to withdraw from the central government.
New England's problems, they said, resulted from the war and from the Republican government in

Washington.

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The Federalists wished to limit to four years the time that a man could serve as president. And they
wanted only men born in the United States to serve in the government. Three of the Federalists were
chosen to take this list of proposals to Washington and give it to President Madison. By the time they
arrived, Washington had received the news of the peace treaty signed at Ghent. The war was over.
The three Federalists met with Madison. They made only small talk and said nothing about the demands
of the Hartford convention.

The Federalist Party found itself greatly embarrassed by the peace. Its leaders had long denounced the war
and said Britain could not be defeated. Many of them had traded with the enemy. Some had even worked
with the British against their own country. They had even threatened to break up the Union. While there
was some question about how the war would end, the Federalist Party had supporters. But once the war
was over, its supporters vanished. And the party itself soon disappeared, even in New England.

The Senate acted quickly to approve the treaty with Britain. On February 17, 1815, President Madison
declared the war officially ended. It had lasted two years and eight months. The United States had
suffered thirty thousand casualties -- killed, wounded, or captured. But the war had united the American
people. Albert Gallatin, Madison's treasury secretary and one of the negotiators at Ghent, explained it this
way:

"The war has renewed and reinstated the national feelings and character which the revolution had given
and which were becoming weaker. The people now have more general objects of attachment with which
their pride and political opinions are joined. They are more American. They feel and act more like a
nation."

On the following Fourth of July, the nation celebrated its 39th anniversary of independence. In
Washington, the man who wrote the "Star-Spangled Banner," Francis Scott Key, spoke at the
celebrations.

"My countrymen," he said, "we hold something rich in trust for ourselves and all the rest of mankind. It is
the fire of liberty. If it is ever put out, our darkened land will cast a sad shadow over the nations. If it
lives, its blaze will enlighten and gladden the whole earth. "

President Madison had been elected to his second term in 1812, the year the war started. The next

presidential election was in 1816. Madison continued the tradition, begun by Washington and followed by
Jefferson, of only serving eight years as president. Republican members of the House and Senate met
March fifteenth to choose their presidential and vice presidential candidates.

Three Republicans wanted to be president: Secretary of State James Monroe, former Senator and
Secretary of War William Crawford, and New York Governor Daniel Tompkins. Monroe received 65
votes. Fifty-four of the lawmakers voted for Crawford. With Monroe chosen as the presidential candidate,
the Republicans then chose Governor Tompkins as their vice presidential candidate. The Federalists did
not meet to choose a presidential candidate. But electors from three of the New England states promised
to vote for a New York Federalist, Rufus King. Nineteen states voted in the elections of 1816. That will
be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Maurice Joyce and Jack Moyles. For
transcripts, MP3 and podcasts of our programs, along with historical images, go to

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American
history series in VOA Special English.

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Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

President James Madison retired after two four-year terms. His Republican Party chose another Virginian,
James Monroe, as its next presidential candidate.

The opposition Federalist Party had almost disappeared by the time of the election in 1816. The party did
not even meet to choose a presidential candidate. But three states -- Connecticut, Delaware and

Massachusetts -- promised to vote for a Federalist, Rufus King.

Now, this week in our series, Tony Riggs and Larry West continue the story.

James Monroe easily won the election. He would serve two terms. Monroe was sworn-in as president in
February 1817.

A few months later, he began a long trip to thirteen states. Everywhere he stopped, the people welcomed
him warmly. Even in New England the crowds were large.

The president returned to Washington after three and a half months. He was tired. But he was pleased
with the way the people of the United States had accepted him.

Not everyone was happy that Monroe had been elected. After all, he was the fourth American president
from Virginia. The situation caused hard feelings among political leaders in other states, especially the
states of New England.

Monroe tried to improve this situation. He wanted to give the top four jobs in his cabinet to men from
each of the nation's four major areas: the Northeast, the South, the West and the Middle Atlantic coast.
This would help improve unity. And it would help the president get expert knowledge about each of those
parts of the country.

Monroe was not able to do what he wanted. He got cabinet ministers from only three of the four areas.
The West was not represented.

The top cabinet job -- secretary of state -- went to John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts. Adams was the

son of former president John Adams. John Quincy Adams had been a Federalist, like his father. But he
became a Republican during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson.

Adams had served his country in many ways. He had served as minister to Russia. And he had been the
chief negotiator at the peace talks with Britain following the War of Eighteen Twelve. President Monroe
asked Henry Clay of Kentucky to be secretary of war. But Clay refused.

The president could find no other westerner who would take the job as chief of the War Department. So
he gave it to John C. Calhoun, a congressman from South Carolina. William Crawford of Georgia,
another Southerner, continued as treasury secretary. And William Wirt of Virginia became head of the
Justice Department.

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There also were native American Indians of the Seminole and Creek tribes. Sometimes, people from east
Florida would cross the border and attack American citizens. One serious fight involved Seminole Indians
and people just across the border in the state of Georgia.

General Andrew Jackson was ordered to march against the Indians. He was a hero of the war of 1812
against Britain. Jackson sent a message to President Monroe. He said:

"Let me know in any way that the United States wants possession of the Florida territory. And in sixty
days, it will be done."

Jackson received no answer to his letter. He believed the silence meant that he was free to seize Florida.
He quickly gathered a force of soldiers and marched toward Florida.

General Jackson failed to capture any Indians. But he seized two Spanish towns: Saint Marks and
Pensacola.

He also arrested two British subjects. The two men were tried by a military court. They were found guilty
of spying and giving guns to the Indians. Both were executed.

Jackson left soldiers at several places in Florida. Then he returned to his home in Tennessee.

President Monroe called a cabinet meeting as soon as he learned of Jackson's actions. All the ministers,
except Secretary of State Adams, believed that Jackson had gone too far. But they decided not to
denounce him in public.

Secretary Adams prepared messages to Britain and Spain about the incidents. His message to Britain
carefully stated the activities of the two British subjects in Florida and explained why they were executed.
Britain agreed not to take any action.

Adams's message to Spain explained the situation this way: Spain had failed to keep the peace along the
border as it had promised to do in a treaty. The United States had sent soldiers into Florida only to defend
its citizens on the American side.

The United States recognized that Florida belonged to Spain. But if Americans were forced to enter
Florida again -- in self-defense -- the United States might not return the territory to Spain. Spain had a
choice. It could send enough soldiers to keep order in Florida. Or it could give Florida to the United
States.

Spain really had no choice. At that time, Spain's colonies in South America were rebelling. All had
declared their independence. Jose de San Martin led the struggle in Argentina. Bernardo O'Higgens was
in Chile. And Simon Bolivar created the Republic of Great Columbia in the north.

Spain's forces could not be sent to Florida. They were needed in South America. So the king of Spain
agreed to give Florida to the United States. In exchange, the United States agreed to pay five million
dollars to American citizens who had damage claims against Spain.

The Florida treaty was signed in February 1819. The American Senate quickly approved the treaty. But
the king of Spain delayed his approval for almost two years.

He had hoped the United States would agree to one more demand. He did not want the United States to
recognize the independence of the rebel Spanish colonies in South America.

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Many Americans believed that the United States should recognize the independent republics in South
America. The speaker of the House of Representatives, Henry Clay, agreed.

He said recognition would help protect the rights and liberties of the new republics. He said it would lead
to economic ties with the United States. And he said it would make the new republics follow the lead of
the United States in diplomacy and foreign policy. As a result of all this, Clay said, the United States
would become the leading nation in the Americas.

Secretary of State Adams disagreed. He did not believe that the new republics could develop free and
liberal forms of government. He also feared that United States' recognition of the South American
republics would lead to trouble with European nations.

At the end of the Napoleonic wars, some of the nations of Europe joined in an agreement to keep the
peace. They agreed to help each other put down rebellions. Such rebellions were defeated in Spain and
Italy.

Britain refused to be part of the agreement. And it did not want the alliance to interfere in South America.
Britain had a good trade with the new republics. Britain proposed a joint statement with the United States.
The statement would say that neither country would seize Spanish colonies in the new world. And both
would oppose any effort by Spain to give its American territory to another European nation.

At first, President Monroe thought he would accept the British proposal. He asked former presidents
Jefferson and Madison for their advice. Both urged him to accept it. Secretary of State Adams, however,
disagreed sharply. He said the United States should act alone in protesting European interference in South
America.

President Monroe finally accepted the advice of his secretary of state. He included Adams's ideas in his
message to Congress in 1823. They became known as the Monroe Doctrine. That will be our story next
week.

ANNOUNCER

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Tony Riggs and Larry West.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us each week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American history
series in VOA Special English.

<b>Monroe Doctrine Warns Europe Not to Interfere </b>

<b>in the Americas</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

As we said last week, Spain asked other European countries to help it put down rebellion among Spanish
colonies in Latin America. Some of these colonies had overthrown their Spanish rulers and declared
themselves independent.

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So Britain proposed a joint statement with the United States to say that neither country wanted any of
Spain's territory in the New World. Britain also wanted the United States to join in opposing the transfer
of any of Spain's American territories to any other power in Europe.

Now, Maurice Joyce and Harry Monroe continue the story.

Most of President James Monroe's advisers urged him to accept the British offer. Secretary of State John

Quincy Adams opposed it. He did not believe the United States should tie itself to any European power,
even Britain.

Monroe accepted the advice of his secretary of state. He included Adams' ideas in his message to
Congress in December 1823. This part of the message became known as the Monroe Doctrine.
The president said no European power should, in the future, try to establish a colony anywhere in the
Americas. He said the political system of the European powers was very different from that of the
Americas. Monroe said any attempt to extend this European system to any of the Americas would
threaten the peace and safety of the United States.

The president also said the United States had not interfered with the colonies of any European power in
South America and would not do so in the future.

But, said Monroe, a number of these former colonies had become independent countries. And the United
States had recognized their independence. We would see it as an unfriendly act, he said, for any European
power to try to oppress or control these new American countries in any way.

At the same time, Monroe said, the United States never had -- and never would -- take part in any war
among the European powers. This statement of Monroe's was only part of a presidential message to
Congress. But it clearly stated one of the most important of America's foreign policies.

The nation had continued to grow during Monroe's term as president. A number of new states were added
to the union. Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, and Alabama all became states before 1820. Louisiana had
become the first state to be formed from part of the Louisiana territory that the United States bought from
France.

The rest of this great area was given the name of the Missouri Territory. By 1819, there were enough
people in part of the Missouri Territory for that part to become astate. It would be known as the state of
Missouri. But Missouri could not become a state without the approval of Congress. And this approval was
almost impossible to get.

The problem was slavery. Slaves were not new in America. Spain had brought them to the West Indies
hundreds of years before. In 1619, a ship brought 20 African slaves to Jamestown, Virginia. These black
men were sold to farmers. Over the years, the use of slaves spread to all the American colonies.

There were many more slaves in the agricultural South than in the North. The farms in the North were
smaller and needed less man-power. But in the South, farms were much larger, and needed many men.
Slaves were the least expensive form of labor.

Most of the northern states had passed laws before 1800 freeing slaves. Even the southern states made it
illegal to import more slaves from Africa. But those southerners who already owned slaves believed they
were necessary, and they refused to free them.

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A New York congressman, James Tallmadge, offered an amendment to Missouri's request to become a
state. Tallmadge proposed that no more slaves be brought into Missouri, and that the children of slaves
already there be freed at the age of twenty-five. His proposal started a debate that lasted a year.

Supporters of Tallmadge argued that his proposed amendment was Constitutional. The Constitution, they
said, gave Congress the right to admit new states into the union. This also meant, they said, that Congress
could refuse to admit new states unless these states met conditions demanded by Congress.

Supporters of the amendment also said small farmers of the North and East could not compete with the
southern farmers and the free labor of slaves. They argued that these northern and eastern farmers had as
much right to the land of Missouri as anyone else. The Louisiana territory had been paid for by the taxes
of all Americans.

Those opposed to slavery also argued that slave-holding states would be given too great a voice in the
government if Missouri joined them.

Under the Constitution, three of every five slaves were included in the population count to decide

membership in the House of Representatives. In the past, each time a slave state was admitted to the
union, a free state also had been admitted. This kept a balance in Congress.

Southerners had an answer for each argument of those supporting the Tallmadge amendment. They
agreed that Congress had the Constitutional right to admit or reject a state. But they said Congress did not
have the right to make conditions for a territory to become a state.

William Pinkney of Maryland argued that states already in the union had joined without any conditions. If
Congress, he declared, had the right to set conditions for new states, then these new states would not be
equal to the old ones. The United States no longer would be a union of equal states.

The debate was violent on both sides. Representative Howell Cobb of Georgia told Tallmadge: "You have
started a fire. All the waters of the oceans cannot put it out. Only seas of blood can do so."

The House of Representatives passed the Missouri bill with the Tallmadge amendment. It was rejected by
the Senate. The people of Missouri would try again for statehood when the new Congress met in 1820.
By this time, another free state was ready to enter the union. Maine -- with the permission of

Massachusetts -- asked to become a separate state. Once again, a New York congressman tried to put a
condition on statehood for Missouri. He offered an amendment that Missouri should agree never to permit
any kind of slavery inside its borders.

House Speaker Henry Clay said that as long as any kind of condition was put on Missouri, he could never
permit Maine to become a state. Clay was not strong enough to prevent the House from approving
statehood for Maine. This bill was sent to the Senate for its approval. The Senate, however, joined the
Maine bill with the one for unlimited statehood for Missouri. Senators refused to separate the two.

Finally, Senator Thomas of Illinois offered a compromise. He said Missouri should be admitted as a state
permitting slavery. But he said no other state permitting slavery could be formed from the northern part of
the Louisiana territory.

The compromise was accepted. And Congress approved statehood both for Missouri and Maine. But they
would not become states until President Monroe signed the bills. President Monroe had to make a

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Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Maurice Joyce and Harry Monroe. To
learn more about America's fifth president, go to voaspecialenglish.com. You can download transcripts of
our programs, along with MP3s and podcasts. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A </b>

<b>NATION</b> – an American history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Monroe Dislikes but Signs Missouri Compromise</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In the spring of 1820, President James Monroe was coming to the end of his first four years as president.
He wanted to be elected again. But he faced a difficult decision.

Congress, after much debate between the North and the South, had approved a bill giving statehood to
Missouri. Missouri was part of the Louisiana territory. Southern lawmakers wanted Missouri to permit
slavery. Northerners wanted no slaves in Missouri. A compromise was reached. Missouri could have
slaves. But nowhere else in the northern part of the Louisiana territory would slavery be permitted.
Now, Sarah Long and Steve Ember continue our story of the presidency of James Monroe.

Many southerners were not satisfied. The compromise closed the door against slavery entering large new
areas of land. Southerners -- like all other Americans -- had a right to settle in the new territory. President
Monroe was a slave-owner. He understood the feelings of the South. His friends urged him to veto the
compromise bill, because it limited slavery in the territory.

Monroe believed the compromise was wrong -- but not because it kept slaves out of the territory. The
president did not believe the Constitution gave Congress the right to make such conditions.

Monroe even wrote a veto message explaining why he could not approve the compromise. But he did not
use the veto. He also understood the strong feelings of those opposed to slavery.

He believed there might be civil war if he rejected the compromise. So Monroe signed the bill. Missouri
had permission to enter the union as a slave state.

The crisis seemed ended. But a few months later, a new problem developed. Missouri wrote a state
constitution that it sent to Congress for approval. One part of this constitution did not permit free black
men to enter the state. The constitution was immediately opposed by a number of congressmen. They
charged that it violated the United States constitution.

The United States Constitution said citizens of each state had the rights of citizens of each of the other
states. And since free black men were citizens of some states, they should have the right to be citizens of
Missouri. The debate over this lasted several months.

Former House speaker Henry Clay finally proposed a compromise that both sides accepted. Missouri
could become a state if its legislature would make this promise: it would never pass any law that would
violate the rights of any citizen of another state. This second compromise ended the dispute over slavery
in Missouri and the Louisiana territory.

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[Former President] Thomas Jefferson used these words to explain his feelings about the compromise:
"This question -- like a fire bell in the night -- awakened and filled me with terror. I understood it at once
as the threat of death to the union. It is hushed, indeed, for the moment.

"But," said Jefferson, "this is a reprieve only. Not a final settlement."

Monroe's decision to approve the compromise did not hurt his election chances in 1820. There was at this

time really only one party -- the Republican -- and he was its leader. The opposition Federalist Party was
dead. It was no longer an election threat.

Monroe was the only presidential candidate in the election of 1820. He received the vote of every elector,
but one. William Plumer of New Hampshire voted for John Quincy Adams. He explained later that
George Washington had been the only president to get all the electoral votes. Plumer said he did not want
anyone to share this honor given to Washington.

Monroe's first four years as president had been successful. He had increased the size of the United States.
Florida now was part of the country. And the problem of slavery had been temporarily settled. There had
been economic problems -- some of the worst in the nation's history. But the situation was getting better.
The nation was growing. As it grew, new problems developed between its different sections. There were
really three separate areas with very different interests. The northeastern states had become the industrial
center of the nation. The southern states were agricultural with large farms that produced cotton, rice and
tobacco. Much of the work on these farms was done by slave labor.

The western states were areas of small farms where grain was produced with free labor. It was a place
where a man could make a new start. Could build a new life. The land did not cost much. And the fruits of
a man's labor were his own.

This division of the nation into different sections with opposing interests ended the one-party system of
Monroe's administration. The industrial Northeast wanted high taxes on imported products to protect its
industry from foreign competition. This part of the country also believed the national government should
pay for roads and waterways to get their products to markets.

The South did not agree to high import taxes. These taxes raised the prices on all goods. And import taxes
on foreign goods might cause foreign nations to raise import taxes on southern cotton and tobacco. The
South also opposed spending federal money for roads and canals. The mountains through the southern
Atlantic states would make road-building difficult and canals impossible.

The western states supported government aid in the building of roads and canals. The Ohio and

Mississippi rivers were the only inexpensive transportation systems for moving their products to markets.
The westerners also supported high taxes on imports, because they believed such taxes would raise the
prices of their agricultural products.

The separate interests of these different sections produced an exciting presidential election campaign in
1824. Each section had at least one candidate. Several had more than one. The campaign began almost as
soon as Monroe was elected for the second time.

At one time, as many as 16 men thought of themselves as presidential possibilities. By 1822, the number
had been reduced to six men. Three of them were members of Monroe's cabinet: Secretary of State John
Quincy Adams, Treasury Secretary William Crawford, and Secretary of War John C. Calhoun.

Adams was the only northern candidate. He was an extremely able man. There were few jobs in

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Treasury Secretary Crawford was a southerner -- born in Virginia -- and a large landowner in Georgia.
Crawford had received some votes when the Republicans chose Monroe as their presidential candidate in
1816. He was a good politician and supported by most southern Republicans.

War Secretary Calhoun also was a southern candidate. But he had much less support than Crawford. His
home state -- South Carolina -- first named another man as its candidate. When that man died, they named
Calhoun.

The West had two candidates in the election of 1824. One was Henry Clay of Kentucky -- "Harry of the
West" -- a great lawyer, congressman, speaker of the House and senator. The other was Andrew Jackson
-- "Old Hickory" -- the hero of New Orleans [the Battle of New Orleans during the war of 1812]. Jackson
was poorly educated, knew little about government, and had a terrible temper. He was a fighter, a man of
the people.

The sixth candidate was Dewitt Clinton of New York. He was governor of that state and leader of the
commission that built the Erie Canal. But New York presidential electors were chosen by the legislature,
which was controlled by Clinton's enemies. So Clinton's chances were poor.

Treasury Secretary Crawford was clearly the leading candidate two years before the election. But he had a
serious illness in the autumn of 1823. He could not meet with the cabinet for months. He could not sign
official papers.

Crawford did go back to work. But he was only a shadow of the man he had been. "He walks slowly, like
a blind man," wrote one reporter. So that took secretary Crawford out as a possible candidate for the
coming election.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Steve Ember and Sarah Long. To learn
more about American history, go to voaspecialenglish.com. We have transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of
our programs as well as historical images. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>

– an American history series in VOA Special English.

<b>In Election of 1824, a Clash of Personalities </b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Four of the first five presidents of the United States came from Virginia. They were George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe.

The second president, John Adams, was a New Englander. In the election of 1824, his son, John Quincy
Adams, was one of four leading candidates for president. At the same time, the West began to make its
presence felt in national politics.

This week in our series, Maurice Joyce and Stewart Spencer discuss the election of 1824.

General Andrew Jackson of Tennessee got the most electoral votes: ninety-nine. But he needed one
hundred thirty-one to win a majority.

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None of the candidates got a majority of the votes. And the decision went to the House of
Representatives. The House voted on only the three top candidates for president.

The most powerful man in Congress -- Henry Clay -- was not, therefore, a candidate. But Clay's support
would be the greatest help any of the candidates could receive. All three wanted his support.

Treasury Secretary Crawford had suffered a serious illness before the election, and his health was bad.
Clay felt he could not support him for that reason.

This left Adams and Jackson. Clay did not agree with all of Adams's policies. But he did believe Adams
had the education and ability to be president.

Clay did not like Jackson, the hero of New Orleans during the War of Eighteen Twelve. He knew Jackson
was poorly educated and easy to anger. Clay did not think Jackson would be a good president.

So Clay decided to support Adams for president. He said nothing about this for a time. Several of Clay's
friends visited Adams. They told him that Clay's supporters in the West would be pleased if Adams, as
president, named Clay as secretary of state.

Adams told them that if the votes of the West elected him president, he would put a westerner in his
cabinet. But he would not promise that the westerner would be Clay, or that the cabinet job would be that
of secretary of state.

Clay still had not said publicly which candidate he supported. But it became known that his choice was

Adams. Late in January, the Philadelphia newspaper Columbian Observer published an unsigned letter.
The letter charged that Clay and Adams had made a secret agreement.

Clay, the letter said, would give his support to Adams. In exchange, Adams would name Clay his
secretary of state.

Clay was furious. He not only denied the charge, but offered to fight a duel with the letter-writer, should
his name be known. Much was made of the charge that Clay had sold his vote to Adams. But no proof
was ever given.

Clay demanded an investigation. But the man who accused him in the newspaper letter refused to say
anything. Clay was sure Jackson's supporters were responsible.

Snow was falling in Washington on the morning of February ninth, the day that Congress would elect the
president. At noon, members of the Senate walked into the House of Representatives.

The electoral votes were counted, and it was announced officially that no candidate had won. The
senators left, and the House began voting.

Each state had one vote for president. Adams was sure he would get the votes of twelve states. Crawford
had the votes of four and Jackson, seven. New York was the question. Seventeen of the New York
congressmen were for Adams, and seventeen were opposed to him. Adams needed just one of these
opposition votes to get the vote of New York and become president.

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They both told the New York congressman that the safety of the nation depended on the election of
Adams as president. Clay and Webster told the old man that his was the most important vote in the whole
Congress. That Stephen Van Rensselaer would decide who would be president.

The old man's head was not too clear after listening to Clay and Webster. He still did not know what to
do.

When the New York congressmen voted, Van Rensselaer still was not sure of his choice. And he put his
head down on his desk and asked God to help him make the right choice.

After this short prayer, he opened his eyes and saw on the floor at his feet a piece of paper with Adams's
name on it. Van Rensselaer picked it up and put it in the ballot box as his vote.

This gave Adams the vote of the state of New York and made him president of the United States. A
committee of congressmen was sent to Mr. Adams's home to tell him of the vote.

One member of the committee described the secretary of state: "Sweat rolled down his face. He shook
from head to foot and was so nervous he could hardly stand to speak."

Later in the evening, Adams had control of himself. President Monroe gave a big party at the White
House. Adams was there. So was Jackson, and Clay.

During the party, Adams and Jackson met face to face. Jackson had his arm around a young lady.
"How do you do, Mr. Adams," said Jackson. "I give you my left hand, for the right -- as you see -- is
devoted to the fair. I hope you are well, sir."

"Very well, sir," answered Adams, coolly. "I hope General Jackson is well."

Two days later, Adams told President Monroe that he had decided to offer the job of secretary of state to
Clay. He said he was doing so because of the western support he had received.

Clay thought deeply for a week about the offer. He asked a number of friends for advice. Most of them
urged him to take the job. They told him that a man of the West was needed in the cabinet. And they said
being secretary of state would greatly help his own chances of becoming president some day.

Clay accepted the offer. He said he would serve as Adams's secretary of state. Until now, General Jackson

had refused to believe the charges that Clay had sold his vote to Adams for the top cabinet job. Now he
was sure of it. He wrote to a friend: "Was there ever before such bare faced corruption. What is this trade
of vote for office, if not bribery?"

Many of Jackson's supporters did not believe John Quincy Adams had the ability to be political leader of
the party. They believed that Clay would seize the party leadership and use this power to help himself
become elected the next president.

Jackson, himself a senator, showed his feelings when the Senate was asked to approve Clay as secretary
of state. He voted no. And thirteen other senators joined him against the nomination. But they were too
few to prevent Clay from getting the job.

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"I became a soldier for the good of my country," Jackson wrote. "Difficulties met me at every step. I
thank God that it was my duty to overcome them. I am in no way responsible to Henry Clay. There is a
purer court to which I will put my case -- to the intelligent judgment of our patriotic and honest voters."
General Jackson returned to Nashville to rest and plan. He was still a senator, and he questioned if it
might not be best for him to resign from the Senate. He would be free of Washington politics and able to
build his political strength for the election in 1828. He decided to resign.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Maurice Joyce and Stewart Spencer.
Transcripts of our programs along with podcasts and archives of MP3s can be found at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us each week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history
series in VOA Special English.

<b>John Quincy Adams, a Man Raised to Serve</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

John Quincy Adams was sworn in as president of the United States on March fourth, 1825. A big crowd
came to the Capitol building for the ceremony. All the leaders of government were there: senators,
congressmen, Supreme Court justices and James Monroe, whose term as president was ending.
This week in our series, Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith talk about John Quincy Adams, the sixth
president of the United States.

John Quincy Adams spoke to the crowd. The main idea in his speech was unity. Adams said the

Constitution and the representative democracy of the United States had proved a success. The nation was
free and strong. And it stretched from the Atlantic Ocean across the continent of North America to the
Pacific Ocean.

During the past ten years, he noted, political party differences had eased. So now, he said, it was time for
the people to settle their differences to make a truly national government. Adams closed his speech by
recognizing that he was a minority president. He said he needed the help of everyone in the years to come.
Then he took the oath that made him the sixth president of the United States.

John Quincy Adams had been raised to serve his country. His father was John Adams, the second
president of the United States. His mother, Abigail, made sure he received an excellent education. There
were three major periods in John Quincy Adams's public life. The period as president was the shortest.
For about twenty-five years, Adams held mostly appointed jobs. He was the United States ambassador to
the Netherlands, Germany, Russia, and Britain. He helped lead the negotiations that ended the War of
Eighteen Twelve between Britain and the United States. And he served eight years as secretary of state.
He was president for four years after that. Then he served about seventeen years in the House of

Representatives. He died in 1848.

As secretary of state, Adams had two major successes. He was mostly responsible for the policy called the
Monroe Doctrine. In that policy, President James Monroe declared that no European power should try to

establish a colony anywhere in the Americas. Any attempt to do so would be considered a threat to the
peace and safety of the United States.

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line went from the Gulf of Mexico to the Rocky Mountains. From there, it went to the Pacific Ocean,
along what is now the border between the states of Oregon and California.

John Quincy Adams did not care for political battles. Instead, he tried to bring his political opponents and
the different parts of the country together in his cabinet. His opponents, however, refused to serve. And,
although his cabinet included southerners, he did not really have the support of the South.

Others in his administration tried to use the political power that he refused to use. One was Vice President
John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. Calhoun hoped to be president himself one day. He tried to influence
Adams's choices for cabinet positions. Adams rejected Calhoun's ideas and made his own choices.

Senator James Barbour, a former governor of Virginia, became secretary of war. Richard Rush of
Pennsylvania became secretary of the treasury. And William Wirt of Maryland continued as attorney
general. Adams thought he had chosen men who would represent the different interests of the different
parts of the country.

In his first message to Congress, President Adams described his ideas about the national government. 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.

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

Many people of the West and South did not believe that the Constitution gave the national government the
power to do all these things. They believed that these powers belonged to the states. Their representatives
in Congress rejected Adams's proposals.

The political picture in the United States began to change during the administration of John Quincy
Adams. His opponents won control of both houses of Congress in the elections of 1826.

These men called themselves Democrats. They supported General Andrew Jackson for president in the
next presidential election in 1828.

A major piece of legislation during President Adams's term involved import taxes. A number of western
states wanted taxes on industrial goods imported from other countries. The purpose was to protect their
own industries.

Southern states opposed import taxes. They produced no industrial goods that needed protection. And
they said the Constitution did not give the national government the right to approve such taxes.

Democrats needed the support of both the West and South to get Andrew Jackson elected president. So
they proposed a bill that appeared to help the West, but was sure to be defeated. They thought the West
would be happy that Democrats had tried to help. And the South would be happy that there would be no
import taxes.

To the Democrats' surprise, many congressmen from the Northeast joined with congressmen from the
West to vote for the bill. They did so even though the bill would harm industries in the Northeast. Their
goal was to keep alive the idea of protective trade taxes.

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If he signed the bill, it would show he believed that the Constitution permitted protective trade taxes. That
would create even more opposition to him in the South. If he vetoed it, then he would lose support in the
West and Northeast. Adams signed the bill. But he made clear that Congress was fully responsible for it.
There were other attempts by Democrats in Congress to weaken support for President Adams. For
example, they claimed that Adams was misusing government money. They tried to show that he, and his
father before him, had become rich from government service.

Others accused him of giving government jobs to his supporters. This charge was false. Top

administration officials had urged Adams to give government jobs only to men who were loyal to him.
Adams refused. He felt that as long as a government worker had done nothing wrong, he should continue
in his job.

During his four years as president, he removed only twelve people from government jobs. In each case,
the person had failed to do his work or had done something criminal. Adams often gave jobs to people
who did not support him politically. He believed it was completely wrong to give a person a job for
political reasons. Many of Adams's supporters, who had worked hard to get him elected, could not
understand this. Their support for him cooled.

The political battle between Adams's Republican Party and Jackson's Democratic Party was bitter.
Perhaps the worst fighting took place in the press. Each side had its own newspaper. The Daily National
Journal supported the administration. The United States Telegraph supported Andrew Jackson.

At first, the administration's newspaper called for national unity and an end to personal politics. Then it
changed its policy. The paper had to defend charges of political wrongdoing within the Republican Party.
It needed to turn readers away from these problems. So it printed a pamphlet that had been used against
Andrew Jackson during an election campaign.

The pamphlet accused Jackson of many bad things. The most damaging part said he had taken another
man's wife. That will be our story on the next program of <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Shirley Griffith and Steve Ember.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us each week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American history
series in VOA Special English.

<b>In Election of 1828, a Bitter Campaign</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> –- American history in VOA Special English.

The presidential campaign of 1828 was bitter and vicious, full of angry words and accusations. The old
Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe had split into two opposing
groups. One group was led by President John Quincy Adams and Secretary of State Henry Clay. It called
itself the National Republican Party. The other group was led by General Andrew Jackson. It called itself
the Democratic Party.

This week in our series, Sarah Long and Steve Ember talk about the election of 1828.

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The Journal, in turn, published a pamphlet that had been used against Jackson earlier. Among other
things, the pamphlet charged that Jackson had fought a man, chased him away like a dog, and then took
his wife. The charge was not true. This is the story. It is important, because it had a great effect on
Andrew Jackson for the rest of his life.

Jackson met the young woman, Rachel, at her mother's home near Nashville, Tennessee. At the time,
Rachel and her husband, Lewis Robards, were living there. They were having marriage problems.
Robards argued with his wife about Jackson. He said she and Jackson seemed too close. Jackson was
advised to leave, and he agreed to go.

Before he left, he met with Robards. Robards reportedly wanted to fight Jackson with his fists. Jackson
refused to fist-fight. But, he said he would face Robards in a duel, if Robards wished to fight like a
gentleman. Robards rejected the invitation, and nothing more happened between the two men. Jackson
left.

Robards and Rachel settled their differences. She went back to their home in Kentucky, but did not stay

long. They had another dispute, and she left. Court records say she left with a man -- Andrew Jackson.
Rachel's family had heard how unhappy she was with Robards, and had asked Jackson to bring her back
to Tennessee. Robards followed them. Rachel told him she wanted a divorce. Robards threatened her. He
said he would carry her away by force if she did not go back to Kentucky. Rachel decided to flee. She
would go with some traders to Natchez, in the Mississippi territory. It would be a dangerous trip down the
Cumberland, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers.

Jackson was troubled. He felt badly, because he had been the cause of Rachel's unhappiness. By now,
Rachel meant much to Jackson. He had fallen in love with her. When the traders asked him to go to
Natchez, he agreed. The group left early in 1791.

A few weeks earlier, Lewis Robards had begun preparations for a divorce. He did not complete the
necessary action, however. Yet he led Rachel's family to believe that he had. That the two of them were
no longer married.

Jackson returned to Nashville after several months. He asked for permission to marry Rachel, now that
she was free of Robards. Rachel's mother gave her permission.

Andrew Jackson and Rachel were married in August seventeen-ninety-one. Both were twenty-four years
old. They remained in Tennessee. The next two years were busy ones for Jackson. As a young lawyer, he
worked hard and traveled far.

In December, 1793, he discovered court papers showing that Lewis Robards had only recently divorced
Rachel. This meant that at the time Jackson and Rachel were married, she was still legally married to
Robards. Jackson was shocked. As soon as possible, he and Rachel were married again -- legally this
time.

Almost ten years passed. Jackson was a judge and took part in Tennessee politics. One day, Jackson met
the state's governor outside the court house in Knoxville. The governor was telling a large crowd about
his great services to the state.

Jackson felt it necessary to say that he, too, had done some public services. "Services," shouted the
governor. "I know of no great service you have done the country except taking a trip to Natchez with
another man's wife!"

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years later, Jackson killed a man in a duel, after the other man made a joke -- while drunk -- about
Jackson's marriage.

As a candidate for president, Jackson could not take to the dueling field to defend his wife's honor. He
wanted to. But he knew it would prevent him from being elected.

Jackson asked a special committee of citizens to investigate his marriage and make a public report. The
committee found that Jackson and Rachel got married only after they believed her first husband had
divorced her.

As soon as the mistake was discovered, they were married again, legally. The report said they were not at
fault.

The pro-Jackson newspaper in Washington published the committee's report. But anti-Jackson
newspapers did not. They insulted him and his wife.

General Jackson struggled to control his anger. "How hard it is," he said, "to keep myself away from these
villains. I have made many sacrifices for my country. But being unable to punish those who lie about my
wife is a sacrifice too great to bear."

Anti-Jackson newspapers continued to print vicious lies about him. And the pro-Jackson newspapers
began to print vicious lies about President Adams and his wife.

All during the bitter campaign, neither candidate said anything about one very important issue: slavery.
Adams did not want to lose what little support he had in the South and West by denouncing slavery.

Jackson did not want to lose the support of some Republicans in the North by openly defending it.

Adams's silence did not mean that he approved of slavery. Southerners were sure that he opposed it. And
Jackson did not have to tell the South what he thought about slavery. He was a slave owner, and had
bought and sold slaves all his life.

There was another important difference between the two men and their political parties. President Adams
and the Republicans represented the interests of those who owned property.

Many of the president's supporters felt that wealthy, property-owning citizens should control the
government. They feared popular rule, or government elected by all the people.

Jackson and the Democrats represented the interests of common men. They did not feel that the rich had
more right to govern than the poor. They believed in the democratic right of all men to share equally in
the government.

The election was held in different states on different days between October thirty-first and November
fifth, 1828. In two states -- South Carolina and Delaware -- the legislature chose the presidential electors.
In all the other states, the electors were chosen by the voters. When the electoral votes were counted,
Jackson received one hundred seventy-eight. Adams received only eighty-three. It was a great victory for
Jackson.

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Someone proposed that Rachel Jackson stay in Tennessee until her health became better. Then she could
join her husband at the White House in Washington. Rachel did not want to go to Washington. But she
felt that her place was with her husband. That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Sarah Long and Steve Ember.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American

history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Tragedy Hits as Jackson Prepares for Presidency</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Last week in our series, we talked about the election of 1828. Andrew Jackson defeated President John
Quincy Adams, after a campaign in which both sides made bitter and vicious charges. One of those
charges was about Jackson's wife, Rachel.

His opponents accused him of taking her from another man. They said Andrew and Rachel were married
before she was legally divorced from her first husband. This was true. But it was because her first

husband said he had divorced her, when really he had not. Andrew and Rachel remarried -- legally this
time -- after they learned of the situation.

Rachel Jackson was a kind and simple woman. The campaign charges hurt her deeply. She was proud that
Andrew was elected president. But she was not happy about the life she would have to lead as first lady.
At first, it was thought that she might remain in Tennessee. But Rachel Jackson knew that her place was
with her husband. She would go with him to Washington.

But then, tragedy intervened. Our story this week is told by Jack Weitzel and Stewart Spencer.

Preparations had to be made for the move to Washington. And for weeks, the Jackson home was busy.
There was little time for Misses Jackson to rest. Her health seemed to suffer. Then on December

seventeenth, just a few days before the Jacksons were to leave for Washington, two doctors were rushed
to the Jackson home outside Nashville. They found Rachel in great pain. She seemed to be suffering a

heart attack. The doctors treated her, and for a time, she seemed to get better.

After a day or so, Rachel was able to sit up and talk with friends. She seemed cheerful. Jackson was at her
side much of the time. On Sunday, Rachel sat up too long and began feeling worse. But the doctors said it
was not serious, and they urged General Jackson to get some rest. He was to go to Nashville the next day.
After her husband went to sleep in the next room, Rachel had her servant help her to sit up again. Rachel's
mind was troubled about the years ahead in Washington. "I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of
God," she said, "than live in that palace in Washington."

A few minutes after ten that night, Rachel cried out and fell from her chair. The servants' screams
awakened everyone. Jackson was the first to get to Rachel. He lifted her to the bed. He watched as the
doctors bent over her. Jackson read in their eyes that life had left Rachel. Jackson could not believe it. He
sat next to her, his head in his hands, his fingers through his gray hair.

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Rachel was buried two days later. Ten-thousand persons went to the Jackson home for the funeral. The
Reverend William Hume spoke simply of Rachel Jackson's life. He talked of her kindness and humility.
And he told how she had been hurt by the terrible charges made during the election campaign.

Jackson fought to hold back his tears. When the churchman finished speaking, those near Jackson heard
him say: "In the presence of this dear saint, I can and do forgive all my enemies. But those vile wretches
who have lied about her, must look to God for mercy."

Jackson felt that Rachel's death was caused by the vicious charges made during the election campaign. He
told a friend a few days later: "May God almighty forgive her murderers as I know she would forgive
them. I never can." Jackson left his home January eighteenth to begin the long trip to Washington. "My
Heart is nearly broken," he said. "I try to lift my spirits, but cannot."

In Washington, no one knew what to expect. Senator Daniel Webster wrote a friend at Boston: "General
Jackson will be here about the fifteenth of February. Nobody knows what he will do when he does come.
My opinion is that when he comes, he will bring a breeze with him. Which way it will blow, I cannot tell.

My fear is stronger than my hope."

Crowds of Jackson's supporters began arriving in the capital. Some wanted to see their man sworn-in as
president. Many wanted -- and expected -- a government job. General Jackson arrived in Alexandria,
Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, on February twelfth.

Jackson was sixty-one years old. He was a tall, thin man. His face was wrinkled. And his white hair was
pushed back from his high forehead. His eyes -- usually sharp and commanding -- were filled with grief.
Jackson's health had never been really good. He carried in his body two bullets from duels fought years
before. But he was a tough man with a spirit strong enough to keep moving, even when seriously sick. For
three weeks, the general met with his advisers and friends. He decided on the men who would form his
cabinet.

For the job of Secretary of State, Jackson chose Martin Van Buren of New York, a man of great political
ability. He named a Pennsylvania businessman, Samuel Ingham, to be secretary of the treasury. John
Berrien of Georgia was chosen to be attorney general. His Navy Secretary would be John Branch, a
former senator and governor of North Carolina. For war secretary, Jackson chose an old friend, Senator
John Eaton of Tennessee.

Three members of this cabinet -- Berrien, Branch, and Ingham -- were friends of John C. Calhoun,

Jackson's vice president. Calhoun expected to be president himself when Jackson stepped down in four or
eight years. Martin Van Buren also wanted the presidency. He would do all he could to block Calhoun's
ambition.

Andrew Jackson was sworn-in as president on March 4, 1829. President John Quincy Adams did not go
to the ceremony at the Capitol building. Jackson had said publicly he would not go near Adams. And he
did not make the traditional visit to the White House while Adams was there. Jackson was still filled with
bitterness over the charges made against his wife in the election campaign. He felt Adams was at least
partly responsible for the charges.

The sky over Washington was cloudy on the fourth of March. But the clouds parted, and the sun shone
through, as Jackson began the ride to the Capitol building. His cheering supporters saw this as a good
sign. So many people crowded around the Capitol that Jackson had to climb a wall and enter from the
back. He walked through the building and into the open area at the front where the ceremony would be
held.

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Kentucky, Amos Kendall. "It is a proud day for the people," wrote Kendall. "General Jackson is their own
president."

From the Capitol, Jackson rode down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. Behind him followed all
those who had watched him become the nation's seventh president. The crowds followed him all the way
into the White House, where food and drink had been put out for a party.

Everyone tried to get in at once. Clothing was torn. Glasses and dishes were broken. Chairs and tables
were damaged. Never had there been a party like this at the White House. Jackson stayed for a while. But
the crush of people tired him, and he was able to leave. He spent the rest of the day in his hotel room in
Alexandria.

The guests at the White House finally left after drinks were put on the table outside the building. Many of
the people left through windows, because the doors were so crowded.

Jackson was now the president of the people. And it seemed that everybody was in Washington looking
for a government job. Everywhere Jackson turned, he met people who asked him for a job. They urged
him to throw out those government workers who supported Adams in the election. They demanded that
these jobs be given to Jackson supporters.

Listen next week for more about Andrew Jackson. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The
narrators were Jack Weitzel and Stuart Spencer.

Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, along with historical images, are online at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us each week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – an American history
series in VOA Special English.

<b>Split Divides Jackson, Vice President Calhoun</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Andrew Jackson became president of the United States in March of 1829. Thousands of his supporters
came to Washington to see him sworn-in. Many were there, however, only to get a government job. They
expected President Jackson to dismiss all the government workers who did not support him in the

election. Jackson supporters wanted those jobs for themselves.

This week in our series, Frank Oliver and Maurice Joyce continue the story of Andrew Jackson and his
presidency.

Most of the jobs were in the Post Office Department, headed by Postmaster General John McLean.
McLean told Jackson that if he had to remove postmasters who took part in the election, he would remove
those who worked for Jackson as well as those who worked for the re-election of President John Quincy
Adams.

Jackson removed McLean as postmaster general. William Barry of Kentucky was named to the position.
Barry was willing to give jobs to Jackson's supporters. But he, too, refused to take jobs from people who
had done nothing wrong.

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from the government. These were the people President Jackson wanted to remove. And he learned it was

difficult for him to take a job away from someone who really needed it.

One old man came to Jackson from Albany, New York. He told Jackson he was postmaster in that city.
He said the politicians wanted to take his job. The old man said he had no other way to make a living.
When the president did not answer, the old man began to take off his coat. "I am going to show you my
wounds," he said. "I got them fighting the British with General George Washington during the war for
independence."

The next day, a New York congressman took President Jackson a list of names of government workers
who were to be removed. The name of the old man from Albany was on the list. He had not voted for
Jackson. "By the eternal!" shouted Jackson. "I will not remove that old man. Do you know he carries a
pound of British lead in his body?"

The job of another old soldier was threatened. The man had a large family and no other job. He had lost a
leg on the battlefield during the war for independence. He had not voted for Jackson, either. But that did
not seem to matter to the president. "If he lost a leg fighting for his country," Jackson said, "that is vote
enough for me. He will keep his job." Jackson's supporters who failed to get the jobs they expected had to
return home.

Next, the president had to deal with a split that developed between himself and Vice President John C.
Calhoun. The trouble grew out of a problem in the cabinet. Three of the cabinet members were supporters
and friends of Calhoun. These were Treasury Secretary Samuel Ingham, Attorney General John Berrien,
and Navy Secretary John Branch.

A fourth member of the cabinet, Secretary of State Martin van Buren, opposed Calhoun. The fifth
member of the cabinet was Jackson's close friend, John Eaton.

Eaton had been married a few months before Jackson became president. Stories said he and the young
woman had lived together before they were married. Vice President Calhoun tried to use the issue to force
Eaton from the cabinet. He started a personal campaign against Mrs. Eaton.

Calhoun's wife, and the wives of his three men in the cabinet, refused to have anything to do with her.
This made President Jackson angry, because he liked the young woman.

The split between Jackson and Calhoun deepened over another issue. Jackson learned that Calhoun -- as a
member of former president James Monroe's cabinet -- had called for Jackson's arrest. Calhoun wanted to
punish Jackson for his military campaign into Spanish Florida in 1818.

Another thing that pushed the two men apart was Calhoun's belief that the rights of the states were
stronger than the rights of the federal government. His feelings became well known during a debate on a
congressional bill.

In 1828, Congress had passed a bill that -- among other things -- put taxes on imports. The purpose of the
tax was to protect American industries.

The South opposed the bill mainly because it had almost no industry. It was an agricultural area. Import
taxes would only raise the price of products the South imported. The South claimed that the import tax
was not constitutional. It said the constitution did not give the federal government the right to make a
protective tax.

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Calhoun noted that the federal government was formed by an agreement among the independent states.
That agreement, he said, was the Constitution. In it, he said, the powers of the states and the powers of the
federal government were divided. But, he said, supreme power -- sovereignty -- was not divided.

Calhoun argued that supreme power belonged to the states. He said they did not surrender this power
when they ratified the Constitution. In any dispute between the states and the federal government, he said,
the states should decide what is right. If the federal government passed a law that was not constitutional,
then that law was null and void. It had no meaning or power.

Then Calhoun brought up the question of the method to decide if a law was constitutional. He said the

power to make such a decision was held by the states. He said the Supreme Court did not have the power,
because it was part of the federal government.

Calhoun argued that if the federal government passed a law that any state thought was not constitutional,
or against its interests, that state could temporarily suspend the law.

The other states of the union, Calhoun said, would then be asked to decide the question of the law's
constitutionality. If two-thirds of the states approved the law, the complaining state would have to accept
it, or leave the union. If less than two-thirds of the states approved it, then the law would be rejected.
None of the states would have to obey it. It would be nullified -- cancelled.

The idea of nullification was debated in the Senate by Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Robert
Hayne of South Carolina. Hayne spoke first. He stated that there was no greater evil than giving more
power to the federal government. The major point of his speech could be put into a few words: liberty
first, union afterwards.

Webster spoke next. He declared that the Constitution was not the creature of the state governments. It
was more than an agreement among states. It was the law of the land. Supreme power was divided,
Webster said, between the states and the union. The federal government had received from the people the
same right to govern as the states.

Webster declared that the states had no right to reject an act of the federal government and no legal right
to leave the union. If a dispute should develop between a state and the federal government, he said, the
dispute should be settled by the Supreme Court of the United States.

Webster said Hayne had spoken foolishly when he used the words: liberty first, union afterwards. They
could not be separated, Webster said. It was liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable.
No one really knew how President Jackson felt about the question of nullification. He had said nothing
during the debate. Did he support Calhoun's idea. Or did he agree with Webster. That will be our story
next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Frank Oliver and Maurice Joyce.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>For President Jackson, a Question of States' </b>

<b>Rights</b>

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Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.
In our last few programs, we described the presidential election campaign of 1828. It split the old

Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson into two hostile groups: the National Republicans of John Quincy
Adams and the Democrats of Andrew Jackson. The election of Jackson deepened the split. It became
more serious as a new dispute arose over import taxes.

This week in our series, Maurice Joyce and Stewart Spencer continue the story of Andrew Jackson's
presidency.

Congress passed a bill in 1828 that put high taxes on a number of imported products. The purpose of the
import tax was to protect American industries from foreign competition. The South opposed the tax,
because it had no industry to protect. Its chief product was cotton, which was exported to Europe.

The American import taxes forced European nations to put taxes on American cotton. This meant a drop
in the sale of cotton and less money for the planters of the South. It also meant higher prices in the
American market for manufactured goods.

South Carolina refused to pay the import tax. It said the tax was not constitutional, that the constitution
did not give the federal government the power to order a protective tax.

At one time, the vice president of the United States -- John C. Calhoun of South Carolina -- had believed
in a strong central government. But he had become a strong supporter of states' rights.

Calhoun wrote a long statement against the import tax for the South Carolina legislature. In it, he

developed the idea of nullification -- cancelling federal powers. He said the states had created the federal
government and, therefore, the states had the greater power. He argued that the states could reject, or
nullify, any act of the central government which was not constitutional. And, Calhoun said, the states
should be the judge of whether an act was constitutional or not.

Calhoun's idea was debated in the Senate by Robert Hayne of South Carolina and Daniel Webster of
Massachusetts. Hayne supported nullification, and Webster opposed it. Webster said Hayne was wrong in
using the words "liberty first, and union afterwards." He said they could not be separated. Said Webster:
"Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable."

No one really knew how President Andrew Jackson felt about nullification. He made no public statement
during the debate. Leaders in South Carolina developed a plan to get the president's support. They decided
to hold a big dinner honoring the memory of Thomas Jefferson. Jackson agreed to be at the dinner.

The speeches were carefully planned. They began by praising the democratic ideas of Jefferson. Then
speakers discussed Virginia's opposition to the alien and sedition laws passed by the federal government
in seventeen-ninety-eight.

Next they discussed South Carolina's opposition to the import tax. Finally, the speeches were finished. It
was time for toasts. President Jackson made the first one. He stood up, raised his glass, and looked
straight at John C. Calhoun. He waited for the cheering to stop. "Our union," he said, "it must be
preserved."

Calhoun rose with the others to drink the toast. He had not expected Jackson's opposition to nullification.

His hand shook, and he spilled some of the wine from his glass.

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President Jackson left a few minutes later. Most of those at dinner left with him.

The nation now knew how the president felt. And the people were with him -- opposed to nullification.
But the idea was not dead among the extremists of South Carolina. They were to start more trouble two
years later.

Calhoun's nullification doctrine was not the only thing that divided Jackson and the vice president.
Calhoun had led a campaign against the wife of Jackson's friend and secretary of war, John Eaton.
Three members of Jackson's cabinet supported Calhoun. Mr. Calhoun and the three cabinet wives would
have nothing to do with Mr. Eaton. Jackson saw this as a political trick to try to force Eaton from the
cabinet, and make Jackson look foolish at the same time.

The hostility between Jackson and his vice president was sharpened by a letter that was written by a
member of President Monroe's cabinet. It told how Calhoun wanted Jackson arrested in 1818.
The letter writer, William Crawford, was in the cabinet with Calhoun. Jackson had led a military
campaign into Spanish Florida and had hanged two British citizens. Calhoun proposed during a cabinet
meeting that Jackson be punished. Jackson did not learn of this until 1829. Jackson wanted no further
communications with Calhoun.

Several attempts were made to soften relations between Calhoun and Jackson. One of them seemed to
succeed. Jackson told Secretary of State Martin Van Buren that the dispute had been settled. He said the
unfriendly letters that he and Calhoun sent each other would be destroyed. And he said he would invite
the vice president to have dinner with him at the White House.

With the dispute ended, Calhoun thought he saw a way to destroy his rival for the presidency -- Secretary
of State Martin Van Buren. He decided not to destroy the letters he and Jackson sent to each other.
Instead, he had a pamphlet written, using the letters. The pamphlet also contained the statement of several
persons denying the Crawford charges. And, it accused Mr. Van Buren of using Crawford to try to split

Jackson and Calhoun.

One of Calhoun's men took a copy of the pamphlet to Secretary Eaton and asked him to show it to
President Jackson. He told Eaton that the pamphlet would not be published without Jackson's approval.
Eaton did not show the pamphlet to Jackson and said nothing to Calhoun's men. Calhoun understood this
silence to mean that Jackson did not object to the pamphlet. So he had it published and given to the
public.

Jackson exploded when he read it. Not only had Calhoun failed to destroy the letters, he had published
them. Jackson's newspaper, the Washington Globe, accused Calhoun of throwing a firebomb into the
party.

Jackson declared that Calhoun and his supporters had cut their own throats. Only later did Calhoun
discover what had gone wrong. Eaton had not shown the pamphlet to Jackson. He had not even spoken to
the president about it. This was Eaton's way of punishing those who treated his wife so badly.

Jackson continued to defend Margaret Eaton's honor. He even held a cabinet meeting on the subject. All
the secretaries but John Eaton were there.

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But the problem got no better. Many people just would not accept Margaret Eaton as their social equal.
Mr. Van Buren saw that the problem was hurting Jackson deeply. But he knew better than to propose to
Jackson that he ask for Secretary Eaton's resignation. He already had heard Jackson say that he would
resign as president before he would desert his friend Eaton.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Maurice Joyce and Stewart Spencer.
Next week, we discuss Martin Van Buren's plan to solve the dispute between Andrew Jackson and John
C. Calhoun. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found, along with historical images,
at voaspecialenglish.com.

Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American history series in VOA

Special English.

<b>Bank of the United States Worries Jackson</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Andrew Jackson served as president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. His first term seemed to be
mostly a political battle with Vice President John C. Calhoun.

Calhoun wanted to be the next president. Jackson believed his secretary of state, Martin Van Buren,
would be a better president. And Van Buren wanted the job. He won the president's support partly
because of his help in settling a serious political dispute.

This week in our series, Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant continue the story of Andrew Jackson and his
presidency.

President Jackson's cabinet was in great disorder. Vice President Calhoun was trying to force out
Secretary of War John Eaton. Eaton would not resign, and the president would not dismiss him.

Van Buren designed a plan to gain Eaton's resignation. One morning, as Jackson discussed his cabinet
problems, Van Buren said: "There is only one thing, general, that will bring you peace -- my resignation."
"Never," said Jackson.

Van Buren explained how his resignation would solve a number of Jackson's political problems. Jackson
did not want to let Van Buren go. But the next day, he told Van Buren that he would never stop any man
who wished to leave.

The president wanted to discuss the resignation with his other advisers. Van Buren agreed. He also said it

might be best if Secretary of War Eaton were at the meeting.

The advisers accepted Van Buren's resignation. Then they went to Van Buren's house for dinner. On the
way, Eaton said: "Gentlemen, this is all wrong. I am the one who should resign!" Van Buren said Eaton
must be sure of such a move. Eaton was sure.

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Jackson then dismissed the remaining members of his cabinet. He was free to organize a new cabinet that
would be loyal to him and not to Vice President Calhoun.

Even with a new cabinet, Jackson still faced the problem of nullification. South Carolina politicians, led
by Calhoun, continued to claim that states had the right to reject -- nullify -- a federal law which they
believed was bad.

Jackson asked a congressman from South Carolina to give a message to the nullifiers in his state. "Tell
them," Jackson said, "that they can talk and write resolutions and print threats to their hearts' content. But
if one drop of blood is shed there in opposition to the laws of the United States, I will hang the first man I
can get my hands on to the first tree I can find."

Someone questioned if Jackson would go so far as to hang someone. A man answered: "When Jackson
begins to talk about hanging, they can begin to look for the ropes."

The nullifiers held a majority of seats in South Carolina's legislature at that time. They called a special
convention. Within five days, convention delegates approved a declaration of nullification.

They declared that the federal import tax laws of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional, and therefore,
cancelled. They said citizens of South Carolina need not pay the tax.

The nullifiers also declared that if the federal government tried to use force against South Carolina, then
the state would withdraw from the union and form its own independent government.

President Jackson answered with a declaration of his own. Jackson said America's constitution formed a
government, not just an association of sovereign states. South Carolina had no right to cancel a federal
law or to withdraw from the union. Disunion by force was treason. Jackson said: "The laws of the United
States must be enforced. This is my duty under the Constitution. I have no other choice."

Jackson did more. He asked Congress to give him the power to use the Army and Navy to enforce the
laws of the land. Congress did so. Jackson sent eight warships to the port of Charleston, South Carolina,
and soldiers to federal military bases in the state.

While preparing to use force, Jackson offered hope for a peaceful settlement. In his yearly message to
Congress, he spoke of reducing the federal import tax which hurt the sale of southern cotton overseas. He
said the import tax could be reduced, because the national debt would soon be paid.

Congress passed a compromise bill to end the import tax by 1842. South Carolina's congressmen accepted
the compromise. And the state's legislature called another convention. This time, the delegates voted to
end the nullification act they had approved earlier.

They did not, however, give up their belief in the idea of nullification. The idea continued to be a threat to
the American union until the issue was settled in the Civil War which began in 1861.

While President Jackson battled the nullifiers, another struggle began. This time, it was Jackson against
the Bank of the United States. Congress provided money to establish the Bank of the United States in
1816. It gave the bank a charter to do business for 20 years. The bank was permitted to use the
government's money to make loans. For this, the bank paid the government one and one-half million
dollars a year. The bank was run by private citizens.

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The bank opened offices in many parts of the country. As it grew, it became more powerful. By making it
easy or difficult for businesses to borrow money, the bank could control the economy of almost any part
of the United States.

During Jackson's presidency, the Bank of the United States was headed by Nicholas Biddle. Biddle was
an extremely intelligent man. He had completed studies at the University of Pennsylvania when he was
only thirteen years old. When he was 18, he was sent to Paris as secretary to the American minister.
Biddle worked on financial details of the purchase of the Louisiana territory from France. After America's
war against Britain in 1812, Biddle helped establish the Bank of the United States. He became its

president when he was only thirty-seven years old.

Biddle clearly understood his power as president of the Bank of the United States. In his mind, the
government had no right to interfere in any way with the bank's business. President Jackson did not agree.
Nor was he very friendly toward the bank. Not many westerners were. They did not trust the bank's paper
money. They wanted to deal in gold and silver.

Jackson criticized the bank in each of his yearly messages to Congress. He said the Bank of the United
States was dangerous to the liberty of the people. He said the bank could build up or pull down political
parties through loans to politicians. Jackson opposed giving the bank a new charter. He proposed that a
new bank be formed as part of the Treasury Department.

The president urged Congress to consider the future of the bank long before the bank's charter was to end.
Then, if the charter was rejected, the bank could close its business slowly over several years. This would
prevent serious economic problems for the country.

Many of President Jackson's advisers believed he should say nothing about the bank until after the
presidential election of 1832. They feared he might lose the votes of those who supported the bank.
Jackson accepted their advice. He agreed not to act on the issue, if bank president Biddle would not
request renewal of the charter before the election.

Biddle agreed. Then he changed his mind. He asked Congress for a new charter in January 1832. The
request became a hot political issue in the presidential campaign.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. Your narrators were Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found, along with historical images, at
voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Debating the Powerful Bank of the US</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

The question of continuing the Bank of the United States became a serious political issue in the national
election of 1832. The head of the bank, Nicholas Biddle, had become very powerful. Biddle refused to
recognize that the government had the right to interfere in any way with the bank's business. The bank
was privately operated but could make loans with taxpayers' money.

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Jackson said the Bank of the United States was dangerous to the liberty of Americans. The bank, he said,
could build up or pull down political parties through loans to politicians. The bank, he said, would always
support those who supported the bank. He proposed to form a new national bank, as part of the Treasury
Department.

This week in our series, Stewart Spencer and Maurice Joyce continue the story of the Bank of the United
States.

In the election year of 1832, the bank still had four years left to continue. Its charter would not end until
1836. Jackson had been urging Congress to act early, so that the bank could -- if its charter were rejected
-- close its business slowly over several years. This would prevent serious economic problems for the
country.

Many of Jackson's advisers believed he should say nothing about the bank until after the election. They

feared he might lose the votes of some supporters of the bank. Biddle felt that this might be the best time
to get a charter.

Henry Clay, the presidential candidate of the National Republicans, helped Biddle to make this decision.
Senator Clay, however, was not thinking of the bank when he gave his advice. Clay needed an issue to
campaign on. Most of the people of the country approved of Jackson's programs. Clay could not get votes
by opposing successful programs. But, he was sure that the issue of the bank could get him some votes.
The campaign for a new charter was led by the most powerful men in each house of Congress. In the
Senate, the bank's supporters included Senator Clay and Daniel Webster. Former President John Quincy
Adams -- now a congressman -- led the bank's struggle in the house.

The chief opponent to the bank was Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri. "I object to the renewal of
the charter," he told the Senate, "because the bank is too great and powerful to be permitted in a

government of free and equal laws. I also object because the bank makes the rich richer, and the poor
poorer."

In the House, Representative Augustin Clayton of Georgia proposed an investigation of the bank. In a
speech written by Senator Benton, Clayton charged that the bank had violated its charter a number of
times.

The bank's supporters were afraid to vote down the proposed investigation. It would be almost the same
thing as saying that the charges were true. The investigation was approved. And a special committee was
given six weeks to study the charges against the bank.

Four members of the seven-man committee were opponents of the bank. Three, including John Quincy
Adams, were friendly. As expected, opponents of the bank found the charges to be true. And the bank's
supporters found them all to be false.

The majority report told of easy loans made to congressmen and newspapermen. It said a New York

newspaper that had opposed the bank began supporting it after receiving a secret 15,000-dollar loan.
The investigation did not really change the votes of any of the congressmen. Many votes had been bought
by the bank.

Attorney General Roger Taney told of one example of this. Taney opposed the bank. And he rode to work
one morning with a congressman who also opposed it. The congressman asked Taney for help on a
speech he planned to make against the bank.

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The Senate finally voted on the bank's new charter. The vote was twenty-eight for and twenty against.
The House voted three weeks later. It approved the charter, one hundred seven to eighty-five.

The bill was sent to the White House. President Jackson called a cabinet meeting. Two cabinet members,
McLane and Livingston, agreed that the bill should be vetoed. But they urged Jackson to reject the bank
charter in such a way that a compromise might be worked out later.

Attorney General Taney, however, believed that the veto should be in the strongest possible language. He
opposed any compromise that would continue the bank beyond 1836. Jackson agreed with Taney. He
asked the attorney general and two White House advisers to help him write the veto message. They
worked on the message for three days.

On July tenth, the veto was announced. And the message explaining it was sent to Congress. Jackson said
he did not believe the bank's charter was constitutional. He said it was true that the Supreme Court had
ruled that Congress had the right to charter a national bank. But he said he did not agree with the high
court.

And Jackson said the president -- in taking his oath of office -- swears to support the Constitution as he
understands it, not as it is understood by others. He said the president and the Congress had the same duty
as the court to decide if a bill was constitutional.

Jackson also spoke of the way the bank moved money from West to East. He said the bank was owned by

a small group of rich men, mostly in the East. Some of the owners, he said, were foreigners. Much of the
bank's business was done in the West. The money paid by westerners for loans went into the pockets of
the eastern bankers. Jackson said this was wrong. Then the president spoke of his firm belief in the rights
of the common man.

"It is to be regretted," he said, "that the rich and powerful bend the acts of the government to their own
purposes. Differences among men will always exist under every just government.

"Equality of ability, or education, or of wealth cannot be produced by human institutions. Every man has
the equal right of protection under the laws. But when these laws are used to make the rich richer, and the
powerful more powerful, then the more humble members of our society have a right to complain of
injustice."

Jackson said he could not understand how the present owners of the bank could have any claim of special
treatment from the government. He said the government should shower its favors -- as heaven does its
rain -- on the high and low alike, on the rich and the poor equally.

Henry Clay had made the bank bill the chief issue of the 1832 presidential election campaign. Andrew
Jackson chose the words of his veto message for the same purpose -- to win votes in the coming election.
His veto of the bank bill cost him the votes of men of money. But it brought him the votes of the common
man: the farmer, the laborer, and industrial worker.

After his first two years as president, Andrew Jackson was not sure he wished to serve a second term.
Jackson was not sure his health would permit him to complete a full eight years in the White House. But
he wished to be a candidate again in 1832 to give the people a chance to show they approved of his
programs.

Jackson decided that he would campaign again for president. But if he won, he would resign after the first
or second year, and leave the job to his vice president.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Stewart Spencer and Maurice Joyce.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

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<b>As Jackson Aims to Shut Bank, an Economic </b>

<b>Crisis Results</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Andrew Jackson was elected president in 1828. He was popular with voters. But he was not sure he
wanted to run for re-election in 1832. He was getting old. He suffered from health problems. Yet he
wanted to give voters a chance to show their approval of his programs.

So Jackson made a decision. He would run again. If he won, however, he would resign after the first or
second year. He would leave the job to his vice president.

Now, this week in our series, Rich Kleinfeldt and Sarah Long continue the story of Andrew Jackson and
his presidency.

President Jackson spoke of this plan to the man he wanted as his vice president, Martin Van Buren. He
made the offer in 1830 when Van Buren was still his secretary of state. Van Buren thanked Jackson for
the offer. However, he rejected it. Van Buren said it would be politically dangerous. He did not want
anyone to say that he had been brought into the presidency in secret.

Jackson did not give up his idea. For more than a year, he continued to urge Van Buren to accept the
offer. Van Buren continued to say no. He agreed to be Jackson's vice presidential candidate in 1832. But
he said he did not want to become president without being elected by the people.

As the election got closer, Jackson's health began to improve. He began to think about serving a second

full term.

One thing that helped was an operation to remove a bullet from his arm. He had received the wound
during a gun fight with another man about twenty years earlier. It troubled him so badly that sometimes
he could not use the arm. Doctors were afraid to remove the bullet. They thought it might cause a terrible
shock to his heart.

Early in the election year, a doctor said he believed the bullet could be removed easily. He told the

president that it was poisoning his whole body. Jackson asked the doctor to cut out the bullet at once. The
operation was over in a few minutes. Jackson's health quickly became much better.

A funny little story was told about that bullet. Someone reportedly said Jackson should give it to the
family of the man who shot him. One family member rejected the offer. He said Jackson had possessed
the bullet for twenty years. So, he said, under the law, Jackson had clear ownership to it. "Only nineteen
years," someone noted. "Oh," the man said, "that is all right. Since Jackson took good care of it, I will
forget the extra year."

The presidential election campaign of 1832 was bitter. President Jackson was, once again, the candidate
of the Democratic Party. Henry Clay was the candidate of the National Republican Party.

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Farmers and laborers supported Jackson. They showed their support by marching in parades and holding
big, noisy public meetings.

On election day, the people showed that Jackson was still their president. There was a much bigger
difference in popular votes between Jackson and Clay than between Jackson and John Quincy Adams four
years earlier. As the votes were counted, one of Clay's supporters said: "The news blows over us like a
great cold storm."

Jackson received about six hundred eighty-eight thousand popular votes. Clay received about four

hundred seventy-three thousand votes. In the electoral college, Jackson got more than four times the
number of votes than Clay got. Jackson's vice president would be Martin Van Buren.

Andrew Jackson saw his re-election as proof that the American people approved of his policies. This
included his policy to close the Bank of the United States when its charter ended in 1836.

During his second term, Jackson decided on a plan to reduce the bank's economic power. He would stop
putting federal money into the bank. Instead, he would put it into state banks. This would greatly reduce
the amount of money the Bank of the United States could use.

The plan was not as easy as it seemed. The charter for the bank said federal money had to be kept there
unless the secretary of the treasury ordered it put someplace else. President Jackson's treasury secretary
was friendly to the bank. He would not give the order.

Jackson would have to dismiss the man and appoint someone who supported his plan. But the treasury
secretary was a powerful politician. Jackson could not push him out of the job. He had to find another
way. So he decided to reorganize his whole cabinet.

Jackson named his secretary of state to be minister to France. He named his treasury secretary to be
secretary of state. Then he brought in someone new as secretary of the treasury. That turned out to be a
mistake.

The new treasury secretary refused to put federal money anywhere but in the Bank of the United States.
He also refused to resign when Jackson asked him to resign. So Jackson dismissed him and named yet
another new treasury secretary.

This man immediately ordered that after October first, 1833, all federal money was to be put into
twenty-three state banks. He did not withdraw the government money already in the Bank of the United States.
He said this money could be used to make payments until it was all gone.

Nicholas Biddle, the head of the bank, fought back. He ordered the immediate repayment of all bank
loans. He also withdrew from public use large numbers of bank notes. People had been using the notes as
money.

These actions caused serious economic difficulties throughout the country. Many businesses failed. They
could not pay back their loans or borrow the money they needed. As businesses failed, workers lost their
jobs.

Nicholas Biddle said the Jackson administration was responsible for all the trouble. He said the bank was
forced to take firm measures, because it was losing government money. He told people to protest to the
administration. Critics of President Jackson's bank policy called him "King Andrew the First."

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The president's actions worried even some of his supporters. There could be serious long-term effects of
closing the Bank of the United States. Some of his supporters in Congress went to see him. They warned
him of reports that a mob was forming to march on Washington. They told him that the mob planned to
seize the Capitol building until Congress returned government money to the bank.

"Gentlemen," Jackson said, "I will be glad to see this mob on Capitol Hill. I will hang its leaders high.
That should stop forever all attempts to control Congress by force."

We will continue our story of Andrew Jackson's second term as president next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Rich Kleinfeldt and Sarah Long.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found along with historical images at
voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>, an American
history series in VOA Special English.

A half-hour of VOA Special English can be found every day, on radio or online. We start with the latest
world news, followed by a short feature and then a 15-minute program. On Friday it's our magazine show
AMERICAN MOSAIC. Then, on Saturday we present a different short story every week on our program

AMERICAN STORIES. And on Sunday we bring you the life stories of famous and not-so-famous
Americans on PEOPLE IN AMERICA.

<b>ackson's Victory Over the Bank of the US</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

The national election of 1832 put Andrew Jackson in the White House for a second term as president. One
of the major events of his second term was the fight against the Bank of the United States. Jackson

believed that the bank had grown too powerful. He urged Congress not to renew the bank's charter to do
business. He also stopped putting federal money into the Bank of the United States. Instead, he put the
money into state banks.

The head of the Bank of the United States was Nicholas Biddle. Biddle fought with all his power to keep
the bank open. He created a financial panic and blamed it on President Jackson. Biddle did this by
demanding immediate repayment of loans. Businesses struggled without the bank's financial assistance.
Workers lost their jobs. President Jackson was warned that a mob could march on Washington. But
nothing happened. Most of the battle against the Bank of the United States was fought in Congress.
Now, in this week's program in our series, we continue the story with Bob Doughty and Sarah Long.
Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky led the support for the bank. Clay was head of the opposition political
party, the National Republicans. Clay argued his case on the floor of the Senate for three days. He
strongly urged the Senate to re-new the bank's charter. He said:

"The country is in the middle of a revolution ... not yet a bloody revolution. But things are happening that
point to a total change of the pure republican character of our government. Power is being centered in the
hands of one man." He meant President Jackson.

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Things went better for Jackson in the House of Representatives. James Polk defended Jackson's

opposition to the bank. Polk said: "The bank set itself up as a great, irresponsible, competing power of
the government. If the bank wins this fight, no man afterwards can expect to be elected to high office in
this country without first surrendering to the bank. The question is," Polk said, "if we shall have the
republic without the bank or the bank without the republic."

As time passed, businessmen began to see that the Bank of the United States was being much tighter in its
money policy than was necessary. They began to feel that it was Biddle -- not Jackson -- who was

responsible for the serious economic situation in the country. Biddle took no responsibility for the
financial crisis. He said:

"The relief must come from Congress, and Congress alone. The bank feels no need to right the wrongs
caused by these miserable people. This president thinks he is to have his way with the bank. He is
mistaken."

Biddle then made a serious mistake. He asked the governor of Pennsylvania to make a speech to the state
legislature--a speech supporting the bank.

At the same time, Biddle refused to lend the state of Pennsylvania three hundred-thousand dollars. The
governor was furious. Instead of making a speech supporting the bank, he made one that sharply criticized
it. The upper house of the Pennsylvania legislature agreed with the governor. Although Nicholas Biddle
threatened all sorts of action, the upper house passed a resolution that Congress should not give the bank a
new charter.

Two days later, the governor of New York proposed that the state sell four or five million dollars of stock
for loans to help state banks. The New York legislature approved selling even more.

This action would strengthen the state banks and help to break the power of the Bank of the United States.

Nicholas Biddle began to see that the battle was lost. He started making more loans to businesses. The
economic panic he had started slowly ended.

Jackson's victory over the Bank of the United States was clear. Biddle started to lose the support of many
members of Congress. In the House of Representatives, James Polk proposed four resolutions on the
bank. One said the bank should not get a new charter.

The second resolution said government money should not be deposited in the bank. The third said the
government should continue to put its money in state banks. And the fourth proposed an investigation of
the bank and the reasons for the economic panic in the country. All four of these anti-bank resolutions
were approved.

One of Biddle's assistants described the feelings of bank officials.

"This day," he said, "should be ripped from the history of our republic. The president of the United States
has seized the public treasury in violation of the law of the land. And the representatives of the people
have approved his action."

Jackson's words were shorter: "I have won a glorious triumph."

The other major event of Andrew Jackson's second term as president was the situation in Texas. In an
agreement with Spain in 1819, the United States had given up its claim to Texas. In exchange, Spain gave
the United States all of Florida.

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Texas was a rich land. But it was empty. Mexico decided to permit Americans to build colonies in Texas.
Stephen Austin formed the first colony in 1822. Each farming family in his colony could have about
eighty hectares of land.

Each family that wished to raise cattle could have about 2,000 hectares. The settlers in Texas were able to
buy the land for almost nothing. But they had to promise to join the Roman Catholic Church. They also

had to promise to obey the laws of Mexico.

Most of the settlers came from the states of Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. Many owned slaves
and brought the slaves with them to Texas. During the 1820s, Americans poured into Texas for the
low-priced land.

The leader of one American colony got into trouble with the Mexican government. He was ordered to
leave, but refused. With the help of a few supporters, he seized the town of Nacogdoches. He declared
Texas to be an independent republic. He called it Fredonia.

This man expected the other American colonists to join him against Mexico. He was wrong. Most of the
colonists did not support him. In fact, some even joined the Mexican force that put down his rebellion.
The man fled back across the border into the United States.

The rebellion failed. But it made Mexican leaders see the danger of continuing to permit Americans to
settle in Texas. The Mexican government sent an official to inspect conditions along the border with the
United States. The official reported that as he traveled north through Texas, he saw less and less that was
Mexican and more and more that was American.

He said there were very few Mexicans in some towns. And these Mexicans, he said, were extremely poor.
He said the American settlers were not becoming true Mexicans. They were not speaking Spanish. They
were not becoming Roman Catholics. And they were not accepting Mexican traditions. The official said
the situation in Texas could throw the whole Mexican nation into revolution. He urged Mexico to send
troops to occupy Texas.

That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Bob Doughty and Sarah Long.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Trouble Grows Deep in the Heart of Texas</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In the early 1830s, the territory of Texas belonged to Mexico. But many Americans had moved to Texas
because they could buy a lot of land with little money. The government of Mexico expected the settlers to
speak Spanish, to become Roman Catholic and to accept Mexican traditions. The settlers did not want to.
For the most part, there was little that President Andrew Jackson could do. The United States had a treaty
of friendship with Mexico. The government in Washington had a duty to remain neutral, even as the
situation in Texas became increasingly tense.

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Americans in Texas held a convention in April 1833. They prepared a list of appeals to the leader of
Mexico, General Santa Ana.

The Texas settlers asked Santa Ana to end a tax on goods imported into the territory. They asked him to
lift a ban on new settlers from the United States. And they asked that Texas be organized as a separate
state of Mexico.

One of the Americans, Stephen Austin, carried the appeals to Mexico City. He spent six months

negotiating with the Mexican government. General Santa Ana promised to honor all the requests except
one. He would not make Texas a separate state, although he said that might be possible someday. Stephen
Austin was satisfied. He left the Mexican capital to return to Texas.

On his way home, to his surprise, Austin was arrested. He was arrested because of a letter he wrote

earlier, when his negotiations with Mexican officials seemed to be failing. He had said it might be best if
the people declared Texas a separate state. Austin was put in prison in Mexico City for a year and a half.
Austin urged the people of Texas to remain loyal to Mexico. But talk of rebellion already had begun. The
settlers already were calling themselves "Texans."

Minor hostilities broke out between Texans and local Mexican officials. The Mexican army threatened
action. When Austin returned from prison, he was chosen to negotiate with the commander of Mexican
forces. The commander refused to negotiate. It appeared that war would come. The Texans began to
organize their own army.

In November 1835, representatives from all parts of Texas held a convention to discuss the situation.
They had no plans to take Texas out of the Mexican Republic. In fact, a proposal to do that was defeated
by a large vote.

However, the Texans took action to protect themselves against Santa Ana, who had declared himself
dictator. They organized a temporary state government. They organized a state army. And they made
plans for another convention to begin on March first.

Before the Texans could meet again, Santa Ana led an army of seven thousand men across the Rio Grande
River into Texas. The first soldiers reached San Antonio on February twenty-third. The Texas forces
withdrew to an old Spanish mission church called the Alamo.

On March first, the second Texas convention opened. This time, the representatives voted to declare
Texas a free, independent and sovereign republic. They wrote a constitution based on the constitution of
the United States. They created a government. David Burnet was named president. And Sam Houston was
to continue as commander of Texas forces.

On the second day of the convention, a letter came from the Alamo in San Antonio. The letter was
addressed to the people of Texas and all Americans. The commander of Texas forces at the Alamo wrote:
"I have been under an artillery attack for twenty-four hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has

demanded our surrender. Otherwise, he said, he will kill every one of us. I have answered his demand
with a cannon shot. Our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender or retreat.

"I call on you -- in the name of liberty, of patriotism, and everything dear to the American character -- to
come to our aid with all speed. If my appeal is not answered, I will fight as long as possible, and die like a
soldier who never forgets what he owes his own honor and that of his country."

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Representatives at the convention wanted to leave immediately to go to the aid of the Texans in San
Antonio. But Sam Houston told them it was their duty to remain and create a government for Texas.
Houston would go there himself with a small force.

The help came too late for the one hundred eighty-eight men at the Alamo. Santa Ana's forces captured
the Spanish mission on March sixth. When the battle ended, not a Texan was left alive.

Sam Houston ordered all Texas forces to withdraw northeast -- away from the Mexican army.

One group of Texans did not move fast enough. Santa Ana trapped them. He said the Texans would not
be harmed if they surrendered. They did. One week later, they were marched to a field and shot. Only a
few escaped to tell the story.

Santa Ana then moved against Sam Houston. He was sure his large army could defeat the remaining
Texas force.

President Andrew Jackson and Sam Houston were close friends. When told of Houston's retreat, the
president pointed to a map of Texas. He said: "If Sam Houston is worth anything, he will make his stand
here.

Jackson pointed to the mouth of the San Jacinto River.

The battle of San Jacinto began at four o'clock in the afternoon. There were about eight-hundred Texans.

There were two times that many Mexicans. The Mexicans did not expect the retreating Texans to turn and
fight. But they did.

Shouting "Remember the Alamo!" the Texans ran at the Mexican soldiers. Eighteen minutes later, the
battle was over. Santa Ana's army was destroyed.

About half of the Mexicans were killed or wounded. The other half were captured. Only two Texans were
killed. Twenty-three, including Sam Houston, were wounded.

The Texans found Santa Ana the next day, wearing the clothes of a simple Mexican soldier. Santa Ana
begged for mercy. Houston told him: "You might have shown some at the Alamo."

Many of the Texans wanted to shoot the Mexican general. But Houston said he was worth more alive than
dead.

On May fourteenth, 1836, Texas President Burnet and General Santa Ana signed a treaty. The treaty made
Texas independent.

Eighteen thirty-six was a presidential election year in the United States. Andrew Jackson had served for
eight years. He did not want another term. He supported his vice president, Martin Van Buren.

Jackson's opposition to the demands for more states' rights, and his attack on the Bank of the United
States, had created problems for his Democratic Party. Texas also was a problem.

Slavery was legal in the new Republic of Texas. Most northerners in the United States opposed slavery
anywhere. Jackson felt that if he recognized Texas, the Democrats would lose votes in the presidential
election. So Jackson decided not to act on Texas until after the election.

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The Whigs did not expect any of their candidates to win. But they hoped to get enough votes to prevent
Van Buren from gaining a majority. Then the House of Representatives would have to decide the election.

And a Whig might have a better chance. The plan failed. Van Buren won.

Andrew Jackson had only a few months left as president. It seemed that much of his time was occupied
with one question. That was the request by the Republic of Texas to become a state of the union.

Jackson wanted to make Texas a state. But more important was the union itself. The issue of slavery in
Texas was critical. Jackson said:

"To give statehood to Texas now, or to recognize its independence, would increase the bitterness between
the north and south. Nothing is worth this price."

Then Jackson thought of a way in which statehood for Texas could bring the nation together, instead of
splitting it apart.

That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Gwen Outen and Steve Ember.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs along with historical images are online at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Jackson, 'the People's Friend,' Leaves Office</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.
Texas won its independence from Mexico during the administration of President Andrew Jackson.
Leaders of the territory then wanted to become part of the United States.

Jackson wanted to make Texas a state in the Union. But more important to him was the Union itself.
Jackson felt that to give statehood to Texas would deepen the split between the northern and southern
states. Texas would be a state where slavery was permitted. For this reason, the anti-slavery leaders in the
North strongly opposed Texas statehood.

Jackson told Texas minister William Wharton that there was a way that statehood for Texas would bring
the North and South together, instead of splitting them apart.

Now, this week in our series, Doug Johnson and Gwen Outen continue our story.

Jackson said Texas should claim California. The fishing interests of the North and East, said Jackson,
wanted a port on the Pacific coast. Offer it to them, the president said, and they will soon forget the
spreading of slavery through Texas.

Jackson and Wharton held this discussion just three weeks before the end of the president's term. Wharton
spent much time at the White House.

He also worked with congressmen, urging the lawmakers to recognize Texas. He was able to get

Congress to include in a bill a statement permitting the United States to send a minister to Texas. Such a
minister was to be sent whenever the president received satisfactory evidence that Texas was an

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Wharton went back to the White House. Again and again he gave Jackson arguments for recognizing
Texas.

On the afternoon of March third, 1837, Jackson agreed to recognize the new republic led by his old friend,
Sam Houston. He sent to Congress his nomination for minister to Texas.

One of the last acts of that Congress was to approve the nomination. The United States recognized Texas
as an independent republic. But nine years would pass before Texas became a state.

The fourth of March, 1837, was a bright, beautiful day. The sun warmed the thousands who watched the
power of government pass from one man to another.

Andrew Jackson left the White House with the man who would take his place, Martin Van Buren. They
sat next to each other as the presidential carriage moved down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol
building.

Cheers stopped in the throats of the thousands who stood along the street. In silence, they removed their
hats to show how much they loved this old man who was stepping down.

"For once," wrote Senator Thomas Hart Benton, "the rising sun was eclipsed by the setting sun."

The big crowd on the east side of the Capitol grew quiet when Jackson and Van Buren walked out onto
the front steps of the building. After Chief Justice Taney swore in President Van Buren, the new president
gave his inaugural speech.

Then Andrew Jackson started slowly down the steps. A mighty cheer burst from the crowd.

"It was a cry," wrote Senator Benton, "such as power never commanded, nor man in power received. It
was love, gratitude and admiration. I felt a feeling that had never passed through me before."

Why was this, men have asked? Why did the people love Jackson so?

Senator Daniel Webster gave this reason: "General Jackson is an honest and upright man. He does what
he thinks is right. And he does it with all his might."

Another senator put it this way: "He called himself 'the people's friend.' And he gave proofs of his
sincerity. General Jackson understood the people of the United States better, perhaps, than any president
before him."

Jackson was always willing to let the people judge his actions. He was ready to risk his political life for
what he believed in. Jackson's opposition could not understand why the people did not destroy him. They
said he was lucky. "Jackson's luck" the opposition called it.

Jackson seemed always to win whatever struggle he began. And the men he fought against were not weak
opponents. They were political giants: Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, Nicholas Biddle. The old general
fought these men separately and, at times, all together.

The day after Van Buren became president, Jackson met with a few of his friends. Frank Blair, the editor
of Jackson's newspaper, was one of them. Senator Benton was another. It was a warm, friendly meeting.
They thought back over Jackson's years in the White House and talked about what had been done.

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Someone asked about Texas. Jackson said he was not worried about Texas. That problem would solve
itself, he said.

Did the general have any regrets about anything? "Only two," said Jackson. "I regret I was unable to shoot
Henry Clay or to hang John C. Calhoun."

The next morning, March sixth, Jackson left Washington to return to his home in Tennessee. President
Van Buren protested that Jackson was not well enough to travel.

The old man had been sick for the last few months of his presidency. He suffered from tuberculosis, and
at times lost great amounts of blood from his lungs.

When Jackson refused to listen to Van Buren's protests, the president sent the army's top doctor, Surgeon
General Thomas Lawson, to travel with Jackson.

General Jackson was to leave the capital by train. Thousands of people lined the streets to the train
station, waiting for a last look at their president. Jackson stood in the open air on the rear platform of the

train. His hat was off, and the wind blew through his long white hair.

Not a sound came from the people who crowded around the back of the train. A bell rang. There was a
hiss of steam. And the train began to move. General Jackson bowed. The crowd stood still.

The train moved around a curve and could no longer be seen. The crowd began to break up. One man who
was there said it was as if a bright star had gone out of the sky.

Jackson lived for eight more years. He died as he had lived, with dignity and honor.

A few hours after his death, a tall man and a small child arrived at the Jackson home. They had traveled a
long way -- all the way from Texas. The big man was Sam Houston, the president of Texas. He had heard
that his friend was dying.

Houston was too late to say goodbye. He stood before Jackson's body, tears in his eyes. Then Houston
dropped to his knees and buried his face on the chest of his friend and chief. He pulled the small boy close
to him.

"My son," he said, "try to remember that you have looked on the face of Andrew Jackson."

Andrew Jackson stepped down from the presidency in March, 1837. His presidential powers were passed
to his most trusted political assistant, Martin Van Buren of New York.

Van Buren was elected president after campaign promises to continue the policies of Jackson. He was
opposed by several candidates, all of the new Whig Party. Van Buren won easily with the help of Andrew
Jackson.

Years before, Van Buren had done much himself to elect Jackson to the White House. After the election
of 1824 had divided the opponents of John Quincy Adams, Van Buren began to put together a political
alliance for the future.

We will continue our story on Van Buren next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Doug Johnson and Gwen Outen.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

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<b>New President Deals with Old Problems</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Last week in our series, we talked about the election of Martin Van Buren in 1836 as the eighth president
of the United States.

Van Buren had been very close to the outgoing president, Andrew Jackson. Van Buren had been

successful in forming a strong political alliance that helped put Jackson in the White House in the election
of 1828. Jackson was grateful for Van Buren's help, and asked him to come to Washington to serve as
secretary of state.

Van Buren had just been elected governor of the state of New York, but decided to accept Jackson's offer.
This week, Steve Ember and Gwen Outen talk about Martin Van Buren and the start of his presidency.
Van Buren quickly became the most powerful man in Jackson's cabinet. He was able to help Jackson in
negotiations with Britain and France. But his greatest help was in building a strong political party for
Jackson. It was this party that gave Jackson wide support for his policies.

Van Buren built up the national Democratic Party with the same methods he used to build his political
organization in New York state. He removed from government jobs people who had not supported
Jackson. These jobs were then given to those who had supported the president.

Van Buren served as secretary of state for two years. He resigned because he saw his resignation as the
only way of solving a serious problem Jackson faced.

The problem was Vice President John C. Calhoun. Calhoun had presidential hopes. He did not think
Jackson would serve more than one term. And he planned to be a candidate in the next election.
Three of the five men in Jackson's cabinet supported Calhoun. Jackson could not trust them.
And he wanted to get them out of the cabinet ... but without a political fight.

Then, later, he named Van Buren minister to Britain. But Calhoun's supporters in the Senate defeated Van
Buren's nomination.

By this time, Jackson had decided that Van Buren would be the best man to follow him as president. He
offered to resign after the 1832 elections and give Van Buren the job of president.

Van Buren rejected the offer. He said he wanted to be elected by the people. But he did agree to be
Jackson's vice president in 1832.

Four years later, at Jackson's request, the Democrats chose Van Buren to be their presidential candidate.
He was opposed by several candidates of the newly formed Whig Party. The opposition was divided. And
Van Buren won the election with little difficulty.

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Jackson was tall, with long white hair that flowed back over his head. Jackson's health had been poor
during the last few months he spent in the White House. He seemed tired. There was almost no color in
his face.

Van Buren was much shorter and had much less hair. His eyes were brighter than those of the old man
next to him.

In his inaugural speech, Van Buren noted that he was the first American born after the revolution to

become president. He said he felt he belonged to a later age. He called for more unity among Democrats
of the North and South. He said better times were ahead for the country.

Van Buren had a strange way with words. He could talk with excitement about something, but say very
little about his own feelings on the subject.

Once, he spoke in New York about the tax on imports. Two men who heard the speech discussed it later.
"It was a very able speech," said one man, a wool buyer. "Yes, very able," answered his friend. There was
silence for a moment. Then the first man spoke again. "Was Mr. Van Buren for or against the import
tax?"

The new president was a warm and friendly man. He tried to keep his political life and his social life
separate. It was not unusual to see him exchange handshakes, smiles and jokes with men who were his
political enemies.

Van Buren had a poor education as a boy. He went to school only for a few years. His father was a farmer
and hotel keeper at a little town in New York state. Van Buren had a quick mind and was a good judge of
men. But he always felt he could have done more had he received a college education.

Van Buren had been president for just a few days when an economic crisis and a political storm struck the
country. The storm had been building for many months. It really began with the death of the Bank of the
United States more than a year before.

Andrew Jackson had opposed the powerful bank in which the government's money was kept. He vetoed a
bill that would have continued it.

The bank was so strong that it was able to control the economy throughout most of the country. It did so
through its loans to businessmen. By making many loans, the bank could increase economic activity. By
reducing the number of loans, the economy could be tightened.

The Bank of the United States also helped to control the smaller state banks. It refused to accept the notes,
or paper money, of these banks, unless the state banks were ready to exchange the paper for gold or silver
money.

After the end of the Bank of the United States, there was little control of any kind over the state banks.
Many new state banks opened. All of them produced large amounts of paper money -- many times the
amount they could exchange for gold or silver. Much of this paper money was used by business
speculators to buy land from the government.

These men bought the land, held it for a while, then sold it for more than they paid. The government soon
found itself with millions of dollars of paper money.

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There was another problem. Congress passed a law on what was to be done with federal money not
needed by the national government. This extra money, or surplus, was to be given to the states.

Since the closing of the Bank of the United States, the government had kept its money in a number of
state banks. Now these banks had to surrender the government surplus to the state governments. This left
even less gold and silver to exchange for the huge amounts of paper money the banks had issued.

There was still another demand for what gold the banks had.

Eighteen thirty-five and 1837 were bad years for American agriculture. Many crops failed. Instead of the
United States exporting farm products to Europe, the opposite happened. American traders had to import
these things from Europe. And they had to pay for them in gold or silver.

As more and more paper money was put into use, the value of the money fell. Prices rose higher and
higher. Poor people found it almost impossible to buy food and other necessities.

In 1835, a barrel of flour cost six dollars. Two years later, the price had jumped to more than twelve
dollars. The same was true with meat and other foods. Even coal, the fuel people used to heat their homes,

cost twice as much.

Poor people protested. But businessmen were satisfied. They wished to continue the flood of paper
money. Violence finally broke out at a protest meeting in New York City.

A crowd of angry people heard speakers criticize the use of paper money. Some in the crowd began
demanding action against the rich traders. A crowd of about one-thousand marched to a nearby store,
broke into it, and destroyed large amounts of flour and grain.

In the spring of 1837, the demand on banks for gold and silver grew too heavy. The banks stopped
honoring their promises to exchange their paper money for gold. They said this was just temporary. That
it was necessary to stop -- for a while -- all payments in gold or silver. The crisis got worse.

That will be our story in the next program of <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b>.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Steve Ember and Gwen Outen.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>US Gets a New President in 1837, and a </b>

<b>Depression</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Martin Van Buren was sworn-in as the eighth president of the United States in 1837. Not long after he
took office, the United States suffered an economic depression.

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heavy. The banks halted such exchanges. They said the situation was only temporary. But the crisis
continued.

This week in our series, Harry Monroe and Tony Riggs talk about the economic situation. And they
discuss foreign affairs during the Van Buren presidency.

Many of the weaker state banks closed after gold and silver payments were suspended. Those that stayed
open had almost no money to lend. Businessmen could not pay back money they owed the banks. And
they could not get loans to keep their businesses open. Many factories closed. Great numbers of people
were out of work.

The federal government itself lost nine million dollars because of bank failures. Businessmen said the
government was to blame for the economic depression. They said the biggest reason was an order made
by former president Andrew Jackson. Jackson had said the government would not accept paper money as
payment for the purchase of government land. It would accept only gold or silver.

Opponents of the order said it had caused fear and mistrust. Even some of Jackson's strongest supporters
said the order should be lifted. They said it had done its job of ending land speculation. Now, they said, it
was hurting the economy.

Two of President Van Buren's closest advisers urged him to continue the order. Lifting it, they argued,
would flood the federal government with paper money of questionable value.

Van Buren was troubled about the government's money. He wanted to make sure the government had
enough money. And he wanted this money safe until needed.

At the same time, Van Buren did not believe the federal government had the responsibility for ending the
depression. And he did not believe the government had the right to interfere in any way with private
business. So Van Buren decided to continue the order. No government land could be bought with paper

money.

The economy got worse. The president called a special meeting of Congress. In his message to Congress,
Van Buren said "over-banking and over-trading" had caused the depression. He proposed several steps to
protect the government.

Van Buren asked Congress to postpone payment of surplus federal government money to the states. He
said the money would be needed to operate the federal government in the coming year. He also asked
Congress to pass a law permitting the government to keep its own money in the Treasury, instead of
putting it in private banks. This was the so-called "independent Treasury" bill.

The opposition Whig Party denounced the president's proposals. It criticized Van Buren for thinking only
of protecting the federal government -- and not helping businessmen, farmers and the states.

Whig opposition was not strong enough to defeat all the president's proposals. Congress approved a bill to
postpone payment of surplus federal government money to the states. But the Whigs -- together with
conservative Democrats -- rejected the proposal for an independent Treasury.

America's Treasury Department received money when it collected import taxes and sold land. It used this
money to pay what the government owed. The Treasury did not, however, hold the money from the time
it was collected to the time it was paid out.

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The Whigs argued that such a law would give presidents too much power over the economy. Some
Democrats who believed strongly in states' rights also opposed it. Between them, they had enough votes
in Congress to defeat the proposal.

President Van Buren tried again the following year to get approval for an independent Treasury. Again,
the proposal was defeated.

Finally, in June, 1840, Congress passed a law permitting the Treasury Department to hold government

money itself. Van Buren signed the bill. The economic depression of 1837 lasted for six years. It was the
major problem -- but not the only problem -- during Van Buren's one term as president.

In foreign affairs, one of the chief problems Van Buren faced was a dispute with Britain about Canada.
Canadian rebels had tried two times to end British rule of Canada. They failed both times. Rebel leaders
were forced to flee to safety in the United States. There they found it easy to get men and supplies to help
them continue their struggle.

The rebels built a base on a Canadian island in the Niagara River which formed part of the border

between the two countries. They used an American boat to carry supplies from the American side to their
base. In December 1837, Canadian soldiers crossed the Niagara River and seized the boat. One American
was killed in the fight.

For a while, Canadian forces and Canadian rebels exchanged attacks on river boats. A number of

American citizens fought with the rebels. President Van Buren was troubled. He declared that the wish to
help others become independent was a natural feeling among Americans. But, he said no American had a
right to invade a friendly country. He warned that citizens who fought against the Canadian government,
and were captured, could expect no help from the United States.

Another problem between the United States and Canada at that time concerned the border along the state
of Maine. That part of the border had been in dispute ever since 1783 when Britain recognized the
independence of the American states.

Years later, the king of the Netherlands agreed to decide the dispute. The king said it was impossible to
decide the border from words of the peace treaty between Britain and the United States. So he offered
what he believed was a fair settlement instead: The United States would get about two times as much of
the disputed area as Canada.

Britain accepted the proposal by the king of the Netherlands. The United States did not. The United States
refused, because the state of Maine would not accept it.

In 1838, Britain withdrew its acceptance of the proposal. And Canadians entered the disputed area. The
governor of Maine sent state forces to the area. The soldiers drove out the Canadians and built forts.
Canada, too, began to prepare for war.

President Van Buren sent General Winfield Scott to Maine. Scott was able to get the governor to

withdraw his forces from the disputed area. He also received guarantees that Canadian forces would not
enter the area. The danger of war passed.

Americans in the border area, however, were angry with President Van Buren. They believed Van Buren
was weak, because he did not want war. Not only in the Northeast was the president losing support.
People all over the country were suffering because of the economic depression.

Most people believed Van Buren was responsible for their troubles, because he did not end the

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Van Buren had been a good political adviser to President Jackson. But he had not been a strong president.
He was unable to make the people understand his policies. The opposition Whig Party was happy over
these developments. It saw an excellent chance to win the next presidential election.

The issues in American politics before the election of 1840 will be our story in the next program of <b>THE </b>
<b>MAKING OF A NATION</b>.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Harry Monroe and Tony Riggs.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found, along with historical images, at
voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>The Rise of the Movement Against Slavery</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In 1840, as the administration of Martin Van Buren came closer to an end, there was a widespread feeling
that he had not been a strong president. He seemed unable to make the people understand his policies. The
opposition Whig Party was happy over Van Buren's failures.

This week in our series, Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant describe how the Whigs saw an excellent chance
in the upcoming election.

The Whig leader in the Senate was Henry Clay of Kentucky. Clay told a friend he was sure he would be
called on to serve as the Whig candidate for president. Other Whig leaders were not so sure. They did not
question Clay's ability to be president. But he had been a candidate both in 1824 and 1832. And he had
lost both times.

Then there was a growing political force in the United States that would not be helpful to Clay's

candidacy. That was the abolitionist movement, which opposed slavery. Abolitionists did not like Clay,
because he owned slaves.

The dispute over slavery seemed to have been laid to rest for a time. But during the 1830s, it rose to the
surface again. A major reason why the dispute came alive again was cotton. Cotton plants spread across
the states of the south.

Cotton production had grown so heavily that it gave the south a one-crop economy. Cotton depended on
the labor of slaves. By the 1830s, cotton planters believed that without slavery, the whole economic
system of the south would lie in ruins. To them, slavery was no longer just a question of right or wrong. It

was a necessity for survival.

Cotton made the agricultural south economically dependent on the industrial north. Northern ships carried
southern cotton to the markets of Europe. Manufactured goods needed in the South came from the North.
The South put so much time and energy into growing cotton, that it failed to give much thought to

developing industries of its own.

The situation deeply troubled the political leaders of the South. What made things worse was the fact that
most of the federal government's financial aid for public works went to the North.

Then there was the old dispute over import taxes. Taxes on foreign goods mostly helped the

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No one could be sure what would happen then. Such was the general political and economic picture in the
United States when the abolitionist movement began to make itself felt.

In the beginning, the abolitionist movement was organized by religious groups. The members of these
groups believed there could be no compromise with evil. They felt that slavery was evil. So slavery must
go.

The 1830s saw the birth of anti-slavery societies in New York and New England. The societies published
newspapers and pamphlets. They began to flood the country with pamphlets and anti-slavery petitions.
The South tried to stop the flow of this anti-slavery literature across the borders of southern states. The
Abolitionists, in turn, declared that such actions violated freedom of the press and the constitutional right
of petition. This was the beginning of a long, bitter struggle. It lasted for twenty years. It finally split the
Union.

The abolitionists had not as yet received major support from the people of the North. Many northerners
were hostile to them. But in 1836, the House of Representatives declared that it would not listen to any
anti-slavery petitions. This became known as the "gag rule."

The Senate did not pass such a rule. But the Senate still made it almost impossible for anti-slavery
petitions to come before it. Former President John Quincy Adams, who was then a congressman, rose up
in protest. He was not an abolitionist. But he led a campaign against the gag rule. Adams said the rule was
a violation of the constitutional right to petition Congress. The gag rule made great numbers of people in
the North very angry. Because of it, these people began to support the abolitionist movement.

The increasing bitterness over the issue of slavery put Whig leader Henry Clay in a difficult position.
Clay was under pressure to make a decision on slavery, on the abolitionists, and on the southern
extremists.

Where did he stand? Senator Clay had always hated slavery, although he owned some slaves himself. In a
Senate speech in 1833, he called slavery "this great evil ... the darkest spot in the map of our country."
Clay feared that the dispute over slavery might destroy him as a political leader. And, what was worse, he
was afraid that it might destroy the nation. Clay was an extremely strong believer in the Union.

Clay opposed violent action. He thought the slow growth of public opinion was better than violence in
bringing about a solution to slavery. Clay hated the abolitionists and the great noise they were beginning
to make over slavery. He said they were interfering with a southern institution and were forcing slavery
into politics. Slavery, he declared, did not belong in politics.

Still, Clay was a national leader. He knew it would be bad to stand too strongly opposed to the growing
abolitionist movement. Clay also opposed the southern senators who tried to prevent discussion of
slavery. He said their position was emotional and extreme. It was as bad as that of the abolitionists.
The Senate did, in fact, discuss slavery, in a general way. It was concerned about the legal position of the
federal government in relation to slavery. Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina offered a resolution
for consideration. This is what he said:

The Union was created by an agreement among the states. Each state had the constitutional right to
complete control over its own institutions. It was the job -- the duty -- of the government in Washington

to protect that right. That meant protection against any interference in the institution of slavery.

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Senator Clay did not like such extreme talk about states' rights. He became especially angry when states
talked about separating from the Union, instead of trying to solve problems together.

"Separation," Clay said, "is a terrible word. One's ears should not accept it. I desire to see -- in continued
safety and prosperity -- this Union, and no other Union. I am opposed to all separate confederacies and to
all sectional conventions. This Union, this government, will do nothing to attack the rights and security of
the slave-holding states."

Clay then offered his own resolution for Senate consideration. This is what he said:

Congress had no legal power over slavery within the states. Therefore, petitions for the abolition of
slavery must be rejected, because Congress had no constitutional right to act on them. The Senate
approved Clay's resolution. It rejected the one offered by Calhoun.

Clay had acted as he did because he wanted to settle the dispute, and because he loved the Union. He did
so for personal political reasons, too. Clay had defended the constitutional right of petition. That pleased
the North. But he also had used a legal move to block the Abolitionist Movement from bringing
anti-slavery petitions before Congress. That pleased the South.

Clay believed he had protected his national position. He told a friend: "I have acted in such a way that I
lost nothing, either in the South or the North."

As the national election of 1840 got closer, the Whig Party felt more hopeful. They began to believe they
could defeat President Van Buren in his attempt to win a second term. But they also began to turn away
from Henry Clay as a presidential candidate. The election of 1840 will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Whigs See a Chance to Defeat Van Buren in 1840</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

As the election of 1840 drew closer, the Whig Party felt more and more hopeful that it could put its
candidate in the White House. The Whigs believed they could defeat President Martin Van Buren in his
attempt to win a second term. Whig leaders turned away from their early choice of Senator Henry Clay of
Kentucky as their candidate. There was too much popular opposition to him.

Some people opposed Clay because he owned slaves; others because of his close ties to business interests.
They considered him a pro-bank man. Besides, there was a growing feeling among the Whig leaders that
they should choose a military hero as their presidential candidate -- a general like Andrew Jackson.
This week in our series, Jack Weitzel and Jack Moyles tell the story of the election of 1840.

Thurlow Weed, one of the important Whig leaders in the state of New York, remembered how the people
had loved Jackson, the hero of the War of Eighteen-Twelve.

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Westerners believed the battle -- at a place called Tippecanoe -- was a great victory for Harrison. Weed
also thought of General Winfield Scott, who had kept the border with Canada quiet. Scott was a

southerner from Virginia. He had not been involved in politics and had no political enemies. Weed finally
decided that Scott might be a better candidate than Harrison or Clay.

But other party leaders remembered that Harrison had received many votes in 1836, although not enough

to win. When the Whig convention opened, all three men -- Clay, Scott, Harrison -- were possible

candidates. The convention delegates finally chose General Harrison.

For vice president, they decided on another southerner, John Tyler. Tyler was a strong believer in states'
rights. He had worked hard to win the nomination for Senator Clay. One report said he felt so strongly
about it that he cried when Clay was not chosen. Southern Whigs agreed to support Harrison only because
Tyler was the vice presidential candidate.

Clay was not at the convention. He stayed in Washington and waited for news from the convention. On
the final day, as he waited for word, he drank glass after glass of wine. When the news came that the
Whigs had chosen Harrison, Clay said in anger: "I am the most unfortunate man in the history of parties.
Always chosen as a candidate when sure to be defeated. And now, tricked out of the nomination when I,
or anyone, would surely be elected."

The Democrats were happy that Clay was not the Whig presidential candidate. They were glad the Whigs
chose the sixty-seven year old Harrison. Democrats spoke of Harrison as an "old lady." They called him
"Granny Harrison." One democratic newspaper said the old man did not really want to be president. It
said Harrison would be happier with a 2,000 dollar a year pension, a barrel of hard cider to drink, and a
log cabin to live in.

Working men drank hard apple cider. And a great many farmers still lived in houses, or cabins, made of
rough logs. The Whigs put the democratic statement to their own use. They saw a way to represent their
party of bankers and businessmen as the party of the working man and the small farmer. "The statement is
right!" they cried. "The Whig Party is the party of hard cider and log cabins."

They made Harrison -- a Virginia aristocrat -- a simple man of the people. His big home in Ohio became a
log cabin. He exchanged his silk hat for the kind worn by farmers. Whig leaders would not let their
candidate make many speeches. They would not let him write anything. All his letters were written by his
political advisers. When Harrison did speak in public, it usually was about nothing important. No one

really knew what the old man thought about any of the important issues.

The Democrats opened their nominating convention in Baltimore in May 1840. Van Buren was chosen to
be the party's candidate again. The president received the votes of all the party representatives at the
convention. But the representatives were not able to agree on a vice presidential candidate. They finally
decided to let the states nominate candidates for the job.

The election campaign was one of the wildest in the nation's history. Both parties did everything possible
to show that they were the friend of the common man. The Whigs put up log cabins everywhere and
offered free hard cider to everyone. They organized huge outdoor meetings for thousands, with food and
drink for all. They held parades and marched with flags, bands, and pictures of William Henry Harrison.
Many campaign songs were written. These songs told of Harrison's bravery against the Indians. They told
how Harrison loved the hard and simple life of the common man.

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so thick that a man could bury his feet in them. The congressman charged that President Van Buren wore
silk clothing, and even put French perfume on his body to make him smell sweet as a flower.

Van Buren and other Democrats called the charges foolish. But no one seemed to hear. The Democrats
made charges just as foolish. They claimed that Harrison could not read or write. They said he would not
pay people the money he owed them. And they charged that Harrison even sold white men into slavery.
Henry Clay said the campaign was a struggle between log cabins and palaces, between hard cider and
champagne.

The state of Maine held elections in September of 1840. Voters in Maine elected Whig Edward Kent as
governor. They gave the state's electoral votes to Harrison, the hero of Tippecanoe. The election results
produced a new song for the Whigs. "And have you heard the news from Maine, and what old Maine can
do. She went hell-bent for Governor Kent, and Tippecanoe and Tyler, too. And Tippecanoe and Tyler,
too. "

One by one, the other states voted. It was clear early in the election that General Harrison would win. The

election was close in total votes. But Harrison received two hundred thirty-four electoral votes, and Van
Buren only sixty. And so, Harrison became the ninth president of the United States.

Whig leaders had made most of Harrison's campaign decisions. Some of them -- especially Henry Clay
and Daniel Webster -- believed they could continue to control him, even after Harrison moved into the
White House. But Harrison saw what was happening. He made a trip to Kentucky, Clay's home state, late
in 1840. Harrison made it clear that he did not want to meet with Clay. He was afraid such a meeting
would seem to show that Clay was the real power in the new administration.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Jack Weitzel and Jack Moyles.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>The Brief Presidency of William Henry Harrison</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In November of 1840, the American people elected their ninth president, William Henry Harrison. The
election of the retired general was expected. Still, it was a great victory for the Whig Party and a sharply
felt loss for the opposing party, the Democrats. They failed to put their man, President Martin Van Buren,
in the White House for a second term.

Whig leaders made most of Harrison's campaign decisions. Some of those leaders, especially senators
Henry Clay of Kentucky and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, believed they could control the newly
elected president. But Harrison saw what was happening. When he made a trip to Kentucky, he made it
clear that he did not want to meet with Clay. He felt that such a meeting might seem to show that Clay

was the real power in the new administration.

But Clay made sure that Harrison was publicly invited to visit him. The newly elected president could not
say no to such an invitation. He spent several days at Clay's home in Lexington.

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Daniel Webster, without even being asked, wrote an inaugural speech for the new president. Harrison
thanked him, but said he already had written his speech. Harrison spoke for more than one and a half
hours. He gave the speech outside, on the front steps of the Capitol building.

It was the coldest inaugural day in the nation's history. But Harrison did not wear a coat or hat. Harrison
caught a cold, probably from standing so long outside in the bitter weather of inaugural day. Rest was his
best treatment. But Harrison was so busy, he had little time to rest.

Hundreds of people demanded to see the new president. They wanted jobs with the government.

Everywhere he turned, Harrison was met by crowds of job-hungry people. And there was a problem that
worried him. Henry Clay and Daniel Webster were fighting each other for power in the new

administration.

Harrison had offered Clay any job he wanted in the cabinet. But Clay chose to stay in the Senate. Harrison
then gave the job of Secretary of State to Webster. He also gave Webster's supporters the best government
jobs in New York City.

Clay did not like this. And he told the president so. Harrison accused Clay of trying to tell him -- the
president -- how to do his job. Later, he told Clay that he wanted no further words with him. He said any
future communications between them would have to be written.

Harrison's health grew worse. Late in March 1841, his cold turned into pneumonia. Doctors did

everything they could to cure him. But nothing seemed to help. On April fourth, after exactly one month
as president, William Henry Harrison died.

Vice President John Tyler was then at his home in Williamsburg, Virginia. Secretary of State Webster
sent his son Fletcher on horseback to tell Tyler of the president's death. The vice President was shocked.
He had not even known that Harrison was sick. Two hours after he received the news, Tyler was on his
way to Washington. He reached the capital just before sunrise on April sixth, 1841.

There was some question about Tyler's position. This was the first time that a president had died in office.
No one was really sure if the Constitution meant that the vice president was to become president or only
acting president. Webster and the other members of the cabinet decided that Tyler should be president and
serve until the next election. Tyler also had decided this.

Tyler was sworn-in as the tenth president on April sixth. He was fifty-one years old. No other man had
become president at such an early age. Tyler was born and grew up in the same part of Virginia as
William Henry Harrison. His father was a wealthy planter and judge who had been a friend of Thomas
Jefferson. John completed studies at the college of William and Mary, and became a lawyer. He entered
politics and served in the Virginia legislature. Then he was elected a member of Congress and, later,
governor of Virginia. He also served as a United States senator.

Tyler believed strongly in the rights of the states. As a congressman and a senator, he had voted against
every attempt to give more power to the federal government. Tyler's political beliefs were strongly
opposed to those of the northern and western Whigs. Henry Clay firmly supported the ideas of a national
bank, a protective tax on imports, and federal spending to improve transportation in the states. Tyler was
just as firmly against these ideas.

There was something else. Clay expected to be the Whig Party's presidential candidate in 1844. If he
supported Tyler, then the new president might become too strong politically and win a second term in the
White House.

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"I do not," said Tyler. "I would like to keep President Harrison's cabinet. But I, alone, will make the
decisions. If the cabinet members do not approve of this, let them resign."

Tyler wanted to change the cabinet, but could not do so immediately. All but two members of the cabinet
were supporters of Senator Clay. Tyler wanted to put these men out and appoint men who would support
him. But if he did this immediately, it would split the party. He would have to wait.

The Whig Party controlled both houses of Congress after the 1840 elections. Clay wanted a special
session of the new Congress. He was able to get Harrison to call such a session before the president's
death. At the session, Clay offered six resolutions as a plan of work for Congress. These proposed putting
an end to the independent treasury, the establishment of a new national bank, and a tax increase on
imports. They also included a new plan to give the states the money received by the federal government
from the sale of public lands.

It was no problem to put an end to the independent treasury. Tyler had opposed it during the campaign
and in his message to Congress. Congress soon passed a bill repealing the independent treasury act. And
Tyler quickly signed it.

But a dispute arose on the issue of a new national bank. Tyler had his Secretary of the Treasury send
Congress the administration's plan for a national bank. It would permit such a bank to be established in
Washington. And it would permit the bank to open offices in a state, but only if the state approved.
This was not the kind of bank Clay wanted. He wanted no limits of any kind on the power of a national
bank to open offices anywhere in the country. Clay then offered a bill that would create just this kind of
bank. There was much debate. And Clay finally agreed to a compromise. Bank offices would be permitted
in any state where the state legislature did not immediately refuse permission.

The Congress accepted the compromise. But President Tyler did not. He vetoed the bank bill and sent it
back to Congress. This had been a difficult decision for Tyler to make. He wanted peace and unity in the
party. But he also wanted to show that he -- and not Henry Clay -- was president. The people knew he
opposed Clay's bill. If he accepted it, the people would feel that Clay was the more powerful.

Clay did not have enough votes to pass the bill over the president's veto. Another effort was made to get a
bank bill that the president would approve. This time, members of Congress met with Tyler to get his
ideas. He explained, again, the kind of bank he would accept. He said the states must have the right to
approve or reject bank offices.

The congressmen wrote another bill. They said it was exactly what the president wanted. But the

president did not agree. He said this second bill would also be vetoed unless changes were made in it. The
changes were not made. And Tyler did as he said he would do. He vetoed it. This second veto caused a
crisis in Tyler's cabinet.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Maurice Joyce and Jack Moyles.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are on the Web, along with historical images, at
voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>President John Tyler Shows His Independence</b>

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The election of 1840 put a new president in the White House: William Henry Harrison. The defeat of
President Martin Van Buren had been expected. Still, it was a sharp loss for his Democratic Party.
Harrison was a retired general and a member of the Whig Party. He became the ninth president of the
United States. But he got sick and he died after just a month in office. His vice president, John Tyler,
became president.

Whig leaders, especially Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky, tried to control the new president. Clay
proposed detailed legislative programs for the new administration. Among them: the establishment of a
national bank. This was high on Senator Clay's list of proposals.

But Tyler soon showed his independence. He did not approve the plans as proposed by Clay. Tyler vetoed
two bills calling for the creation of a national bank. Tyler wanted peace and party unity. But he also
wanted to show that he -- not Clay -- was president.

This week in our series, Bud Steele and Lew Roland continue the story of John Tyler.

Clay's supporters in the cabinet did their best to get Tyler to sign the bank bills. When the president
refused to do so, Whig Party leaders urged the cabinet to resign. This would show that the president,
alone, was responsible for the veto of the bills.

All cabinet members, but one -- Daniel Webster -- resigned. Secretary of State Webster was with the
president when one of the letters of resignation arrived.

"What am I to do, Mr. President?" asked Webster.
"You must decide that for yourself," Tyler said.

"If you leave it to me, Mr. President, I will stay where I am." President Tyler stood up.

"Give me your hand on that," he said, "and I will say to you that Henry Clay is a doomed man from this
hour."

Tyler named a new cabinet. And there was not one Clay supporter in it.

The president's veto of the second bank bill brought strong public protests from those who wanted a
national bank. A large group of Whig congressmen met and voted to expel Tyler from the party.
During the struggle over the bank bills, the Whigs did not forget the other parts of Senator Clay's

legislative program. Clay especially wanted approval of a bill to give the different states money from the
sale of public land. Tyler liked this idea himself. Many of the states owed large amounts of money. The

distribution bill, as it was called, would help them get out of debt.

The president was willing to support the bill. But he saw one danger in it. If all the money from land sales
was given to the states, the federal government might not have enough money.

Tyler feared that Congress then would raise import taxes to get more money for the federal government.
As a southerner, the president opposed taxes on imports. He finally agreed to accept the distribution bill,
but on one condition. The distribution of money to the states would be suspended if import taxes rose
higher than twenty percent.

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The next year, the government found itself short of money. It was spending more than it had. Congress
decided that import taxes should be raised, some even higher than twenty percent. The bill was passed by
close votes in the House and Senate.

When it got to the White House, President Tyler vetoed it. He said it was wrong to raise the tax so high
and, at the same time, continue to give the states the money from land sales. He said the federal

government itself needed the land-sale money. The Whigs were angry.

Still, they did not have enough votes to pass the bill over the president's veto. Then they approved a new
bill. This one raised import taxes, but said nothing about distribution of federal money to the states. And
President Tyler signed it.

While the Whigs made bitter speeches about the failure of the party's legislative program, Tyler worked to
improve relations with Britain. The United States and Britain disputed the border that separated Canada
from the northeastern United States. Both Canada and the state of Maine claimed the disputed area.
Britain was also angry because Americans had helped Canadian rebels.

Canadian soldiers had crossed the Niagara River and burned a boat that was used to carry supplies to the
rebels. Secretary of State Daniel Webster wanted peace with Britain. And there was a new government in

Britain. Its foreign minister, Lord Aberdeen, also wanted peace.

Lord Aberdeen sent a special representative, Lord Ashburton, to the United States. Lord Ashburton had
an American wife. And he was a friend of Daniel Webster. He arrived in Washington in the spring of
1842 with the power to settle all disputes with the United States.

Lord Ashburton said Britain regretted that it had not made some explanation or apology for the sinking of
an American boat in the Niagara River. The two men discussed the border dispute between Canada and
Maine.

Webster proposed a compromise border line. Lord Ashburton accepted the compromise. The agreement
gave almost 18,000 square kilometers of the disputed area to Maine. Canada received more than twelve
thousand square kilometers.

The Senate approved the Webster-Ashburton agreement. And American-British relations showed
improvement. President Tyler then turned to another problem: Texas. Texas asked to become a state
during President Van Buren's administration. But nothing was done about the request.

Tyler was interested in Texas and wanted to make it part of the Union. Secretary Webster was cool to the
idea of Texas statehood.

As a northerner, he did not want another slave state in the Union. Webster and his supporters were Tyler's
only real strength in the Whig Party outside of Virginia. The president, therefore, did not push the issue of
Texas.

After Senate approval of his treaty with Lord Ashburton, Webster decided that he could be of no more
real use to the administration. He resigned as secretary of state. Tyler named one of his Virginia
supporters, Abel Upshur, to the job in the summer of 1843.

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Upshur and other southerners feared what might happen if this were done. Slaves from nearby southern

states would try to escape to freedom in Texas. And the abolitionists might use Texas as a base for
propaganda against the South.

There was another reason for President Tyler's interest in Texas. He believed it possible to make political
use of the question of Texas statehood. It could help him build a new political party, a party that might
elect him president for another four years. Four months after becoming secretary of state, Upshur offered
a statehood treaty to Texas.

At first, Texas President Sam Houston refused the offer. He finally agreed to negotiate, but said the
United States must accept two conditions. It must agree to protect Texas if Mexico attacked it. And it
must promise that the United States Senate would approve the treaty.

Upshur told the Texas representative in Washington that Texas would be given military protection just as
soon as the treaty was signed. And he said the necessary two-thirds of the senators would approve the
statehood treaty. Houston was satisfied. And his representative began secret negotiations with Upshur.
A few weeks later, before the talks could be completed, Upshur joined the president and congressional
leaders for a trip down the Potomac River. They sailed on a new American warship that carried two large
cannons. The new guns were to be fired for the president.

Upshur was standing near one of the cannons during the firing. He and two other men were killed when
the gun exploded. The president was not injured. But 19 others were hurt.

President Tyler named John C. Calhoun -- a Democrat -- as his new secretary of state. He did so for two
reasons: Calhoun believed that Texas should be part of the United States. And Tyler -- a Whig -- hoped
that Calhoun might be able to get him nominated as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party.
Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Bud Steele and Lew Roland.

Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, along with historical images, are at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American

history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Texas Statehood Is Chief Issue in 1844 Campaign</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In 1843, Texas was a major issue in American politics. President John Tyler wanted to make Texas a state
in the Union. But his secretary of state, Daniel Webster, was cool toward the idea. Webster was a

northerner who opposed having another slave-holding state in the Union.

Tyler did not push the issue. He needed Webster's political support. Then, Webster resigned. The

president replaced him with a southerner, Abel Upshur. Four months later, Upshur began negotiations to
bring Texas into the Union. But a few weeks before those talks were completed, Upshur died in an
accident.

President Tyler was a member of the Whig Party. But he made a Democrat -- John C. Calhoun -- his new
secretary of state. Calhoun wanted Texas in the Union. But Tyler also had another reason for wanting his
help. Tyler, though a Whig, hoped to get nominated in 1844 as the presidential candidate of the

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This week in our series, Maurice Joyce and Stewart Spencer talk about the election of 1844.

Calhoun completed the talks that Upshur had begun. And the treaty with Texas was signed April twelfth,
1844. A few days later, a letter from Calhoun to the British minister in Washington was made public. The
letter was Calhoun's answer to a British note saying that Britain wished to end slavery wherever it existed.
Calhoun defended slavery in the American south. He said that what was called slavery was really a
political institution necessary for the peace, safety, and economic strength of those states where it existed.

Calhoun said that statehood for Texas was necessary to the peace and security of the United States. He
said that ending slavery in Texas would be a danger to the American south and to the Union itself.
Calhoun made it seem that the United States wanted Texas -- not because of some great national interest
-- but only to protect slavery in the south. The letter created great opposition to Texas statehood in the
north. People called on their senators to vote against the acceptance of Texas. President Tyler sent the
treaty with Texas to the Senate on April twenty-second, 1844.

This was just nine days before the Whig party opened its national convention in Baltimore. Everybody
was sure that the Whigs would choose Senator Henry Clay as their presidential candidate. Clay had been
working hard for the nomination for more than two years. The Democrats were to hold their convention a
month later. Former President Martin Van Buren was the choice of most Democrats.

Both Clay and Van Buren opposed statehood for Texas. Clay said it would lead to war with Mexico. Van
Buren agreed. As expected, Clay was chosen as the Whig Party's candidate for president. But Van Buren
was given a surprise. The Democrats adopted a rule that their candidate must receive at least two-thirds of
the votes -- one hundred and seventy-seven of the two-hundred and sixty-six delegates to the convention.
Van Buren won a majority of the votes -- one hundred and forty-six. But that was not enough.

The convention voted again. But Van Buren still fell short of the necessary two-thirds. The delegates
voted again and again without giving Van Buren the number he needed. After a time, Van Buren began to
lose votes. None of the names nominated seemed able to win the necessary two-thirds. At last, another
name was proposed: James K. Polk. Polk was at one time governor of Tennessee and Speaker of the
House of Representatives. He was a supporter of statehood for Texas.

The convention delegates voted for the eighth time. Polk got only forty-four votes. Then they voted again.
This time, Polk received all two-hundred sixty-six votes. Senator Silas Wright of New York was chosen
as candidate for the vice-presidency. But he refused to accept, because he did not support making Texas a
state. The Democrats then chose Senator George Dallas of Pennsylvania.

Two other parties offered candidates in the 1844 elections. President Tyler formed a party of his

supporters and government workers. They met and nominated him for president. A fourth group, the
Liberty Party, was organized by northeastern Abolitionists after the Democratic and Whig parties refused
to oppose slavery. Representatives from six states met at Albany, New York. They chose James Birney
for president.

Texas was the chief issue of the 1844 campaign. President Tyler had sent the treaty with Texas to the
Senate for approval. The Senate received it just one week after the democratic convention. Those senators
who had supported Martin Van Buren were still bitter over the party's failure to nominate him as its
candidate. They joined with the Whigs to defeat the treaty: 35 to 16.

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Clay angered many people in the North because he softened his opposition to Texas. Some of these began
supporting the Liberty Party candidate, James Birney. The Democrats were able to get President Tyler to
withdraw as a candidate. They told him that he would take votes from the Democrats and might make
Clay president.

Wild campaign charges were made against both Polk and Clay. Clay was called a gambler, a duelist, a
man of dishonest deals. Stories were told about Clay's use of strong language and his love of card games.
Whig newspapers reported that a traveler saw a group of slaves being sold in Tennessee. Burned into the
skin of each of the slaves, the papers said, were the letters JKP -- the initials of James K. Polk.

The election was very close. Two million seven hundred thousand people voted. Polk received only
thirty-eight-thousand votes more than Clay. But Polk got one-hundred-seventy electoral votes. Clay got
only one-hundred-five.

The election was really decided in New York state. Clay lost the state's thirty-six electoral votes. But he
did so by just fifty-one hundred votes. He might have won the state had not James Birney received more
than 15,000 votes in New York.

President Tyler believed Polk's victory showed that the American people wanted statehood for Texas. But
he knew that he could never get the Senate's approval of a Texas statehood treaty. It would take

two-thirds of the Senate vote to do so. So Tyler proposed other action to make Texas a state. When Congress
met in December, he proposed that Texas be given statehood through a joint resolution by both the House
and Senate. Such a resolution needed only a simple majority for approval.

A resolution calling for the annexation of Texas was passed by the house in January, 1845, and by the
Senate on February twenty-seventh. Tyler signed the bill on March first -- just three days before he
stepped down as president.

The resolution invited Texas to join the Union as a state. It gave Texas the right to split itself into as many
as four more states when its population was large enough. Texas could keep its public lands. But it had to
pay its own debts. And Texas could enter the Union as a slave state.

The Mexican minister to Washington protested the resolution. He called it an act of aggression against his
country. He demanded his passport and returned to Mexico. Britain and France tried to prevent Texas
from becoming a state. They got Mexico to agree to recognize Texas independence, but only if Texas
would not join the United States.

Texas thus had two choices. It could become a state in the United States. Or it could continue as a
republic with its independence recognized by Mexico. The Texas Congress chose statehood. President
Polk looked even farther to the west for more new territory.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Maurice Joyce and Stewart Spencer.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, along with historical images, can be found at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>In 1845, Republic of Texas Faces a Choice</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

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In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico. Nine years later, in 1845, the United States
Congress passed a resolution inviting the Republic of Texas to join the Union as a state.

President John Tyler signed the resolution on March first. That was just three days before his term ended
and James Polk moved into the White House as the nation's eleventh president.

Britain and France tried to prevent Texas from becoming a state. They got Mexico to agree to recognize
the independence of Texas, but only if Texas agreed not to join the United States.

Texas had two choices. It could become a state. Or it could remain a republic, with its independence
recognized by Mexico. The Texas Congress chose statehood.

This week in our series, Lew Roland and Jack Weitzel talk about statehood for Texas and about the
presidency of James Polk.

James Polk had campaigned for the presidency on two promises. He declared that he would make all of
Texas and all of Oregon part of the United States. The people had elected Polk because they shared his
belief that the United States should extend from sea to sea -- from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. They
felt it was God's will, and their duty, to spread American democracy and freedom across the continent.
In the words of poet Walt Whitman: "It is for the interest of mankind that [America's] power and territory
should be extended -- the farther, the better."

Traders from New England were the first Americans to visit Oregon. They stopped on the Oregon coast to
trade for animal skins.

Later, American explorers Lewis and Clark crossed the Louisiana territory to reach Oregon. And in 1811,
John Jacob Astor built a fur trading center at the mouth of Oregon's Columbia River.

British explorers had given Britain claims to the same territory. The British Hudson's Bay Company also

built a trading center on the Columbia and claimed a large area north of it. The two countries could not
agree on how to divide Oregon between them. Since there were few settlers in Oregon, Britain and the
United States agreed to occupy the territory jointly.

This system worked well until the 1840s. Then, thousands of Americans began moving west to Oregon.
The new settlers were not satisfied with the joint occupation agreement. They wanted all of Oregon to
belong to the United States.

President Polk said he thought the United States had strong claims to all of the territory. But he said he
would compromise. He offered to divide Oregon at the forty-ninth parallel of latitude. All north of this
line would belong to Britain. All south of it -- including the Columbia River -- would belong to the United
States.

The offer was given to Britain's minister in Washington. He rejected it, refusing even to send it to
London. He said Britain would accept nothing but the Columbia River as the southern border of British
Oregon. President Polk withdrew the offer. He said America had no choice but to claim all of Oregon. He
used strong language and seemed to say that the United States would fight, if necessary, to defend its
claim.

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In London, the British government decided that Oregon was not worth a war with the United States. It had
demanded the Columbia River border because of the Hudson's Bay trading center on the river. The center
had been moved farther north to Vancouver Island. So there was no real reason to continue this demand.
The British foreign minister proposed a treaty that would make the forty-ninth parallel of latitude the
border between the United States and British Oregon. The proposal was almost the same that President
Polk had made earlier.

Leaders in the western United States demanded that Polk reject the British offer. They wanted all of
Oregon. Polk decided to let the Senate vote on the British proposal. The Senate accepted the treaty, and
Polk signed it.

The treaty made the forty-ninth parallel the border from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The
southern border of the Oregon territory was the forty-second parallel. South of this was California. The
United States, for some time, had wanted to buy California from Mexico.

Former President Tyler had asked his minister to Mexico to try to buy California. The minister, Waddy
Thompson, had been to California. He described it as the richest, the most beautiful, the healthiest country
in the world. Thompson said the port of San Francisco was big enough to hold all the navies of the world.
He said San Francisco, some day, would control the trade of all of the Pacific Ocean.

There was little chance that Thompson could get California from Mexico. But then something happened
that destroyed any chance of getting California peacefully. The commander of a United States navy force
in the Pacific, Thomas Jones, received news that led him to believe the United States was at war with
Mexico.

He sailed to Monterey, the capital of California. The navy force arrived there in October, 1842. Jones and
his men seized Monterey and held it for two days. He found he had made a mistake and returned the town
to Mexican officials. Jones apologized. But his actions greatly angered Mexican leaders. They refused
even to talk about selling California to the United States.

Mexico broke relations with the United States when Congress approved statehood for Texas. Mexican
officials had warned that Texas statehood would lead to war. After Polk became president, he sent a
representative to Mexico to try to establish diplomatic relations again. A weak government was in power
in Mexico, headed by President Jose Joaquin Herrera.

Herrera at first agreed to meet with the American, John Slidell, to discuss four offers from President Polk.
Earlier, Mexico had agreed to pay more than two million dollars for damages claimed by Americans. But
it did not have the money.

Slidell was to offer to pay these claims if Mexico would accept the Rio Grande River as the border
between Texas and Mexico. And America would pay Mexico five million dollars for New Mexico and

twenty-five million more for California. If these offers were rejected, Slidell was to try to buy part of
California for five million dollars.

Slidell arrived in Mexico City in December, 1845. The Mexican government had grown even weaker.
And Herrera was afraid he would be forced from power if he met with the American diplomat.

The Herrera government fell anyway. And the new Mexican government refused to talk with the

American representative. Slidell returned to the United States, firm in the belief that only force could win
the Mexican territories the United States wanted.

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President Polk had sent several thousand American soldiers to Texas six months before, when Texas
accepted statehood. This force, led by General Zachary Taylor, had camped near the town of Corpus
Christi at the mouth of the Nueces River. Polk now ordered Taylor's soldiers to the Rio Grande River. He
told them to stay on the north side of the river.

Should Mexico attack, Taylor and his men were to strike back as hard as possible. General Taylor was
glad to get his orders. For months, his men had been training at Corpus Christi. They were ready for
action.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Lew Roland and Jack Weitzel.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our series can be found along with historical images at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Polk Sends Troops to Border With Mexico</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In the middle of the 1840s, the United States offered to buy California from Mexico. The government of
Mexico refused to negotiate. American President James Polk felt that the use of force was the only way to
make Mexico negotiate. So, in the spring of 1846, he ordered American soldiers to the Rio Grande River.
The Rio Grande formed part of the border between the United States and Mexico.

This week in our series, Larry West and Maurice Joyce tell about the conflict between the United States
and Mexico.

General Zachary Taylor commanded the American force. He sent one of his officers across the river to
meet with Mexican officials. The Mexicans protested the movement of the American troops to the Rio
Grande. They said the area was Mexican territory. The movement of American troops there, they said,
was an act of war.

For almost a month, the Americans and the Mexicans kept their positions. Then, on April twenty-fifth,
General Taylor received word that a large Mexican force had crossed the border a few kilometers up the
river. A small force of American soldiers went to investigate. They were attacked. All were killed,
wounded, or captured. General Taylor quickly sent a message to President Polk in Washington. It said
war had begun.

The message arrived at the White House on May ninth. A few days later, President Polk asked Congress
to recognize that war had started. He asked Congress to give him everything he needed to win the war and
bring peace to the area. A few members of Congress did not want to declare war against Mexico. They
believed the United States was responsible for the situation along the Rio Grande. They were out-voted.
President Polk signed the war bill. Later, Polk wrote:

"We had not gone to war for conquest. But it was clear that in making peace we would, if possible, get
California and other parts of Mexico."

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President Polk was troubled by this opposition. But he did not think the war would last long. He thought
the United States could quickly force Mexico to sell him the territory he wanted. Polk secretly sent a
representative to former Mexican dictator Santa Ana. Santa Ana was living in exile in Cuba. Polk's
representative said the United States wanted to buy California and some other Mexican territory. Santa
Ana said he would agree to the sale, if the United States would help him return to power.

President Polk ordered the United States navy to let Santa Ana return to Mexico. American ships that
blocked the port of Vera Cruz permitted the Mexican dictator to land there. Once Santa Ana returned, he
failed to honor his promises to Polk. He refused to end the war and sell California. Instead, Santa Ana
organized an army to fight the United States.

American General Zachary Taylor moved against the Mexicans. He crossed the Rio Grande River. He
marched toward Monterrey, the major trading and transportation center of northeast Mexico. The battle
for Monterrey lasted three days. The Mexicans surrendered.

Then General Taylor got orders to send most of his forces back to the coast. They were to join other
American forces for the invasion of Vera Cruz. While this was happening, Santa Ana was moving his
army north. In four months, he had built an army of twenty thousand men. When General Taylor learned
that Santa Ana was preparing to attack, he left Vera Cruz. He moved his forces into a position to fight
Santa Ana.

Santa Ana sent a representative to meet with General Taylor. The representative said the American force
had one hour to surrender. Taylor's answer was short: "Tell Santa Ana to go to hell."

The battle between the United States and Mexican forces lasted two days. Losses were heavy on both
sides. On the second night, Santa Ana's army withdrew from the battlefield. Taylor had won another
victory.

Other American forces were victorious, too. General Winfield Scott had captured the port of Vera Cruz
and was ready to attack Mexico City. Commodore Robert Stockton had invaded California and had raised

the American flag over the territory.

Stephen Kearny had seized Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, without firing a shot. Still, the war was
not over. President Polk's "short" war already had lasted for more than a year. Polk decided to send a
special diplomatic representative to Mexico. He gave the diplomat the power to negotiate a peace treaty
whenever Mexico wanted to stop fighting.

A ceasefire was declared. But attempts to negotiate a peace treaty failed. Santa Ana tried to use the
ceasefire to prepare for more fighting. So General Scott ended the ceasefire. His men began their attack
on Mexico City. The fighting lasted one week. The government of Mexico surrendered. Santa Ana
stepped down as president. Manuel de la Pena y Pena -- president of the supreme court -- became acting
president.

On February second, 1848, the United States and Mexico signed a peace treaty. Mexico agreed to give up
California and New Mexico. It would recognize the Rio Grande River as the southern border of Texas.
The United States would pay Mexico 15 million dollars. It also would pay more than three million dollars
in damage claims that Mexico owed American citizens.

The terms of the treaty were those set by President Polk. Yet he was not satisfied with just California and
New Mexico. He wanted even more territory. But he realized he probably would have to fight for it. And
he did not think Congress would agree to extend the war. So Polk sent the peace treaty to the Senate. It
was approved. The Mexican Congress also approved it. The war was officially over.

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to do that. But the question of slavery delayed quick congressional action. Should the new territories be
opened or closed to slavery. Southerners argued that they had the right to take slaves into the new

territories. Northerners disagreed. They opposed any further spread of slavery. The real question was this:
did Congress have the power to control or bar slavery in the territories.

Until Texas became a state, almost all national leaders seemed to accept the idea that Congress did have

this power. For fifty years, Congress had passed resolutions and laws controlling slavery in United States
territories. Northerners believed Congress received the power from the constitution. Southern slave
owners disagreed. They believed the power to control slavery remained with the states.

There were some who thought the earlier Missouri Compromise could be used to settle the issue of
slavery in California, Oregon, and New Mexico. They proposed that the line of the Missouri Compromise
be pushed west, all the way to the Pacific Coast. Territory north of the line would be free of slavery.
South of the line, slavery would be permitted.

Everyone agreed that governments had to be organized in the territories. But there seemed to be no way to
settle the issue of slavery. Then a senator from Delaware agreed to be chairman of a special committee on
the question of slavery in the new territories. The Senate committee included four Whigs and four

Democrats. North and South were equally represented. Within six days, the committee had agreed on a
compromise bill. That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Larry West and Maurice

Joyce.Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at
voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Polk Decides Not to Seek Second Term in 1848</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In 1848, while James Polk was president, there was a great constitutional debate in the United States. It
arose over slavery in the new territories. Southerners argued that they had the right to take slaves into

New Mexico and California. Northerners opposed any further spread of slavery. The question was this:
did Congress have the power to control or even ban slavery in the new territories?

There seemed to be no answer to the problem. Everyone agreed that governments had to be organized in
the territories. But northern and southern leaders could not settle their dispute over slavery.

Now, with this week's program in our series, here are Jack Moyles and Jack Weitzel.

Senator John Clayton of Delaware proposed to the Senate that it name a special committee on the
question of slavery in the new territories. Both parties -- the Whigs and the Democrats -- had the same
number of senators on the committee. Senator Clayton was its chairman.

South and North were equally represented. After six days, Clayton's committee agreed on a compromise
bill. It proposed that Oregon be organized as free territory. Slavery there would be illegal.

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Not everyone believed this plan was a good one. Some northern senators believed that Chief Justice
Taney would decide for slavery. Southern senators were just as sure that Taney would decide against
slavery.

Many Whigs in the House of Representatives opposed the plan, because they feared that the political
dispute over slavery would destroy the Supreme Court. The Senate approved the compromise bill. But the
House rejected it.

After long debate, Congress finally approved territorial government for Oregon. And it voted that Oregon
should be free territory, with slavery illegal.

The vote on the Oregon bill was very close. It passed in the Senate only because two men from slave
states voted for it. They were Senator Thomas Benton of Missouri and Senator Sam Houston of Texas.
Senator John C. Calhoun said it was a bad defeat for the South. But what was worse was the fact that it
was caused by the votes of two southern senators.

Soon after, at the end of August, Congress ended its session. And the nation's leaders prepared for the
national election of 1848.

The country moved quickly into the presidential campaign. President Polk was old, tired and in poor
health. He had decided not to try for a second term. Polk felt he had done his duty. During the first days
of his administration, he listed the things he planned to do as president.

First, he wanted to reduce the tax on imports. Second, he wished to establish the independent treasury,
which the Whigs had voted out. Third, he hoped to settle the Oregon border dispute with Britain. And
fourth, he wanted to get California for the United States.

Less than four years later, he had succeeded with each item on his list. The United States and Britain
agreed on a compromise in the Oregon dispute. In 1846, he was able to establish the independent

Treasury again, where the government could keep its own funds. No longer would government funds be
kept in private banks.

That same year, Polk was able to get Congress to approve a bill that greatly reduced the taxes on imports.
And the peace treaty with Mexico gave the United States not only California, but also New Mexico. So,
Polk believed he had served his country well.

Polk, however, had not served his party well. He was not a good politician. He failed to unite the
disputing groups of the Democratic Party. What was worse, he let them move even farther apart.

There seemed to be no strong Democratic candidate who could unite the party. At one extreme were the
supporters of former President Van Buren -- New York Democrats opposed to slavery. They were called
"Barnburners." They got this name from their political opponents, who charged that they were willing to
burn down the barn to get rid of pro-slavery rats.

At the party's other extreme were the Democrats of the South, led by John C. Calhoun of South Carolina.
In every state, the Democrats were divided between those who supported the administration and those
opposed to it.

The Democrats met in Baltimore in May 1848 to choose their presidential candidate. Several men were
proposed as possibilities: Polk's Treasury Secretary Robert Walker of Mississippi; John Dix of New York;
and Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan.

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On the question of slavery in the new territories, Cass believed that the people of the territory should
make the decision. The Barnburner Democrats of New York refused to accept Cass as their candidate.
They walked out of the Baltimore convention.

Senator Henry Clay -- three times the Whig Party choice for president -- expected to be its candidate
again. The old members of the party still supported Clay. But young Whigs felt that a new candidate was
needed.

Some Whig leaders remembered how William Henry Harrison had won the presidency for the party by
campaigning as a military hero. The country had a new military hero now. "Old Zach" -- General Zachary
Taylor. General Taylor and his men never lost a battle in the Mexican War. Several times, he defeated
Mexican forces much larger than his.

After the general's first victory, New York political leader Thurlow Weed happened to meet Taylor's
brother on a Hudson River steamboat. That meeting had a most important effect on future events.

Weed asked Joseph Taylor if his brother was a political man. Joseph answered that "Old Zach" was not.
He said his brother belonged to no party, that often he did not even vote. He said Zach supported Henry
Clay and did not like Andrew Jackson.

Joseph said his brother felt strongly that American products should be protected against competition from
foreign imports. He felt so strongly about it, Joseph said, that he refused to wear any imported clothing.

Weed made a quick decision. "Your brother," he said, "will be our next president."

"That is preposterous. My brother knows nothing about government or civil affairs. When I tell you," said
Joseph Taylor, "that he is not as fit to be president as I am, you will see how foolish this idea is."

Weed, however, did not think his proposal was foolish. He began to build support for General Taylor
among Whig politicians. When Old Zach first heard of efforts to make him president, he agreed with his
brother. The idea was foolish.

"I would not accept such high office," he said, "even if it were offered."

This statement he made in June, 1846. A month later, he was saying he was not a candidate for president
-- and never would be. He said he felt it was wrong to make a military man president. But, a few months
later, Taylor changed his mind. He told his son-in-law in December: "I will not say I would not serve if
the good people were to be so unwise as to elect me."

By July of 1847, Old Zach had made up his mind. He told a friend: "I am satisfied that if the election were
held now, nothing could prevent me from becoming president." Senator Clay did not think Taylor had the
ability to be president. But Clay knew well how the voters loved a military hero. Senator Clay was

seventy years old. He knew this would be his last chance to become president. He worked very hard to get
the support of Whig leaders.

The Whig Party held its convention in Philadelphia in June of 1848. Four names were put before the
convention: General Zachary Taylor, Henry Clay, General Winfield Scott and Daniel Webster. That will
be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Jack Moyles and Jack Weitzel.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, along with historical images, are at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

</div>
<span class='text_page_counter'>(128)</span><div class='page_container' data-page=128>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

The Whig Party considered four candidates for the presidential election of 1848: Senator Henry Clay of
Kentucky, General Zachary Taylor, General Winfield Scott and Senator Daniel Webster of

Massachusetts.

Clay was seventy years old. He knew it would be his last chance to get into the White House. He worked
hard to get the support of party leaders. But they did not give Clay their support. They wanted to win the
election, and they felt they had a better chance for victory with a military hero like General Taylor.
Now, with this week's program in our series, here are Doug Johnson and Gwen Outen.

Taylor was sixty-three years old. He had almost no formal education. He had spent almost forty years in
the West as an Indian fighter and commander of small army posts.

A number of politicians did not believe he had the ability to be president. General Taylor's supporters put
great energy into their campaign for his nomination. They tried to sell the idea that the old general was the
only man who could defeat the candidate of the Democratic Party.

On the first vote of the convention, Taylor got the most votes. But no candidate got the necessary

majority. On the fourth vote, all of Webster's supporters and many of Clay's supporters gave their votes to
Taylor. He finally won the Whig Party's nomination for president.

The Democratic Party's candidate for president was Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan. Many Americans

did not like either candidate, because of the candidates' policies on slavery. Lewis Cass saw nothing
wrong with slavery if that was what the people wanted. Zachary Taylor was a slave owner.

In Ohio, a group of men decided to form a new political party. They called it the Free Soil Party, because
they believed in free land for free settlers. They wanted no further spread of slavery.

The Free Soil leaders proposed a convention of all who supported their ideas. Ten thousand people went
to the convention in Buffalo, New York.

For two days, the delegates debated the slavery issue and discussed their choice of a candidate for
president. They also worked on a platform -- a statement of their party's purpose.

The platform declared that slavery was an institution of the states, not the nation. It said Congress had no
right to help spread slavery by permitting it in the new western territories. The platform declared that the
issue should be faced with firmness. No more slave states. No more slave territory. No more compromises
with slavery, anywhere.

Convention delegates then voted on candidates. They chose former President Martin Van Buren as
candidate for president.

The people of the nation voted on November seventh. It was the first time a presidential election was held
on the same day in all parts of the country. Zachary Taylor won both the popular and electoral votes. He
became the twelfth president of the United States.

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California, especially, needed help. Gold had been discovered in California. Thousands were moving
there. A government was needed to protect the lives and property of the new population.

The dispute over slavery had prevented Congress from acting earlier. Southerners wanted the right to take
slaves into the new territories. Northerners wanted to keep slavery out.

Then there was the question of laws forcing northern states to return escaped slaves to their owners. The
laws were not always obeyed. Southerners wanted a new law that would be easier to enforce.

Congress found it difficult to act on these problems. The House of Representatives was controlled by
members of the Free Soil Party, which opposed slavery. The Senate was controlled by southerners, who
supported slavery. The two houses found it almost impossible to agree on anything.

Early in January, 1849, a congressman proposed a bill to first limit, and then end, slavery in the District of
Columbia. The bill would free all slaves in the district who were born after a certain time. It would permit
the federal government to buy slaves and then free them.

Opposition to the bill was strong. It was amended. The new bill would simply close all places in the
District of Columbia where slaves were bought and sold.

Southern congressmen disliked the bill, even as amended. They organized a committee representing every
one of the southern states. Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina said the committee should write a
declaration explaining the position of the South. The committee agreed, and Calhoun wrote most of the
declaration himself.

The southern declaration accused the North of many aggressions. The South, it said, faced many dangers.
Soon there would be enough free states to control both the House and the Senate. And then the

Constitution would be changed and all slaves would be freed.

And this, said the southern declaration, would lead to bitter hostility and war between North and South.
The declaration called on the people of the South to unite and be firm in their opposition to the North.
With this new firmness, southern lawmakers fought to make slavery legal in the new territories. They
effectively blocked proposals for territorial governments in California and New Mexico.

Congress ended its session on March fourth, 1849, without any progress. Zachary Taylor was sworn-in as

president that same day.

The new president believed it would be easier to get statehood for California and New Mexico than to
create territorial governments for them. Taylor, as we have said, was a slaveholder. But he believed that
both California and New Mexico should be free states.

During these years around 1850, the people of the United States were becoming more and more involved
in the dispute over slavery. In the North, more people joined the anti-slavery campaign. Even those who
did not wish to end slavery in the South felt that slavery should not spread further.

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Taylor asked Congress to give statehood to California immediately. He reported that California leaders
had written a state constitution. The constitution banned slavery. Settlers from both the North and South
supported the document.

The president also reported that the people of New Mexico would be asking for statehood soon. He said it
would be best to let the people themselves decide if New Mexico would be a slave or free state. Taylor's
opponents described these proposals as his "no action plan."

President Taylor really had no policy. He could not support a bill to keep slavery out of the territories.
That might start a quick revolt among the southern states. He could not support a bill to let slavery spread
into the territories. That would make the North rise in anger.

Taylor tried to be neutral. He hoped the problem of slavery would solve itself. But the problem would not
solve itself. The division between North and South grew wider. That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Doug Johnson and Gwen Outen.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, along with historical images, are at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Plan in 1850 on Slavery Aims to Save Union</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

The United States faced a deep national crisis in 1850. That crisis threatened to split the nation in two. It
began over the issue of slavery in the new territories of California and Mexico. President Zachary Taylor
had no clear policy on the issue. He tried to be neutral. He hoped the problem would solve itself. But he
did not get his wish.

The split between the North and South only got wider. There was a real danger that the South would
declare its independence. Then, Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky stepped forward to save the Union.
This week in our series, Stuart Spencer and Jack Moyles begin the story of the Compromise of Eighteen
Fifty.

After being away from the Senate for almost eight years, Clay was surprised to find how bitter the two
sections of the United States -- north and south -- had grown toward each other. Clay urged his friends in
the border states between North and South to try to build public support for the Union. He felt this would
help prevent the South from seceding.

Clay also began to think about a compromise that might settle the differences between the two sections of
the country.

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Clay was sure that a compromise between North and South was possible. Near the end of January, Clay
completed work on his plan. Most parts of it already had been proposed as separate bills. Clay put them
together in a way that both sides could accept.

Clay offered his plan in a Senate speech on January 29, 1850. Clay proposed that California join the

Union as a free state. He said territorial governments should be formed in the other parts of the western
territories, with no immediate decision on whether slavery would be permitted.

Clay proposed that the western border of Texas be changed to give New Mexico most of the land disputed
by them. In exchange for this, he said, the national government should agree to pay the public debts that
Texas had when it became a state.

He proposed that no more slaves be sold in the District of Columbia for use outside the federal district,
but also proposed that slavery should not be ended in the district unless its citizens and those of Maryland
approved. Clay said a better law was needed for the return of fugitive slaves to their owners.

He also proposed that Congress declare that it had no power to interfere with the slave trade between
states. Senator Clay believed these eight steps would satisfy the interests of both the North and the South.
Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi declared that Clay's compromises did not offer anything of value
to the South. He said the South would accept nothing less than extending the Missouri compromise line
west to the Pacific Ocean. This meant that land south of the line would be open to slavery.

Clay answered that no power on earth could force him to vote to establish slavery where it did not exist.
He said Americans had blamed Britain for forcing African slavery on the colonists. He said he would not
have the future citizens of California and New Mexico blaming Henry Clay for slavery there.

Clay said he did not want to debate, but wished that the senators would think carefully about his

proposals. He said he hoped they would decide on them only after careful study. He asked them to see the
proposals as a system of compromise, not as separate bills. Clay expected extremists on both sides to
denounce the compromise. But he believed the more reasonable leaders of the North and South would
accept it.

One week after Clay first proposed the compromise, he rose in the Senate to speak in its defense. The
Senate hall was crowded. People had come from as far away as Boston and New York to hear Clay speak.

Some senators said there had not been such a crowd in the capitol building since the day Clay said

goodbye to the Senate eight years earlier.

Clay had to rest several times as he climbed the steps of the capitol. He told a friend that he felt very tired
and weak. His friend advised Clay to rest and make his speech later. "No," Clay said. "My country is in
danger. If I can be the one to save it from that danger, then my health and life are not important."

Clay began his speech by talking of the serious crisis that faced the nation. He said that never before had
he spoken to a group as troubled and worried as the one he spoke to now. Clay listed his eight resolutions.
Then he said: "No man on earth is more ready than I am to surrender anything which I have proposed and
to accept in its place anything that is better. But I ask the honorable senators whether their duty will be
done by simply limiting themselves to opposing any one or all of the resolutions I have offered."

"If my plan of peace and unity is not right, give us your plan. Let us see how all the questions that have
arisen out of this unhappy subject of slavery can be better settled more fairly and justly than the plan I
have offered. Present me with such a plan, and I will praise it with pleasure and accept it without the
slightest feeling of regret."

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the people of California already had approved an anti-slavery state constitution. And he said the nature of
land in New Mexico was such that slaves could not be used.

Clay said there was justice in the borders he proposed for Texas, that it would still be a very large state
after losing the area it disputed with New Mexico. And he said it was right for the United States to pay the
debts of Texas, because that state no longer could collect taxes on trade as an independent country.

Clay said there was equal justice in his resolutions ending the slave trade in the District of Columbia and
strengthening laws on the return of runaway slaves. He said the South, perhaps, would be helped more
than the North by his proposals. But the North, he said, was richer and had more money and power.
To the North, slavery was a matter of feeling. But to the South, Clay said, it was a hard social and

economic fact. He said the North could look on in safety while the actions of some of its people were
producing flames of bitterness throughout the southern states.

Then Clay attacked the South's claim that it had the right to leave the Union. He said the Union of states
was permanent -- that the men who built the Union did not do so only for themselves, but for all future
Americans.

Clay warned that if the South seceded, there would be war within sixty days. He said the slaves of the
South would escape by the thousands to freedom in the North. Their owners would follow them and try to
return them to slavery by force. This, he said, would lead to war between the slave-holding and free
states. He said this would not be a war of only two or three years. History had shown, he said, that such
wars lasted many years and often destroyed both sides.

Even if the south could secede without war, he said, it still would not get any of the things it demanded.
Secession would not open the territories to slavery. It would not continue the slave trade in the District of
Columbia. And it would not lead to the return of slaves who escaped to the North.

So, said Clay, the South would not help itself by leaving the Union. Clay's two-day speech gave new hope
to many that the Union could be saved.

Senator Henry Clay's compromise seemed to be a way to settle the dispute. But extremists on both sides
opposed it. That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Stuart Spencer and Jack Moyles.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found, along with historical images, at
voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>'The South Asks for Justice, Simple Justice'</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

During the first half of the 19th century, leaders of the United States could find no answer to the question
of slavery. The dispute grew more threatening after the war with Mexico in 1849.

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Then, in 1850, Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky offered a compromise to avoid secession, and a likely
war between the North and the South. He said the Union was permanent and created for all future
Americans. He attacked the South's claim that it had the right to leave. He warned that the war which
would follow southern secession would be long and bloody.

This week in our series, Jack Moyles and Lew Roland continue the story of the Compromise of Eighteen
Fifty.

Extremists on both sides opposed Clay's compromise proposals. So did President Taylor. The president
had hoped that Webster, Clay, and other Whig Party leaders would support his own limited plan of
statehood for California. The president's feelings were hurt when none of the party leaders thought that
his idea was important.

The president's chief adviser, Senator Seward of New York, was also against Clay's proposals. Seward
strongly opposed slavery and did not believe it was right to compromise on it.

One week after Clay spoke, Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi explained his position. He did not say
much about Clay's proposed compromise. Davis was sure that no good would result from it, not even
from stronger laws on the return of escaped slaves. He said these laws would not be enforced in states
where people opposed slavery.

Senator Davis said that what was needed was a change in the North's policy toward the South. He said the
North must recognize the rights of southerners, especially the right to take slave property into territories

of the United States.

Davis said Congress had no right to destroy or limit this right. He admitted that the old Missouri

compromise of 1820 had limited the right to take slaves into the territories. He said the 1820 compromise
worked -- not because Congress passed it -- but because the states agreed to it.

Senator Davis said the North was responsible for the growing split, because the North was trying to get
complete control of the South. He said if these efforts were not stopped, the North some day would be
powerful enough to change the Constitution and end slavery everywhere. Davis warned that the South
would never accept this.

Three weeks later, the Senate heard another southern leader, Senator John C. Calhoun. For years, Calhoun
was the voice of the South. He now was sixty-eight years old and a sick man. He would die within a
month. Calhoun had been too ill to hear Clay's speech. He spent the last week in February writing what he
believed to be the true position of the South.

On Sunday, March third, it was announced that Calhoun would speak in the Senate the next day. Most
understood that it would be his last speech. The Senate was crowded when Calhoun entered.

One by one, friends came up to speak to him. The old man's long, gray hair fell to his shoulders. His face
was thin and white. But his eyes were bright and his jaw firm. Calhoun was too weak to read his speech.
He asked Senator Mason to read it for him.

Calhoun said that for a long time he had believed that the dispute over slavery -- if not settled -- would
end in disunion. Calhoun said it was clear now to everyone that the Union was breaking apart, that the ties
that had held the North and South together were breaking, one by one.

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As the population of the North had grown large, he noted, that part of the country had seized political and
economic control. The North had passed tariff bills that the South opposed. It had filled most of the

offices in the federal government. It closed the new territories to southern slaveholders. And, said
Calhoun, it had viciously attacked the southern institution of slavery.

The situation was so bad, Calhoun said, that the South could not -- with honor and safety -- remain in the
Union. "How can the Union be saved?" he asked. "Not by the compromise proposed by the senator from
Kentucky. There is but one way. A full and final settlement, with justice, of all the questions disputed by
the two sections.

"The South asks for justice, simple justice, and less she ought not to take. She has no compromise to offer
but the Constitution, and no concession or surrender to make. She has already surrendered so much that
she has little left to surrender."

Then Calhoun listed the things the North must do to satisfy the South. He said it must give the South an
equal right in the new territories of the West. It must make people obey the laws on the return of runaway
slaves. It must agree to an amendment to the constitution that would return political balance to North and
South. And it must stop the attacks against slavery.

If all these things were not done, Calhoun said, then it would be better to separate, to part in peace. But if
the North refused a peaceful separation, then the South would be faced with the choice of surrender or
fight. "The South will know what to do," said Calhoun.

When Calhoun finished his speech to the Senate, southern lawmakers crowded around the old man,
congratulating him. But many of them could not agree with his extreme demands and the violence of his
words. His appeal was too late. Most southerners believed that Clay's proposals were a reasonable way to
settle the difference and protect the union.

Clay was worried that his compromise might be defeated by northern votes. Many in the North felt
slavery was wrong. They opposed the compromise, because it might permit slavery in the New Mexico
territory, and because it called for stronger laws on the return of slaves who had escaped to the North.
Eight days before he first proposed the compromise, Clay visited Senator Daniel Webster of

Massachusetts. A friend of Webster's described the meeting in these words: "Mr. Clay came to Mr.
Webster's house and had a long talk with him about the best way to settle the difficulties growing out of
slavery and the new territories. I heard part of their conversation."

"Mr. Clay left after about an hour. Mr. Webster called me to his side and spoke to me of Mr. Clay in
words of great kindness. He said he agreed generally with Mr. Clay, that he thought Mr. Clay's purpose
was great and highly patriotic."

"He said Mr. Clay seemed to be very weak and had a very bad cough, that he was sure Mr. Clay wanted
to do something for the good of his country during the little time he had left on Earth. Mr. Webster said
further that he thought Mr. Clay's plan was one that should be satisfactory to the North and to the
reasonable men of the South. He said he believed that he could support all of it and would work for its
approval in the Senate."

Webster planned to speak in support of Clay's proposal. But he would wait until the best time for
declaring it. He decided to make it on March seventh, just three days after Calhoun's speech was read to
the Senate. Webster was sixty-eight years old, as old as Calhoun. His voice was weaker now. But his
words rang with the same strength as years earlier.

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Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our series can be found, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>'The Fresh Air of Liberty and Union'</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In 1850, the United States faced the threat of a split between northern and southern states. The two sides
disagreed strongly over the issue of slavery. At that time, owning slaves was legal in the southern states.
But the question remained: should slavery be legal in new territories in the western part of the country?
The issue needed to be settled. There was a danger of civil war between the North and the South. Senator
Henry Clay of Kentucky offered a compromise. Conservative southern lawmakers rejected it. Other
lawmakers supported it; they believed it was the only way to save the union of states.

This week in our series, Warren Scheer and Sarah Long continue our story of the Compromise of
Eighteen Fifty.

One of the nation's top political leaders, Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, supported Henry
Clay's compromise. Webster believed that slavery was evil. Yet he believed that national unity was more
important. He did not want the nation to divide. He did not want to see the end of the United States of
America.

Daniel Webster spoke to other members of the Senate. His speech was an appeal to both sides in the
dispute.

"I speak today," he said, "to save the Union. I speak today out of a concerned and troubled heart. I speak
for the return of a spirit of unity. I speak for the return of that general feeling of agreement which makes
the blessings of this union so special to us all."

Senator Webster spoke of how he hated slavery. He spoke of his fight against the spread of slavery in
America. But he disagreed with those who wanted laws making slavery illegal in new territories. It would
not be wise to pass such laws, he said. They would only make the South angry. They would only push the
South away from the Union.

Then Webster spoke about the things the North and South had done to make each other angry.

One, he said, was the failure of the North to return runaway slaves. He said the South had good reason to
protest. It was a matter of law. The law was contained in article four of the national constitution.

"Every member of every northern legislature," Webster said, "has sworn to support the constitution of the
United States. And the constitution says that states must return runaway slaves to their owners. This part
of the constitution has as much power as any other part. It must be obeyed."

Next, Webster spoke about the Abolition societies. These were organizations that demanded an end to
slavery everywhere in the country.

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As an example, Webster spoke about the state of Virginia. Slavery was legal there. Webster noted that
public opinion in Virginia had been turning against slavery until Abolitionists angered the people. After
that, he said, no one would talk openly against slavery. He said Abolitionists were not ending slavery, but
helping it to continue.

Then Webster said the North also had a right to protest about some things the South had done.

He said the South was wrong to try to take slaves into new American territories. He said attempts to do
this violated earlier agreements to limit slavery to areas where it already existed.

Webster said the North also had a right to protest statements by southern leaders about working

conditions in the North. Southerners often said that slaves in the South lived better lives than free workers
in the North.

Webster appealed to both sides to forgive each other. He urged them to come to an agreement. He said the
South could never leave the Union without violence.

Webster said the two sides were joined together socially, economically, culturally, and in many other
ways. There was no way to divide them. No Congress, he said, could establish a border between the North

and South that either side would accept.

In general, Webster's speech to the Senate was moderate. He wanted to appeal to reason, not emotion. Yet
it was difficult for him to be unemotional. His voice rose as he finished.

"Secession!" He called out. "Peaceable secession! Your eyes and mine will never see that happen. There
can be no such thing as peaceable secession. We live under a great constitution. Is it to be melted away by
secession, as the snows of a mountain are melted away under the sun?

"Let us not speak of the possibility of secession. Let us not debate an idea so full of horror. Let us not live
with the thought of such darkness. Instead, let us come out into the light of day. Let us enjoy the fresh air
of liberty and union."

Northern Abolitionists quickly criticized Daniel Webster's speech. They called him a traitor. Yet most
people of the North accepted Webster's appeal for compromise. His speech cooled the debate that
threatened a complete break between the North and South.

The dispute about slavery continued in the United States. It would, in time, lead to civil war. But
historians say Webster's support for the compromise of 1850 probably helped delay that crisis.

Daniel Webster's speech was not the end of debate on the compromise. Four days later, Senator William
Seward of New York rose to speak.

Seward said he opposed any compromise with the South. He said he did not want slavery in the new
western territories. And he urged a national policy to start ending slavery everywhere -- peacefully.
Seward criticized Daniel Webster for speaking against the Abolition societies. He said such groups
represented a moral movement that could not be stopped. He said the movement would continue until all
the slaves in America were free.

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Many lawmakers seemed to support the idea of Clay's compromise. But they could not agree on which

parts of it to pass first. Southern supporters were afraid that if a statehood bill for California was passed
first, then northerners would refuse to pass the other parts of the compromise. So, southerners wanted to
include all parts in one bill.

Hopes for the compromise increased after the death of John C. Calhoun on the last day of March, 1850.
Calhoun was pro-slavery. He had refused to compromise on the issue. One newspaper in Calhoun's state
of South Carolina said: "The senator's death is best for the country and his own honor. The slavery
question will now be settled. Calhoun would have blocked a settlement."

A committee of thirteen men was named to write a bill based on Henry Clay's compromise. The

committee had six members from slave states and six from free states. Henry Clay was named to lead it.
Three weeks later, the committee offered its bill. It was much like the compromise Clay had first

proposed. It made California a free state. It created territorial governments for New Mexico and Utah. It
settled the border dispute between Texas and New Mexico. It ended the slave trade in the District of
Columbia. And it urged approval of a new law dealing with runaway slaves.

For about a month, the proposed bill seemed to have the support of the administration of President

Zachary Taylor. But then, President Taylor made it clear that he would do everything he could to defeat it.
That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Warren Scheer and Sarah Long.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Millard Fillmore Signs Compromise of 1850</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In 1850, the United States Congress debated a proposal for an important compromise. The compromise
dealt mostly with the national dispute over slavery. That dispute threatened to split the northern and
southern parts of the country. There was a danger of civil war. Many leaders supported the compromise.
But President Zachary Taylor did not.

This week in our series, Leo Scully and Larry West complete our story of the Compromise of Eighteen
Fifty.

Taylor did not think there was a crisis. He did not believe the dispute over slavery was as serious as others
did. He had his own plan to settle one part of the dispute. He would make the new territory of California a
free state. Slavery there would be banned.

Taylor's plan did not, however, settle other parts of the dispute. It said nothing about laws on escaped
slaves. It said nothing about slavery in the nation's capital, the District of Columbia. It said nothing about
the border dispute between Texas and New Mexico. The congressional compromise was an attempt to
settle all these problems.

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bleeding and threatening the life of the republic. What is the president's plan? Is it to heal all these
wounds? No such thing. It is to heal one of the five and to leave the other four to bleed more than ever."
While the debate continued in Washington, the situation in Texas and New Mexico got worse. Texas
claimed a large part of New Mexico, including the capital, Santa Fe. Early in 1850, Texas sent a
representative to Santa Fe to take control of the government.

The United States military commander in New Mexico advised the people not to recognize the man. The
governor of Texas was furious. He decided to send state soldiers to enforce Texas's claims in New

Mexico. He said if trouble broke out, the United States government would be to blame.

President Taylor rejected Texas's claims. He told his secretary of war to send an order to the military
commander in New Mexico. The commander was to use force to oppose any attempt by Texas to seize
the territory.

The secretary of war said he would not send such an order. He believed that if fighting began, southerners
would hurry to the aid of Texas. And that, he thought, might be the start of a southern struggle against the
federal government.

In a short time, the North and South would be at war. When the secretary of war refused to sign the order,
President Taylor answered sharply. "Then I will sign the order myself!"

Taylor had been a general before becoming president. He said he would take command of the army
himself to enforce the law. And he said he was willing to hang anyone who rebelled against the Union.
President Taylor began writing a message to Congress on the situation. He never finished it. On the
afternoon of July 4, 1850, Taylor attended an outdoor independence day ceremony. The ceremony was
held at the place where a monument to America's first president, George Washington, was being built.
The day was very hot, and Taylor stood for a long time in the burning sun. That night, he became sick
with pains in his stomach. Doctors were called to the White House. But none of their treatments worked.
Five days later, President Taylor died. Vice President Millard Fillmore was sworn-in as president.
Fillmore was from New York state. His family was poor. His early education came not from school
teachers, but from whatever books he could find. Later, Fillmore was able to study law. He became a
successful lawyer. He also served in the United States Congress for eight years.

The Whig Party chose him as its vice presidential candidate in the election of 1848. He served as vice
president for about a year and a half before the death of President Taylor.

Fillmore had disagreed with Taylor over the congressional compromise on slavery and the western
territories. Unlike Taylor, Fillmore truly believed that the nation was facing a crisis. And he truly believed

the compromise would help save the Union.

Now, as president, Fillmore offered his complete support to the bill. Its chances of passing looked better
than ever. Fillmore asked the old cabinet to resign. He named his own cabinet members. All were strong
supporters of the union. All supported the compromise.

Congress debated the compromise throughout the summer of 1850. There were several proposals in the
bill. Supporters decided not to vote on the proposals as one piece of legislation. They saw a better chance
of success by trying to pass each proposal separately. Their idea worked.

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President Fillmore signed them into law. One part of the compromise permitted California to enter the
Union as a free state. One established territorial governments in New Mexico and Utah. One settled the
dispute between Texas and New Mexico. Another ended the slave trade in the District of Columbia.
Many happy celebrations took place when citizens heard that President Fillmore had signed the 1850
compromise. Many people believed the problem of slavery had been solved. They believed the Union had
been saved.

Others, however, believed the problem had only been postponed. They hoped the delay would give
reasonable men of the North and South time to find a permanent answer to the issue of slavery. Time was
running out.

It was true that the 1850 compromise had ended a national crisis. But both northern and southern
extremists remained bitter. Those opposed to slavery believed the compromise law on runaway slaves
violated the constitution.

The new law said negroes accused of being runaway slaves could not have a jury trial. It said government
officials could send negroes to whoever claimed to own them. It said negroes could not appeal such a
decision.

Those who supported slavery had a different idea of the compromise. They did not care about the

constitutional rights of negroes. They considered the compromise a simple law for the return of valuable
property. No law approved by Congress, and signed by the president, could change these beliefs.

The issue of slavery was linked to the issue of secession. Did states have the right to leave the Union? If
southern states rejected all compromises on slavery, did they have the right to secede? The signing of the
1850 compromise cooled the debate for a time. But disagreement on the issues was deep. It would
continue to build over the next ten years. Those were difficult years for America's presidents.
Next week, we will tell how the situation affected the administration of President Millard Fillmore.
Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Leo Scully and Larry West.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Pierce, New President, Is Friendly but Weak</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In 1850, President Zachary Taylor died after serving about a year and a half in office. Taylor's vice
president, Millard Fillmore, took his place.

Early in his administration, President Fillmore signed the Compromise of Eighteen Fifty. That
compromise helped settle a dispute over slavery and the western territories. It ended a crisis between
northern and southern states. It prevented a civil war.

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Here are Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe with this week's program in our series.

In 1852, an American woman published a book about slavery. She called it "Uncle Tom's Cabin." The

woman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, wrote the book for one reason. She wanted to show how cruel slavery
was. Stowe's words painted a picture of slavery that most people in the North had never seen. They were
shocked.

Public pressure to end slavery grew strong. Abolitionists wanted to free all slaves immediately. Even if
that could be done, there was the question of what to do with the freed slaves. Their rights as citizens
were limited. Some states closed their borders to negroes. Other states permitted negroes, but said they
could not vote.

In many places, it seemed impossible that negroes and whites could live together peacefully, in freedom.
The best answer, many people thought, was to free the slaves and help them return to Africa.

It was not a new idea. Forty years earlier, a group of leading Americans had formed an organization for
that purpose. They called it the American Colonization Society.

In 1820, the Society began helping send negroes to Africa. The negroes formed a government of their
own. In 1847, they declared themselves independent. They called their new country the Republic of
Liberia. The new country had a constitution like that of the United States.

By 1854, nine thousand negroes from the United States had been sent to Liberia. Some had technical
skills. They knew how to make iron. They knew how to use steam engines and other machinery. The
Colonization Society hoped these negroes would use their skills to help improve life for the people of
Africa. The Society's plan ended a cruel life of slavery for many negroes.

But it could not be denied that the plan was a way to get black people out of the United States. Many
whites refused to accept the fact that most free negroes did not want to go to Africa. The negroes had
grown up in the United States. It was their home.

Negro slaves took great chances to escape to freedom. Many gained their freedom through the so-called
"underground railroad." That was not a real railroad. It was an organization of people who secretly helped

slaves escape to the North.

An escaped slave would be hidden during the day by a member of the organization. Then at night, the
negro would be taken to another hiding place farther north. The process was repeated every day and night
until the escaped slave was safe in New England or even Canada.

The year 1852 was a presidential election year in the United States. The 1850 compromise was a major
issue in the campaign. A number of men wanted to be the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party.
They included senators Lewis Cass of Michigan and Stephen Douglas of Illinois.

Another was former secretary of state James Buchanan. Cass and Douglas supported the idea of letting
the people of a territory decide if slavery would be permitted in that territory. Buchanan opposed the
anti-slavery movements of the north. Because of this, he had many supporters in the South.

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The Whig party held its presidential nominating convention in Baltimore two weeks after the Democrats.
Three Whigs wanted to be nominated: President Millard Fillmore, Secretary of State Daniel Webster and
General Winfield Scott.

The same thing that happened at the Democratic convention now happened at the Whig convention.
Delegates voted over and over again. But no man got enough votes to win. It took fifty-three ballots
before one of the men -- General Scott -- won the nomination.

The presidential campaign lasted about five months. The election was in November. Pierce, the

Democrat, won a crushing victory over Scott, the Whig. The Democratic victory was so great that many
people thought the Whig Party was finished. In fact, many Whigs themselves hoped their party had been
destroyed.

Northern Whigs wanted to form a new anti-slavery party. And southern Whigs wanted to form a party
that would better represent their interests. The Democrats won the election, because they were able to

bridge the differences between their northern and southern members. The Whigs were not able to do that.
The new president, Franklin Pierce, was a charming man. He made friends easily. Those who knew Pierce
best worried about this. They knew that under all his friendly charm, he was a weak man. They feared that
the duties and problems of the presidency would be too great for him to deal with. As president in 1853,
Pierce was forced to choose between two policies on the issue of slavery.

He could support the Compromise of Eighteen Fifty and declare it to be the final settlement of the

problem. That would lead to a fight with northern and southern extremists. Or he could compromise with
the extremists and give them jobs in his administration. That would be the easy way to satisfy their
demands. And that was the policy Pierce chose.

In putting together his cabinet, President Pierce tried to include men from every group in the Democratic
Party. He named William Marcy of New York to be secretary of state. Marcy opposed the spread of
slavery and all talk of splitting the Union.

Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was named secretary of war. Davis, more than any other man, represented
the southern extremists. He had threatened to take the South out of the Union if any limits were put on
slavery.

Caleb Cushing of Massachusetts was named attorney general. Although a northerner, Cushing was a
friend of many southern extremists. He was a very able man, but his loyalties were not clear. James
Buchanan of Pennsylvania was named Minister to Britain.

All of these men had strong ideas about the future of the United States. President Pierce found it difficult
to control them.

One senator said the administration should not have been called the Pierce administration, because Pierce
did not lead it. He said it was an administration of enemies of the Union who used the president's name
and power for their own purposes.

For a time, things were peaceful. The dispute over slavery had cooled. But thoughtful people did not
believe that peace would last long. No permanent solution had been found to settle differences over
slavery and the right of states to leave the Union.

One northerner wrote: "It was said hundreds of years ago that a house divided against itself cannot stand.
The truth of this saying is written on every page in history. It is likely that the history of our own country
may offer fresh examples to teach this truth to future ages."

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Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found along with historical images at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>The Kansas-Nebraska Bill Divides the Country</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.
Franklin Pierce was elected the fourteenth president in 1852. He was forty-eight years old, one of
America's youngest presidents.

Pierce was the compromise candidate of the Democratic Party. He won the nomination on the forty-ninth
ballot at the party's convention. He then won a big victory in the general election over the candidate of the
Whig Party, General Winfield Scott. One of Pierce's friends, the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, helped him
with his campaign.

This week in our series, Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith talk about the presidency of Franklin Pierce.
Franklin Pierce was from the northeastern state of New Hampshire. He was a lawyer and former state

lawmaker. He also had served in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. He became an
officer in the Army during America's war with Mexico in the late 1840s.

Pierce had been a public official for more than twenty years when he became president. Yet he was not a
strong leader. He also faced a difficult situation in his personal life.

Two of his children had died when they were babies. A third child was killed in a train accident shortly
before Pierce was inaugurated.

In addition, his wife Jane did not like the city of Washington. She did not support her husband's campaign
for president. Years earlier, she had urged him to resign from the Senate and return to New Hampshire.
She did not want to go back to Washington, even to be first lady.

When her husband was elected, she agreed to live there. But she rarely saw anyone. One of her close
friends took her place at public events.

Franklin Pierce was a young man. And his inauguration speech was about a young America. He promised
strong support for expanding the territory of the United States. He also promised a strong foreign policy.
In his foreign policy, President Pierce successfully negotiated with Britain to gain American fishing rights
along the coast of Canada. However, he was unsuccessful in an attempt to buy Cuba from Spain.

One of the most important developments in foreign policy during Pierce's administration actually began
earlier. Former president Millard Fillmore had sent Navy Commodore Matthew Perry to Asia. Perry
finally sailed into Tokyo Bay in 1853. His arrival led to the establishment of diplomatic and trade
relations between the United States and Japan.

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Another question linked slavery and the western territories. Where should the United States build its new
railroads.

As America grew and white settlers moved west, many felt a great need for good transportation. They

wanted railroads that reached across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
Engineers decided that four new rail lines would be possible.

One could cross the northern part of the country, connecting the cities of Saint Paul and Seattle. Another
could cross the middle, connecting Saint Louis and San Francisco. A third could connect Memphis and
San Francisco. And a fourth could be far to the south, connecting New Orleans and San Diego.

Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois proposed that three lines be built. He said the government
could give land to the railroad companies. The companies could then sell the land to get the money they
needed to build the lines.

A Senate committee discussed the situation. It decided that building three railroads at the same time
would be too difficult. It proposed that only one be built. But which one?

Many congressmen believed that a southern line would be best. There would be little snow in winter. And
the railroad would cross lands already organized as states or official territories. A northern or central line
would face severe winter weather. And it would have to cross a wild area called Nebraska. Nebraska was
neither a state nor a territory.

In trying to settle the question of railroads, the issue of slavery rose once again.

Nebraska lay north of the Missouri compromise line, which had been established in 1820. Slavery was not
permitted there.

The state of Missouri lay next to Nebraska. Missouri was a slave state. Slave-holders in Missouri did not
want the Nebraska area to become a free territory. They were afraid their slaves would flee to it. They felt
threatened by the free states and free territories all around them.

For years, Congressmen from Missouri had defeated all attempts to make Nebraska an official territory.
When Congress met in 1853, it considered a new bill on Nebraska. Instead of creating one large territory,

the bill would create two. The northern part would be called the Nebraska territory. The southern part
would be called the Kansas territory. The proposal to split them was called the Kansas-Nebraska bill.
The bill did not clearly say if slavery would be legal, or illegal, in the two new territories.

The purpose of the Kansas-Nebraska bill reportedly was to settle differences among opposing railroad
interests in the area. Yet many Americans believed the real purpose was to permit the spread of slavery.
A group of anti-slavery Senators denounced the bill. They said it was part of a southern plan to spread
slavery wherever possible. They also said it was being used by Senator Stephen Douglas for political
purposes. They said he was trying to gain southern support for himself in the next presidential election.
When the Senate began debate on the Kansas-Nebraska bill, Stephen Douglas was the first to defend it.
Douglas said the bill would give people in the Kansas and Nebraska territories the right to decide if
slavery would be permitted. He said the same right had been given to people in New Mexico and Utah by
the compromise of 1850. And he said that same right was meant for people of all future territories.

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Douglas argued that the compromise of 1850 took the place of the earlier Missouri compromise of 1820.
The new Kansas-Nebraska bill, he said, simply recognized the fact that the Missouri compromise was
dead.

Opponents of the Kansas-Nebraska bill quickly rejected the Senator's argument. They said Douglas was
not honest in his statements about the 1850 compromise. True, they said, the compromise gave the people
of Utah and New Mexico the right to decide about slavery. But they said it did not give that right to the
people of all future territories.

Opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska bill was extremely strong in the northern United States. In city after
city, big public meetings were held. Businessmen organized many of the meetings. They were angry at
Senator Douglas because he had re-opened the dispute about slavery. They feared that the dispute would
hurt the economy.

Northern churchmen also united against the Kansas-Nebraska bill. Thousands signed protests and sent
them to Congress. Senator Douglas criticized the churchmen. He said they should stay out of politics.

In the southern United States, the Kansas-Nebraska bill caused little excitement. Most southerners were
not greatly interested in it. They believed it might help the cause of slavery. But they also believed it
might lead to trouble.

Senate debate on the bill continued for more than a month. Senator Stephen Douglas was sure it would be
approved. We will continue the story of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and the administration of President
Franklin Pierce, next time

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found along with historical images at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Kansas Takes Steps Towards Statehood</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.
Now, we continue the story of America's fourteenth president, Franklin Pierce.

Pierce was elected in 1852. He was a compromise candidate of the Democratic Party. He was well-liked.
But he was not considered a strong leader.

The 1850s were an increasingly tense time in the United States. Most of the population lived east of the
Mississippi River. But more and more people were moving west. As western areas became populated,
they became official territories, and then new states.

What kind of laws would these new territories and states have? Would the laws be decided by the
Congress in Washington? Or would they be voted on by the people living in them?

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People who owned negro slaves wanted to take all their property -- including the slaves -- with them
when they moved west. People who opposed slavery did not want it to spread. Some of them considered
slavery a moral issue. They believed it violated the laws of God. An increasing number of white

Americans, however, saw slavery as an economic issue. They wanted new states to be free from slavery,
so they would not have to compete with slave labor.

The United States had been established as a democracy. Yet slavery existed. America's early leaders knew
that trying to end slavery probably would split the nation in two. So they looked for compromises. They
decided it was better to save the Union...even if it was not perfect...than to watch the Union end.

Like other presidents, Franklin Pierce hoped to avoid the issue. He also believed that earlier legislation
had settled the debate. In 1820, Congress had passed the Missouri Compromise. It extended a line across
the map of the United States. South of the line, slavery was legal. North of the line, slavery was not legal,
except in Missouri.

Thirty years later, another political compromise made the situation less clear.

The compromise of 1850 made slavery a local issue, instead of a national issue, in several western
territories. It said the people in those territories had the right to decide for themselves if slavery would be
legal or illegal.

Within a few years, that law caused a new debate in Congress. Lawmakers argued: was the peoples' right
to decide the issue of slavery restricted only to the territories named in the compromise of 1850? Or was
the right extended to the people of all future territories?

The answer came in 1854. In that year, Congress debated a proposal to create two territories from one
large area in the west. The northern part would be known as the Nebraska territory. The southern part
would be known as the Kansas territory. Settlers in both new territories would have the right to decide the

question of slavery.

President Pierce did not like the Kansas-Nebraska bill. He feared it would re-open the bitter, national
debate about slavery. He did not want to have to deal with the results. Tensions were increasing. Violence
was increasingly possible.

The Kansas-Nebraska bill had a lot of support in the Senate. It passed easily. The bill had less support in
the House of Representatives. The vote there was close, but the measure passed. President Pierce finally
agreed to sign it. In exchange, congressional leaders promised to approve several presidential

appointments.

Supporters of the Kansas-Nebraska bill celebrated their victory. They fired cannons as the city of

Washington was waking to a new day. Two senators who opposed the bill heard the noise as they walked
down the steps of the capitol building. One of them said: "They celebrate a victory now. But the echoes
they awake will never rest until slavery itself is dead."

The new bill gave the people of Kansas and Nebraska the right to decide if slavery would be legal or
illegal. The vote would depend on who settled in the territories. It was not likely that people who owned
slaves would settle in Nebraska. However, there was a good chance that they would settle in Kansas.
Groups in the South organized quickly to help pro-slavery settlers move to Kansas. At the same time,
groups in the North helped free-state settlers move there, too.

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The southern effort to settle Kansas was led mostly by slave-owning farmers in Missouri. They believed
that peace in Missouri depended on what happened in Kansas. They did not want to live next to a territory
where slavery was not legal.

In Washington, President Pierce announced the appointment of Andrew Reeder to be governor of the
Kansas territory. Pro-slavery settlers urged Reeder to hold immediate elections for a territorial legislature.

They believed they were in the majority. They wanted a vote before too many free-state settlers moved in.
The legislature would have the power to keep the territory open to slavery and, in time, help it become a
slave state.

Governor Reeder rejected the demands. He decided to hold an election, but only for a territorial
representative to the national Congress. On election day, hundreds of men from Missouri crossed the
border into Kansas. They voted illegally, and the pro-slavery candidate won.

The same thing happened when Kansas finally held an election for a legislature. Governor Reeder took
steps to make the voting fair. His efforts were not completely successful. Once again, men from Missouri
crossed the border into Kansas. Many of them carried guns. They forced election officials to count their
illegal votes. As a result, almost every pro-slavery candidate was elected to the new legislature.

The governor ordered an investigation. The investigation showed evidence of wrong-doing in six areas,
and new elections were held in those areas. This time, when only legal votes were counted, many of the
pro-slavery candidates were defeated. Yet there were still enough pro-slavery candidates to have a
majority.

Andrew Reeder was governor of a bitterly divided territory. He wanted to warn President Pierce about
what was happening.

Reeder went to Washington. He met with Pierce almost every day for two weeks. He described how
pro-slavery groups in Missouri were interfering in Kansas. He said if the state of Missouri refused to deal with
the trouble-makers, then the national government must deal with them. He asked the president to do
something.

Pierce agreed that Kansas was a serious problem. He seemed ready to act. So Reeder returned home and
opened the first meeting of the territorial legislature. The pro-slavery majority quickly voted to move to a
town close to the Missouri border. It also approved several pro-slavery measures.

Governor Reeder vetoed these bills. But there were enough votes to reject his veto and pass the new laws.
The Kansas legislature also sent a message to President Pierce. It wanted him to remove Andrew Reeder
as governor. Political pressure was strong, and the president agreed. He named a new governor, Wilson
Shannon. Shannon supported the pro-slavery laws of the legislature. He also said Kansas should become a
slave state, like Missouri.

Free-state leaders were extremely angry. They felt they could not get fair treatment from either the
president or the new governor. So they took an unusual step. They met and formed their own government
in opposition to the elected government of the territory. It would not be long before the situation in
Kansas became violent.

That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Christine Johnson. The narrators were Rich Kleinfeldt and Shirley Griffith.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found along with historical images at

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<b>The Struggle Over Slavery in the Kansas </b>

<b>Territory</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.
The most difficult national problem facing the administration of President Franklin Pierce was the
situation in Kansas. The territory struggled with the issue of slavery.

Pro-slavery settlers elected a representative to Congress. Then they won a majority of seats in the

territorial legislature. An investigation found that people from the neighboring state of Missouri had voted
in the elections illegally. Yet the results were accepted.

The new Kansas lawmakers did not like the territorial governor. They demanded that President Pierce
dismiss him. Pierce agreed.

This week on our series, Ray Freeman and Steve Ember continue the story of the presidency of Franklin
Pierce. And they talk about the presidential election of 1856.

Anti-slavery settlers in Kansas felt they could not get fair treatment from either the president or the new
governor. So they took an extreme step. They formed their own government in opposition to the elected
government of the territory.

Their political group was known as the Free State Party. Party members wrote their own constitution and
chose their own governor.

President Pierce said the actions of the Free State Party seemed revolutionary. He warned against
violence. He said if party members attacked any officials or property of the territory or the federal
government, party leaders should be charged with treason.

The president gave the pro-slavery governor of Kansas control of troops at two army bases in the

territory. Many people feared that the governor would use the troops to arrest the leaders of the Free State
government.

Fighting between the two sides almost began when a Free State man was killed by a pro-slavery man.
Free State settlers gathered in the town of Lawrence and organized a defense force. At the same time,
hundreds of pro-slavery men crossed the border from Missouri. They planned to go to Lawrence and burn
it to the ground.

The pro-slavery governor and the Free State governor agreed to hold an emergency meeting. They
negotiated a settlement, and the men on both sides went home. The truce did not last long.

In the weeks that followed, a number of attempts were made to stop or arrest the leaders of the Free State
government. Pro-slavery officials urged private citizens to help. Once again, hundreds of men -- including
many from Missouri -- gathered in Kansas. Once again, their target was the town of Lawrence. This time,
however, there was no truce.

The pro-slavery mob attacked and burned several buildings. A number of people were killed. The

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John Brown heard that five Free State men had died in the attack on Lawrence. So he said five
pro-slavery men must die in return. He led a group that seized and killed five people.

The civil disorder in Kansas continued. Settlers were forced off their land. Houses were burned. More
people were killed. The territory became known as "Bleeding Kansas."

It was clear that there were deep differences between the northern and southern American states. The
differences involved their economies, their systems of labor, and their way of life.

The civil disorder caused by these differences was the chief issue in the presidential election of 1856.
Three political parties offered candidates: the Democrats, the Republicans and the Know-Nothings.
The Whig Party did not offer a candidate. The party had gone out of existence by then. Its members had
split over the question of slavery in the western territories. The split could not be healed. Most southern
Whigs joined the Democratic Party. Most northern Whigs joined the Know-Nothing Party.

The Know-Nothing Party began as a secret anti-immigrant organization. It feared that too many people
from other countries were coming to live in the United States.

Members did not want to admit that they belonged to the group. When asked, they said, "I know nothing."
And that is how the organization got its name.

The Democratic Party was led by President Franklin Pierce. Pierce wanted to run for re-election. Many
northern Democrats, however, objected to his support of the pro-slavery legislature in Kansas. Other

Democrats did not think he was the strongest candidate. As a result, Pierce faced competition for the
party's nomination.

One opponent was Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois. Douglas had great political ability. He also had
many political enemies. He was the man most responsible for gaining congressional approval of the bill
that opened Kansas to slavery.

Pierce's other opponent for the Democratic nomination was James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. Buchanan
was a northerner who would probably leave the South alone.

"I am not friendly to the idea of slavery," he said. "but the rights of the South -- under our constitution --
should have as much protection as the rights of any other part of our Union. "

The Democratic Party met in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the first time a national political
convention was held that far west.

Candidates needed two-thirds of the votes to win the nomination. After several days of voting, no
candidate had received enough. So, in an effort to unite the party, Stephen Douglas offered to withdraw.
James Buchanan got his votes and the nomination.

The Republican Party was a new political party. Its members opposed slavery for either moral or
economic reasons.

Many Republicans were Abolitionists. They wanted to ban slavery everywhere in the United States. The
majority of Republicans, however, were not Abolitionists. They had no interest in ending slave labor in
the South. They simply did not want slavery to spread to other areas.

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He had been a senator from California. He was young and exciting. Republicans thought he was the right
man to lead their young and exciting party.

The Know-Nothing Party had a divided nominating convention. Northern and southern members agreed
on policies that denounced immigrants. But they split on the issue of slavery. Northern members opposed
it. Southern members supported it.

Delegates to the convention chose a candidate who seemed to support the party's policies. Yet he was not
even a member of the party. He was a Whig, former president Millard Fillmore.

Northern members refused to support Fillmore. They broke away from the Know-Nothing Party and
supported the Republican candidate, John Fremont.

Fremont could not expect to win any votes in the slave states of the South. He would have to get all of his
support in the North. He would have to win the votes of the big states, including Pennsylvania. And
Pennsylvania was the home of the Democratic candidate, James Buchanan.

Buchanan had said that the constitutional rights of the southern states should be protected. So he could
expect to win some votes there. When all the votes were counted, Buchanan was elected. Now he would
have to deal with the problems that presidents before him had not been able to solve.

James Buchanan was sixty-five years old. He had served in the House of Representatives and in the
Senate. He had served as secretary of state and as ambassador. He was a good diplomat. But he was not
considered a strong political leader.

Buchanan usually supported the southern position in the dispute about slavery. He said the North should
stop interfering with the South. He even said the South had good reason to leave the Union, if northern
Abolitionists continued their anti-slavery campaign.

As president, Buchanan believed he could solve the slavery question by keeping the Abolitionists quiet.
He wanted a cabinet that shared and supported this idea.

We will tell about James Buchanan's administration in our next program.

Our program was written by Christine Johnson. The narrators were Ray Freeman and Steve Ember.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found along with historical images at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Slavery Debate Intensifies With Dred Scott </b>

<b>Ruling</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

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Buchanan said the South had good reason to leave the Union if abolitionists continued their attacks
against slavery.

This week on our series, Jack Moyles and Stan Busby tell more about James Buchanan. And they discuss
his influence in the Supreme Court ruling in the case of a slave from Missouri named Dred Scott.

As the new president, Buchanan believed he could solve the slave question by keeping the abolitionists
quiet. Success would mean the end of the anti-slavery Republican Party.

In choosing his cabinet, Buchanan wanted men who shared the same ideas and interests. President Pierce
had tried to unite the different groups in the party by giving each a representative in his cabinet. This had
not worked. It had driven the different party groups farther apart.

Buchanan had served in President Polk's cabinet. He remembered how well its members worked together.
He said it was the unity of this cabinet that made Polk's administration so successful.

Buchanan gave the job of Secretary of State to Lewis Cass of Michigan. Cass was seventy-five years old.
His mind had lost its sharpness. This did not worry Buchanan, because he had planned to be his own

foreign minister.

The job of treasury secretary went to Howell Cobb, a southern moderate from Georgia. Southerners also
were named as secretary of war, interior secretary and postmaster general.

Isaac Toucey of Connecticut was given the job of Navy secretary. Toucey was a northerner. But he
supported many policies of the South. Another northerner -- Jeremiah Black of Pennsylvania -- became
attorney general.

In forming his cabinet, Buchanan did not ask for advice from Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois.
Douglas was the party's leader in the Senate and the most powerful Democrat in the northwest.

Douglas believed that the northwest should have two representatives in the cabinet. He said Cass could be
one of them. But Douglas wanted one of his own supporters to be the other. Buchanan refused what
Douglas wanted. And he gave the administration's support to a political enemy of Douglas.

James Buchanan was sworn-in as president on March fourth, 1857. In his inaugural speech, the new
president denounced the long dispute over slavery. He said he hoped it would end soon.

Buchanan said the dispute could be settled easily by doing two things: by ending interference with slavery
in states where it was legal. And by letting the people of a territory decide if they wanted slavery.

Buchanan said he expected the Supreme Court to rule soon on the right of the people of a territory to
decide this. He said he was sure that all good citizens -- North and South -- would accept the high court's
ruling.

At the time he said this, Buchanan already knew what the court's decision would be. He had even used his
influence to help one member of the court to decide. The decision was made in the case of Dred Scott, a
negro slave.

Scott was sold in Missouri to an army doctor who took him to Illinois and then went into the Wisconsin
territory. Scott lived in these two places for almost four years before he was returned to Missouri.

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The court agreed with Scott and gave him his freedom. But the decision was appealed, and the Supreme
Court of Missouri ruled against him. Scott then took his case to a federal court. Finally, he asked the
United States Supreme Court to decide if he was a slave or a free man.

The Supreme Court took up the case in December, 1856. The judges studied it carefully because it raised
serious constitutional questions.

Scott claimed he was free because he had lived in free territory. It was free because Congress -- in the
Missouri Compromise of Eighteen Twenty -- made slavery illegal in that area. Scott's owner raised the
questions: Did Congress have the Constitutional power to close a territory to slavery? Was the Missouri
Compromise legal?

At first, most of the nine Supreme Court judges had planned to give a decision without answering this
question. They did not want to involve the court in this bitter dispute. The majority decided that a negro
was not a citizen. Therefore, they said, Dred Scott had no right to ask the court to hear his case.

In this way, the case could be settled without deciding on the power of Congress to act on slavery in the
territories.

But two of the nine Supreme Court judges opposed this ruling. Both were from the North. They had said
they would write a minority decision. They said their decision would include a statement that Congress
did have power over slavery in the territories.

Since two members of the court had planned to offer views on this question, the other seven decided the
majority also should do so.

Of the seven, five were from the South. They did not believe Congress had any power over territorial

slavery. The remaining two judges -- both from the North -- did not want to make what they felt would be
a political decision.

One southern member of the Supreme Court was James Catron, a good friend of James Buchanan.
Buchanan had written to him asking when the court would act on the Dred Scott case.

Catron had answered that the court would rule soon. Then he asked for Buchanan's help in getting one of
the northern members of the court to vote with the five from the South. He told the president that the
country would more easily accept the court's ruling if one of the northern judges gave his support. Catron
proposed that Buchanan write to Justice Robert Grier of Pennsylvania.

So Buchanan wrote to Grier. He told him that a strong decision in the Dred Scott case might do much to
bring peace to the country. Grier agreed. He said he would vote with the five southerners. They would
rule that the Constitution did not give Congress power over slavery in the territories.

All this had happened in the few weeks before Buchanan became president.

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Secondly, Taney said Scott was ruled by the laws of Missouri, the state in which he lived. Missouri laws
did not give freedom to slaves who lived temporarily in free territory. Therefore, said Taney, Scott was
still a slave.

Then the chief justice took up the question of the free territory in which Scott had lived. It had become
free territory under the Missouri Compromise. This was the law that Congress passed in 1820. This law
kept slavery out of the northern part of the territory which the United States bought from France.

Justice Taney said Congress did not have the constitutional power to pass such a law. He said when new
territory was won, it belonged to all citizens. He said Congress had the right to govern such territory until
it became a state. But he said Congress did not have power to close new territory to any American citizen.
He said the citizen from Georgia had as much right to settle in this territory with his slaves as a citizen of
Maine with his horse.

Taney said there was no word in the Constitution that gave Congress greater power over slave property
than over any other kind of property. The only such power Congress held was the power to guard and
protect the rights of the property owner.

To close territory to slaves, Taney said, violated the constitutional rights of slaveholding citizens.

Therefore, the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. Congress did not have power to act on slavery
in the territories.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Jack Moyles and Stan Busby.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. And you can follow our series on Twitter at twitter.com/voalearnenglish, spelled
as one word. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American history series
in VOA Special English.

<b>Slavery Debate Intensifies With Dred Scott </b>

<b>Ruling</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.
As we said last week, James Buchanan of Pennsylvania won the presidential election of 1856. He
defeated John Fremont, the candidate of the newly created Republican Party, which opposed slavery.
Buchanan, a Democrat, had often supported the South in the dispute over slavery. Most of the new
president's closest friends were southerners. He wrote that the North was too aggressive toward the South
and should stop interfering in the slave states.

Buchanan said the South had good reason to leave the Union if abolitionists continued their attacks

against slavery.

This week on our series, Jack Moyles and Stan Busby tell more about James Buchanan. And they discuss
his influence in the Supreme Court ruling in the case of a slave from Missouri named Dred Scott.

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In choosing his cabinet, Buchanan wanted men who shared the same ideas and interests. President Pierce
had tried to unite the different groups in the party by giving each a representative in his cabinet. This had
not worked. It had driven the different party groups farther apart.

Buchanan had served in President Polk's cabinet. He remembered how well its members worked together.
He said it was the unity of this cabinet that made Polk's administration so successful.

Buchanan gave the job of Secretary of State to Lewis Cass of Michigan. Cass was seventy-five years old.
His mind had lost its sharpness. This did not worry Buchanan, because he had planned to be his own
foreign minister.

The job of treasury secretary went to Howell Cobb, a southern moderate from Georgia. Southerners also
were named as secretary of war, interior secretary and postmaster general.

Isaac Toucey of Connecticut was given the job of Navy secretary. Toucey was a northerner. But he
supported many policies of the South. Another northerner -- Jeremiah Black of Pennsylvania -- became
attorney general.

In forming his cabinet, Buchanan did not ask for advice from Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois.
Douglas was the party's leader in the Senate and the most powerful Democrat in the northwest.

Douglas believed that the northwest should have two representatives in the cabinet. He said Cass could be
one of them. But Douglas wanted one of his own supporters to be the other. Buchanan refused what
Douglas wanted. And he gave the administration's support to a political enemy of Douglas.

James Buchanan was sworn-in as president on March fourth, 1857. In his inaugural speech, the new
president denounced the long dispute over slavery. He said he hoped it would end soon.

Buchanan said the dispute could be settled easily by doing two things: by ending interference with slavery
in states where it was legal. And by letting the people of a territory decide if they wanted slavery.

Buchanan said he expected the Supreme Court to rule soon on the right of the people of a territory to
decide this. He said he was sure that all good citizens -- North and South -- would accept the high court's
ruling.

At the time he said this, Buchanan already knew what the court's decision would be. He had even used his
influence to help one member of the court to decide. The decision was made in the case of Dred Scott, a
negro slave.

Scott was sold in Missouri to an army doctor who took him to Illinois and then went into the Wisconsin
territory. Scott lived in these two places for almost four years before he was returned to Missouri.

Scott asked a court in Missouri to give him his freedom. He claimed that living in Illinois and Wisconsin
-- where slavery was illegal -- had made him a free man.

The court agreed with Scott and gave him his freedom. But the decision was appealed, and the Supreme
Court of Missouri ruled against him. Scott then took his case to a federal court. Finally, he asked the
United States Supreme Court to decide if he was a slave or a free man.

The Supreme Court took up the case in December, 1856. The judges studied it carefully because it raised
serious constitutional questions.

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questions: Did Congress have the Constitutional power to close a territory to slavery? Was the Missouri
Compromise legal?

At first, most of the nine Supreme Court judges had planned to give a decision without answering this
question. They did not want to involve the court in this bitter dispute. The majority decided that a negro
was not a citizen. Therefore, they said, Dred Scott had no right to ask the court to hear his case.

In this way, the case could be settled without deciding on the power of Congress to act on slavery in the
territories.

But two of the nine Supreme Court judges opposed this ruling. Both were from the North. They had said
they would write a minority decision. They said their decision would include a statement that Congress
did have power over slavery in the territories.

Since two members of the court had planned to offer views on this question, the other seven decided the
majority also should do so.

Of the seven, five were from the South. They did not believe Congress had any power over territorial
slavery. The remaining two judges -- both from the North -- did not want to make what they felt would be
a political decision.

One southern member of the Supreme Court was James Catron, a good friend of James Buchanan.
Buchanan had written to him asking when the court would act on the Dred Scott case.

Catron had answered that the court would rule soon. Then he asked for Buchanan's help in getting one of
the northern members of the court to vote with the five from the South. He told the president that the
country would more easily accept the court's ruling if one of the northern judges gave his support. Catron
proposed that Buchanan write to Justice Robert Grier of Pennsylvania.

So Buchanan wrote to Grier. He told him that a strong decision in the Dred Scott case might do much to
bring peace to the country. Grier agreed. He said he would vote with the five southerners. They would
rule that the Constitution did not give Congress power over slavery in the territories.

All this had happened in the few weeks before Buchanan became president.

The Supreme Court finally announced its decision just two days after Buchanan moved into the White
House. Chief Justice Roger Taney read the decision in the small courtroom in the Capitol building.
The room was crowded with congressmen, senators, government officials, and newspapermen. Chief
Justice Taney began reading the decision at eleven o'clock. He read for more than two and a half hours.
He said the high court rejected Scott's claim of freedom for three reasons. First, Scott was not a citizen.
Taney said the Constitution gave the right of citizenship only to members of the white race. Because he
was not a citizen, he had no right to ask the court to hear his case.

Secondly, Taney said Scott was ruled by the laws of Missouri, the state in which he lived. Missouri laws
did not give freedom to slaves who lived temporarily in free territory. Therefore, said Taney, Scott was
still a slave.

Then the chief justice took up the question of the free territory in which Scott had lived. It had become
free territory under the Missouri Compromise. This was the law that Congress passed in 1820. This law
kept slavery out of the northern part of the territory which the United States bought from France.

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it became a state. But he said Congress did not have power to close new territory to any American citizen.
He said the citizen from Georgia had as much right to settle in this territory with his slaves as a citizen of
Maine with his horse.

Taney said there was no word in the Constitution that gave Congress greater power over slave property
than over any other kind of property. The only such power Congress held was the power to guard and
protect the rights of the property owner.

To close territory to slaves, Taney said, violated the constitutional rights of slaveholding citizens.

Therefore, the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. Congress did not have power to act on slavery
in the territories.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Jack Moyles and Stan Busby.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. And you can follow our series on Twitter at twitter.com/voalearnenglish, spelled
as one word. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American history series
in VOA Special English.

<b>The Effort to Make Kansas a Slave State</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Early in 1857, the United States Supreme Court announced one of its most important rulings. The high
court decided the case of a slave named Dred Scott.

This week in our series, Harry Monroe and Leo Scully tell us about the ruling, and the continuing national
debate over slavery.

Dred Scott lived in Missouri, where slavery was legal. Then he was sold to a man who took him to Illinois
and Wisconsin, where slavery was not legal. After four years, he was returned to Missouri. Dred Scott
demanded his freedom, because of the years he had spent in places where slavery was illegal. Congress
had banned slavery in those places under the Missouri Compromise Act of Eighteen Twenty.

The Supreme Court ruled that Congress did not have the power to close territories to slavery. It said the
Missouri Compromise was a violation of the United States Constitution, and that Dred Scott was not a
free man.

James Buchanan was sworn-in as president at the time of the Dred Scott case. Buchanan believed the

Supreme Court's decision would put an end to the dispute over slavery. He believed that Americans --
North and South -- would accept the decision as the final word in the dispute.

This did not happen. The Dred Scott decision did not calm the storm that divided the nation. Instead, it
increased its fury.

New trouble threatened to break out in the territory of Kansas between pro-slavery and anti-slavery
settlers. In the past few years, the two sides had argued and fought over their opinions. They even had
formed two separate governments. The pro-slavery forces controlled the legal government. The
anti-slavery forces controlled an opposition government which had no power.

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The bill gave supporters of slavery every chance to control the election of delegates to the convention.
And it gave the convention complete freedom to make its own rules. The bill provided no way for the
people of Kansas to vote on their own constitution.

The governor of the Kansas territory, John Geary, vetoed the bill. But the legislature quickly overruled his
veto. Pro-slavery men called for Geary to get out of Kansas. Some talked of shooting him if he did not
leave.

Governor Geary had been living under extreme tension for months. He had worked hard to keep Kansas
peaceful. He was angry, because he could get no help from the federal government. He sent his

resignation to President Buchanan.

Then the former governor spoke publicly. He said most of the settlers in Kansas were peace-loving
people. He said only a small group was responsible for the trouble there. Geary said a few powerful men
hoped to make Kansas a slave state. If this failed, Geary said, they hoped their actions would produce
civil war.

President Buchanan appointed a new governor for Kansas. Buchanan told him that slavery in the territory

must be decided on the votes of the people of the territory. And he said the people must be given a fair
chance to approve or reject a constitution for statehood.

The new governor arrived in Kansas at the end of May, 1857. He explained his policies in a speech to the
people of Kansas. The new governor promised to enforce the laws of the pro-slavery legislature -- but
only those laws which were constitutional. He urged everyone to vote in the coming election of delegates
to the constitutional convention.

He said he was hopeful that the convention would offer its constitution to the people for their approval or
rejection. He added that Congress would not accept Kansas as a slave state, or a free state, until the people
had voted on the question of slavery.

On June fifteenth, the election was held for delegates to the constitutional convention. Most anti-slavery
men did not vote, because their names had been kept off the voting lists by pro-slavery officials. Others
refused to vote, because they believed the election was unfair.

Sixty delegates were elected. All supported slavery. They planned to meet in the autumn to begin work on
a constitution for Kansas.

Most of the delegates were wild, rough men who found it difficult to read and write. But these men were
sure of one thing. They wanted Kansas to be a slave state.

The delegates began the constitution by claiming that the right of property was higher than any

constitutional power. They said a slave-owner had as much right to his property as the owner of any other
kind of property.

Then they wrote the different parts of the document. One part of the constitution severely limited the right
of the legislature to free slaves. Another part barred free negroes from entering Kansas. And another
prevented the constitution from being changed for seven years.

Most of the delegates to the Kansas constitutional convention wanted to send the document directly to
Congress for approval. They did not want to give the people of Kansas a chance to vote on it. They were
sure that the majority of the population would reject a constitution that made slavery legal.

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The constitution itself would not be offered to the people. Instead, the people would vote only on the
question of slavery. They could vote for the constitution with slavery or the constitution without slavery.
If the voters approved the constitution with slavery, then Kansas would be open to new slaves. If they
approved the constitution without slavery, then Kansas would be closed to new slaves. Slaves already in
the territory could be kept there.

This compromise brought a cry of anger from opponents of slavery in Kansas. They said the

constitutional convention had only given them the right to vote for limited slavery or unlimited slavery. It
had not given them the right to vote for freedom.

President Buchanan had promised the people of Kansas that they would have a fair chance to vote on their
constitution. But members of his cabinet told him to forget this promise.

They said Americans were tired of the dispute in Kansas and would accept any settlement. They told
Buchanan that approval of the constitution would end the Kansas problem. It would satisfy the South,
they said, and the North would soon forget about Kansas.

Under this pressure, President Buchanan made his decision. He would ask Congress to accept the
pro-slavery Kansas constitution and make the territory a slave state.

In Kansas, the vote on slavery was held. Most opponents of slavery did not vote. They were waiting until
they could vote against the complete statehood constitution.

Many of the votes were illegal. Still, Kansas officials declared that slavery had been approved. They

urged Congress to make Kansas a state under this condition. Shortly after, President Buchanan sent
Congress a similar message.

Buchanan's chief opponent on the statehood bill was a member of his own Democratic Party, Senator
Stephen Douglas of Illinois. Douglas did not oppose slavery. But he believed that the people of a territory
had the right to make their own decision to accept or reject slavery.

Stephen Douglas united other Democrats and members of the anti-slavery Republican Party to fight
against the bill in the Senate. He lost. The Senate approved the bill to make Kansas a state where slavery
was legal.

The House of Representatives, however, rejected the bill. Instead, it approved a bill to let the people of
Kansas vote again on their statehood constitution. The Senate approved a compromise version of this
House bill.

So the people of Kansas got another chance to show that they did not want a pro-slavery constitution.
They voted and rejected the constitution by a large majority.

The pro-slavery statehood constitution was dead. Kansas would continue as a territory for a few more
years. But there would be no further attempt to make it a slave state.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Harry Monroe and Leo Scully.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. And you can follow our series on Twitter at twitter.com/voalearnenglish, spelled
as one word. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American history series
in VOA Special English.

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Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

As we reported in our last program, slavery supporters failed to push through Congress a bill to make
Kansas a slave state. Congress, instead, let the people of Kansas vote on the statehood constitution written
by pro-slavery men. The people rejected the constitution. And slavery supporters gave up the fight for
Kansas.

Here are Steve Ember and Bob Doughty to continue the story.

The problem of slavery continued to divide the North and South. Northerners warned that slavery could
spread no farther. Southerners threatened to leave the Union unless southern rights were protected.
In the far West, one could forget this bitter dispute. There were no slaves in the West. The land and the
weather were not right for the kind of farming that used slaves.

The west was growing quickly. Gold had brought thousands of settlers to California ten years earlier.
New discoveries of gold and silver now were leading men to Colorado, Arizona and Nevada.

"Don't go," warned the New York Tribune, "if you have a job or a farm. But if you have neither," it said,
"and can get fifty dollars, then go to Colorado."

There were many men without jobs or farms in the summer of 1858. The country had suffered a serious
economic depression the year before, and jobs were difficult to find. Thousands left cities in the east.
The first ones to reach Colorado reported that gold was easy to find. They said any man who worked hard
could find five to ten dollars worth of gold a day, and sometimes even more.

The thousands who rushed to Colorado soon found that there was not as much gold as expected. The
valuable metal became harder to find. No longer could it be washed from the bottoms of mountain
streams. Men had to dig into the mountains of rock to get it. Huge digging machines and crushers were
needed to get the gold from the rock. These machines were expensive. Few men had enough money to
buy them.

Some of the miners organized companies. They borrowed money from eastern banks or sold shares of
their companies. In a few years, almost all of the gold from Colorado came from the mining companies.
Many of those who went west to search for gold stayed to become farmers or storekeepers. Others moved
farther west to find gold in Nevada or California. Some cleared the ground of trees and cut them into
wood for houses. Such timber from the forests of Oregon and Washington was sold in California and
Mexico, even in China and Hawaii.

A few men recognized the need for transportation across the nation. Engineers planned four railroads. But
northern and southern leaders could not agree on which one to build first. Until a railroad could be built,
supplies were carried west in wagons pulled by horses or oxen.

Three men -- Russell, Majors, and Waddell -- formed a transportation company in 1855 to carry

government supplies to soldiers in the West. They started with five hundred wagons. Three years later, the
company had three thousand five hundred wagons and forty thousand oxen.

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The federal government decided to send mail overland two times a week to California. It gave the job of
carrying the letters to a new company -- the Overland Mail Company.

The mail was carried by train or boat to St. Louis. Then it was put on overland company stage coaches --
light wagons pulled by four or six horses. The company was told to take the mail along a
four-thousand-kilometer southern route through Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. The mail arrived in Los
Angeles twenty-four days after it left St. Louis.

There was a shorter way across the country. But the postal chief was a southerner, A. V. Brown. He
believed stage coach travel might lead the way for a railroad. And he wanted a southern railroad to
California. Brown said the southern route was the only one that could be kept open in all seasons. He said
the other routes would be closed by snow in winter.

The overland stage coaches were large enough to carry four passengers. But not many people went to
California in the coaches. The coaches never stopped for very long -- only to change horses or drivers.
And there were not many places to eat. Also, the trip was dangerous, because of hostile Indians.

The shortest distance between Missouri and California was across the central part of the country. The
Russell, Majors and Waddell Company decided to show that this central route could be used all year. It
began a speedy mail service called the Pony Express.

Letters were carried by riders on fast horses. Stations with fresh horses were built about twenty-four
kilometers apart, all along the way. A rider would change horses at each station until he had traveled one
hundred twenty kilometers. Then he would give his letters to another rider. In this way, the letters would
be carried between California and Missouri. The first letters sent by Pony Express from California took
ten days to reach Missouri.

The Pony Express lasted only 18 months. It was no longer needed after a telegraph line was completed to
San Francisco.

As communications and transportation improved, the government was able to increase its control over the
West. But closer ties were not welcomed between the government and a religious group known as the
Mormons.

The Mormon religion was started by a young New England man named Joseph Smith. In 1823, at the age
of 18, Smith claimed that an Angel told him of a golden book. He said the book contained God's words to
the ancient people of America. Smith said he was able to read the strange writing in this book and put it
into English. He called this work the Book of Mormon.

He organized a church and made himself its leader. Many people became Mormons. They believed
themselves to be a special people chosen by God. Mormons worked hard. They helped each other and
shared with those in need.

People who did not agree with the beliefs of the Mormons did not like them. Trouble developed between
Mormons and other people. Joseph Smith was forced to move his people from New York to Ohio and
then to Missouri.

The Mormons seemed finally to have found a home in Illinois. They built their own town and called it
Nauvoo. They governed themselves and had their own defense force. The Mormons did so well that
Nauvoo became the fastest-growing city in Illinois.

Then some members of the group split apart, because of a new message Smith claimed to have received
from God. Smith said God gave permission for Mormons to have more than one wife. This was

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Some of the Mormons who left the church published a newspaper criticizing Smith and the other Mormon
leaders. Followers ordered by Smith destroyed the newspaper's publishing equipment. This caused
non-Mormons to demonstrate and demand that Smith be punished. Smith was arrested and put in jail in
Carthage, Illinois. His brother also was arrested. An angry mob attacked the jail and shot both Smith and
his brother to death.

The governor of Illinois ordered the Mormons to leave his state. He said only this would prevent further
violence. There was no choice. They had to leave.

The Mormons had a new leader: Brigham Young. Young decided to take his people west and find a new
home for them. He wanted a place where they would be safe -- where no one could interfere with their
religion.

Brigham Young told his people that he had seen their new home in a dream. He said they would search
for it in the West, for a wide beautiful valley. He said he would recognize it when he saw it.

That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Steve Ember and Bob Doughty.

Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Brigham Young Leads His Mormons to a New </b>

<b>Home</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In the 1820s, in the state of New York, a man named Joseph Smith started the Mormon religion. Smith
based it on what he said were God's words to the ancient people of America.

Many people became members of the new church. Others, however, laughed at some of the beliefs of the
Mormons. This led to trouble. Smith had to move his people many times. For a while, they settled in the
state of Illinois, in a town they built and called Nauvoo.

The church split when Joseph Smith said that Mormons could have more than one wife. The split led to
violence and public opposition to the Mormons. Smith was arrested and put in jail. A mob attacked the
jail and killed Smith and his brother. The governor of Illinois ordered the Mormons to leave the state.
This week on our series, Sarah Long and Richard Rael discuss relations between the Mormons and the
federal government.

Brigham Young became the new leader of the Mormons. He told his people that he had seen their new
home in a dream. He said it was a wide, beautiful valley in the West. He said he would recognize it when
he saw it.

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Explorers visited the camp. They told Brigham Young about a great salt lake in a wide valley on the

western side of the Rocky Mountains. From the way they described it, young believed it was the valley of
his dream.

He started to move his people toward the Great Salt Lake as soon as the winter snows melted. They
arrived in the summer of 1847. Brigham Young looked out over the valley. "This," he said, "is the right
place."

The Mormons wasted no time. Two hours after arriving, they began to prepare the ground for planting.
The lake water was too salty to use. So they built a system of canals to bring water down from the
mountains.

The first few years were difficult. Cold weather and insects destroyed their crops. Yet the Mormons
continued to work hard to make their settlement a success. They refused to think of leaving.

At first, the Mormons were ruled only by the laws of their church and by their leader. Then gold was
discovered in California. Many non-Mormons passed through the Salt Lake area on their way to the gold
fields. Some of them stayed. It soon became clear that new laws were needed to govern the growing
population.

The Mormons asked Congress to approve a territorial government for their land. They called the land
Deseret. That was a Mormon word meaning honeybee.

The Mormons claimed a large area. It stretched from the mountains of Colorado west to the mountains of
California; from Arizona north to Oregon.

Congress rejected the large claim of Deseret and made it a much smaller territory. It also refused to accept
the name Deseret. Instead, Congress called it Utah, after the Ute tribe of Native American Indians that
lived there. As a compromise, Brigham Young was named governor of the new Utah territory. Most of
the new territorial officials were Mormons, too. Four were not Mormon.

Governing the territory would not be easy. There were disputes during the administrations of several
American presidents. As a result of one dispute, the four non-Mormon officials returned to Washington.
The Mormons then formed their own territorial government with a legislature and courts.

Other federal officials were sent to Utah. Some of them were not prepared for the job. Usually, they did
not stay long.

Some of the officials made many charges against Brigham Young and other Mormon leaders. They said
Mormons refused to recognize the power of the federal government. They said Mormons put the words of
Young above the laws of Congress. They said the church had a secret organization to take the lives and
property of those who questioned the power of the church.

There were charges that Mormons had burned the papers of the Supreme Court of the territory. And there
were charges that Mormons were responsible for Indian attacks on some officials.

President Franklin Pierce decided he should make someone else governor of Utah. The man he chose,
however, did not want the job. Instead, he urged the president to let Brigham Young remain. President
Pierce agreed.

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The next president, James Buchanan, dismissed Brigham Young as governor. He ordered more than one
thousand soldiers to go to Utah to put down the rebellion. He also sent a new governor, Alfred Cumming,
with the soldiers. The Mormons prepared to fight.

A small group of Mormon men attacked and destroyed the army's supply wagons. They forced the
soldiers to stop for the winter before reaching the Salt Lake Valley. The soldiers could do nothing until
spring.

In Washington, efforts were made to settle the dispute. A man named Thomas Kane asked President
Buchanan to let him go to Utah. Kane was an old friend of the president. He also was a friend of the
Mormons. He had spent much time with them during their long trip to Utah ten years earlier.

Kane feared what might happen to his Mormon friends if fighting started. He told President Buchanan
that he did not want a job or money. He only wanted a chance to be useful. The president agreed to let
him try to settle the dispute.

Thomas Kane arrived in Salt Lake City, the territorial capital, early in 1858. He found that the Mormons
had decided not to fight. Instead, they were preparing to search for a new home. They talked of moving to
Mexico or perhaps to an island in the South Pacific.

Kane talked with Brigham Young. Then he went to the army camp to talk with Governor Cumming. The
governor agreed to go to Salt Lake City with Kane. The two men went alone, without any soldiers.
The Mormons welcomed Cumming, but continued their preparations to leave. Cumming called a public
meeting.

He said he was in Utah to represent the federal government. He said he was there to make sure the people
of the territory obeyed the constitution and the laws of the United States. He said he would not use
military force until every other way had failed.

Above all, said Cumming, he would not interfere with the Mormon religion. He urged the Mormons not
to leave the land they had worked so hard to build.

Brigham Young agreed to stay.

Governor Cumming returned to the army camp. He told the commander that the Mormons had accepted
him. He said military force would not be needed. A few days later, two representatives of President
Buchanan arrived. They brought news that the president would not act against Mormons who accepted the
rule of the United States government.

Brigham Young and the other Mormon leaders made a statement. They said they wished to live in peace
under the Constitution and the laws of the United States.

The dispute was over. Brigham Young continued to lead the Mormon church. But the governor ruled the
territorial government. The two jobs were separate and would remain that way.

Congressional elections were held in the United States in 1858. One political race created national
interest. It was for one of the two Senate seats representing the state of Illinois. The candidate of the
Democratic Party was Stephen Douglas. He was running for re-election. His opponent was a lawyer and
member of the Republican Party. His name was Abraham Lincoln.

That will be our story next time.

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voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>The Story of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In the summer of 1858, two candidates campaigned across the state of Illinois for a seat in the United
States Senate. That seat belonged to Stephen Douglas from the Democratic Party. He was seeking
re-election. His opponent was a lawyer from the newly established Republican Party. His name was
Abraham Lincoln.

This week in our series, Frank Oliver and Larry West tell us about this campaign of statewide but also
national importance.

Abraham Lincoln proposed that he and Stephen Douglas hold several debates. The rules for each debate
would be the same. One man would speak for an hour. His opponent would speak for an hour and a half.

Then the first man would speak for half an hour to close the debate. Douglas agreed.

There were seven debates in all. They were held in towns throughout Illinois. In some places, there was
great interest in what the two candidates had to say. Thousands of people attended.

Douglas was a short, heavy man. One reporter said he looked like a fierce bulldog. Douglas's friends and
supporters called him "the little giant."

Lincoln was just the opposite. He was very tall and thin, with long arms and legs. His clothes did not fit
well. And he had a plain face, one which many thought was ugly. He looked more like a simple farmer
than a candidate for the United States Senate.

The Lincoln-Douglas debates covered party politics and the future of the nation. But everything the two
men discussed was tied to one issue: slavery.

Douglas spoke first at the first debate. He questioned a statement made in one of Lincoln's campaign
speeches. Lincoln had said that the United States could not continue to permit slavery in some areas,
while banning it in others. He said the Union could not stand so divided. It must either permit slavery
everywhere -- or nowhere.

Douglas did not agree. He noted that the country had been half-slave and half-free for seventy years. Why
then, he asked, should it not continue to exist that way. The United States was a big country. What was
best for one part might not be best for another.

Then Douglas questioned Lincoln's statement on the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision. Lincoln had
said he opposed the decision, because it did not permit Negroes to enjoy the rights of citizenship.
Douglas said he believed the decision was correct. He said it was clear that the government had been
made by white men, for white men. He said he opposed Negro citizenship.

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"Every state and territory must decide for itself what these rights will be. Illinois decided that Negroes

will not be citizens, but that it will protect their life, property, and civil rights. It keeps from Negroes only
political rights, and refuses to make Negroes equal to white men. That policy satisfies me," Douglas said.
"And, it satisfies the Democratic Party."

Then Lincoln spoke.

First, he denied that the Republican Party was an Abolitionist party." I have no purpose," he said, "either
directly or indirectly, to interfere with slavery where it exists. I believe I have no legal right to do so. Nor
do I wish to do so. I do not," Lincoln said, "wish to propose political and social equality between the
white and black races."

"But," he went on, "there is no reason in the world why Negroes should not have all the natural rights
listed in the Declaration of Independence. The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

"I agree with Judge Douglas," Lincoln said, "that the Negro is not my equal in many ways -- certainly not
in color, perhaps not mentally or morally. But in the right to eat the bread that his own hand earns, he is
my equal and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the equal of every living man."

Lincoln then defended his statement that the United States could not continue half slave and half free.
He said he did not mean that customs or institutions must be the same in every state. He said it was
healthy and necessary for differences to exist in a country so large. He said different customs and
institutions helped unite the country, not divide it.

But Lincoln questioned if slavery was such an institution. He said slavery had not tied the states of the
Union together, but had always been an issue that divided them.

How had the country existed half-slave and half-free for so many years, Lincoln asked. Because, he said,
the men who created the government believed that slavery was only temporary. Once people understood
that slavery was not permanent, the crisis would pass.

Slavery could be left alone in the South until it slowly died. That way, Lincoln said, would be best for
both the white and black races.

Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln were campaigning for a Senate seat from the state of Illinois. But
their debates had national importance, too.

Douglas expected to be the Democratic candidate for president in 1860. His statements could win or lose
him support for that contest. Whenever possible, he tried to show that he was a man of the people, like
Lincoln. He tried to show that his Democratic Party was a national party, while the Republican Party was
a party only of the North. And he tried to show that Lincoln's policies would lead to civil war.

Lincoln, for his part, may have looked like a simple farmer. But he was a very smart lawyer and
politician. He asked questions which he knew would cause trouble for Douglas. He wanted to create a
split between Douglas and his supporters in the South.

Lincoln also wanted to keep alive the debate over slavery. "That," he said, "is the real issue. That is the
issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself are silent. It
is the eternal struggle between right and wrong."

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On election day, the legislative candidates supporting Lincoln won four thousand more popular votes than
the candidates supporting Douglas. But because of the way election areas had been organized, the

Douglas Democrats won a majority of seats. The newly elected legislature chose him to be senator.
Lincoln was sad that he had not won. But he said he was glad to have tried. The campaign, he said, "gave
me a hearing on the great question of the age, which I could have had in no other way. And though I now
sink out of view and shall be forgotten, I believe I have made some marks which will tell for the cause of
civil liberty long after I have gone."

Many people, however, did not think Abraham Lincoln would be forgotten. His campaign speeches had
been published everywhere in the East. His name was becoming widely known. People began to speak of

him as a presidential candidate.

To win the presidential election of 1860, the Republican Party had decided it needed a man of the people.
He must be a good politician and leader. He must be opposed to slavery, but not too extreme. Many
people thought Lincoln could be that man.

After the election in Illinois, Lincoln made several speaking trips in the western states. In none of his
speeches did he say he might be a candidate for president in 1860.

If anyone said anything about "Lincoln for president," he would answer that he did not have the ability.
Or he would say there were better men in the party than himself. Lincoln said: "Only events can make a
president."

He would wait for those events.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Frank Oliver and Larry West.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Slavery Crisis Eases, but Not for Very Long</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Throughout most of the 1850s, war was a continual threat between the North and the South over the issue
of slavery. Then, in the autumn of 1859, the crisis seemed to calm.

Anti-slavery extremists governed only a few states of the North. And pro-slavery extremists held power in
only a few states of the deep South. There had been elections in most of the northern and southern states.
Voters had rejected candidates with extremist ideas and elected moderates instead.

The public saw the elections as a sign of hope that reasonable people might find a way to settle the bitter
dispute over slavery.

But these hopes fell apart on October seventeenth, 1859. That day brought the news that a group of
Abolitionists had attacked the town of Harpers Ferry. The town was then part of Virginia; today it is part
of West Virginia.

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The attack was led by John Brown, an old anti-slavery extremist. Many believed him insane. He had gone
to Kansas and fought bitterly against pro-slavery forces. Once, to answer an attack on the town of

Lawrence, Brown and his men pulled five men and boys from their homes and murdered them.

The wife of one of the men said Brown told her: "If a man stands between me and what I believe to be
right, I will take his life as coolly as I would eat my breakfast."

Brown lost a son in a pro-slavery attack on his home at Osawatomie, Kansas. Brown and his friends were
forced to flee. They watched as the pro-slavery men burned the town.

Brown shook with grief and anger. "I have only a short time to live," he said, "only one death to die. And
I will die fighting for this cause. There will be no more peace in this land until slavery is done for. I will
give them something else to do than to extend slave territory. I will carry this war into the South."

To fight a war against slavery, Brown needed money and guns. He went to Massachusetts and New York.
He spoke at town meetings and met privately with Abolitionist leaders.

In these private talks, Brown said it was too late to settle the slave question through politics or any other

peaceful way. He said the only answer was a slave rebellion. It would be bloody, Brown said, and this
was terrible. But slavery itself was a terrible wrong -- the same as murder. Only blood, he said, would
wash away the wrongs of slavery.

Brown said God meant for him to begin this rebellion by invading Virginia with a military force he
already was organizing. Brown said even if the rebellion failed, it would probably lead to a civil war
between North and South. In such a war, he said, the North would break the chains of the black man on
the battlefield.

Brown won the support of a group of Abolitionist leaders. They formed a secret committee and called
themselves the "Secret Six." They agreed to advise Brown and, more importantly, to raise one thousand
dollars for him.

From New England, Brown went to Chatham, Canada. He went there for a secret convention he had
called to form a revolutionary government. This government would rule all the slave territory that Brown
and his men could capture.

Forty-six representatives went to the convention -- thirty-four Negroes and twelve whites. Brown told
them of his plan. He said he was sure that southern slaves were ready for rebellion. He said they would
rise up at the first sign of a leader who wished to break their chains.

"But what if troops are brought against you?" one man asked.

Brown answered that his men would fight in the mountains, where a small force could stop a much larger
one. He said his men would be well-trained in mountain fighting. Brown said he expected his small force
to grow much larger. He would invite the slaves he freed to join his army. And, he said he thought that all
the free Negroes of the North would come to fight slavery with him.

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John Brown chose Harpers Ferry because there was a factory there that made guns for the army. There
also was an arsenal where several million dollars worth of military equipment was kept. Brown needed

the guns and equipment for the slave army he hoped to form.

Old Brown arrived at Harpers Ferry early in July, 1859. Two of his sons, Owen and Oliver, and another
man came with him. They rented an old house on a farm in Maryland not far from Harpers Ferry. Brown
told people that he was a cattle buyer from New York.

Brown's men joined him, one or two at a time, over the next several months. They traveled at night so no
one would see them. Once they reached the farm house, they had to stay in hiding.

Week by week, the little force grew. But it grew too slowly. By the end of summer, there were still less
than twenty men hiding in the old house.

Brown wrote letters to his supporters in the North. He asked for more money and more men. He got little
of either. His supporters were afraid. Too many people knew of Brown's plans. The "Secret Six" feared
they would face criminal charges if Brown attacked Harpers Ferry.

Brown's men grew tired of the small, crowded rooms of the farm house. Brown knew he must act soon or
his young men would begin leaving.

On Saturday, October fifteenth, three men arrived to join the group. One of them brought six hundred
dollars in gold for Brown's use. Brown saw the gold as a sign that God wanted him to act. He told his men
they would strike the next night.

Brown held religious services Sunday morning and prayed for God to help him free the slaves. Then he
called his men around him to explain to them his battle plan.

They would seize the two bridges at Harpers Ferry and close them. Next, they would capture the armory
and the rifle factory. They would capture as many people as possible. They would use the people as
hostages for protection against any soldiers that might be sent against them.

The army had no men near Harpers Ferry. Brown believed he would have all the time he needed. He
believed his only opposition might be local groups of militia. He did not fear these civilian soldiers.
The old man thought he and his men could hold Harpers Ferry until slaves in the area rebelled and joined
them. Brown knew that Maryland and western Virginia were full of people opposed to slavery. He
expected many of them to come to his aid.

The twenty-two men rested until dark, listening to rain hit the roof of the farm house.

About eight o'clock, Brown called his group. "Men," he said, "get your weapons. We are going to the
Ferry."

A wagon was brought out and a horse tied to it. In the wagon were a few tools and some extra guns.
Brown climbed into the wagon and started it toward town. Two of his men stepped out in front of the
wagon, leading the way. The others walked behind.

It was a dark and cold night. A light rain was falling. There was no one else on the road. After a time, they
reached the high ground above the Potomac. Below them, across the river, lay the town of Harpers Ferry.
Most of the town was sleeping. Only a few lights shone through the rain.

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Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Jack Moyles and Harry Monroe.
Transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and archives of our programs are online, along with historical images, at
voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Story of John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

One day in October of 1859, Americans were shocked by news of an attack led by John Brown. He was
an antislavery extremist. Many people also considered him a madman.

John Brown had declared that he was ready to die fighting slavery. He said that God wanted him to fight
slavery by invading Virginia with a military force. And even if the rebellion failed, he predicted that it
would lead to a civil war between the North and the South. Should there be a war, he said, the North
would break the chains of black slaves.

Brown decided to strike at Harpers Ferry, a small town about one hundred kilometers from Washington. It
was part of Virginia at that time, but is now located in the state of West Virginia. It had a factory that
made guns for the army and a supply center of valuable military equipment. Brown wanted the guns and
equipment for the slave army he hoped to organize.

Harpers Ferry was built on a narrow finger of land where the Shenandoah River flowed into the Potomac.
There was a bridge across each river. Brown organized his attack from across the Potomac, in Maryland.
This week in our series, Harry Monroe and Jack Moyles continue the story of John Brown and his raid on
Harpers Ferry.

With his force of less than twenty men, John Brown moved through the darkness down to the bridge that
crossed the Potomac River.

Two men left the group to cut the telegraph lines east and west of Harpers Ferry.

At the bridge, Brown's men surprised a railroad guard. They told him he was their prisoner. The guard
thought they were joking until he saw their guns.

Once across the bridge, Brown and his men moved quickly. They captured a few people in the street and
another guard at the front gate of the government armory. They seized the armory, then crossed the street
and seized the supply center. Millions of dollars' worth of military equipment was kept there.

After leaving a few men to guard the prisoners, Brown and the others went to the gun factory across town.
They seized the few people who were there and captured the factory.

Without firing a shot, Brown now controlled the three places he wanted in Harpers Ferry. His problem
now was to hold what he had captured. Brown knew he had little time. The people of the town would
soon learn what had happened. They would call for help. And several groups of militia in the area would
come to the aid of Harpers Ferry.

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Brown had decided to capture, as his best hostage, Colonel Lewis Washington. The Colonel was a

descendant of President George Washington. He lived on a big farm near Harpers Ferry. Brown sent some
of his men to capture the old colonel and free his slaves.

They returned from the Washington farm after midnight. They brought Colonel Washington and ten
slaves. They also captured another farmer and his son. The slaves were given spears and told to guard the
prisoners.

Then, at the far end of the Potomac River bridge, the first shots were fired.

Brown's son, Watson, and another man fired at a railroad guard who refused to halt. A bullet struck his
head, but did not hurt him seriously. The guard raced back across the bridge to the railroad station. He
cried out that a group of armed men had seized the bridge.

A few minutes later, a train from the west arrived at Harpers Ferry. The wounded guard warned the
trainmen of the danger at the bridge. Two of the trainmen decided to investigate. They walked toward the
bridge. Before they could reach it, bullets began whizzing past them. They ran back to the train and
moved it farther from the bridge.

Then a free Negro man who worked at the railroad station, Hayward Shepherd, walked down to the
bridge. Brown's men ordered him to halt. Shepherd tried to run and was shot. He got back to the station,

but died several hours later.

Brown finally agreed to let the train pass over the bridge and continue on to Baltimore. The train left at
sunrise.

By this time, word of Brown's attack had spread to Charles Town, more than twelve kilometers away.
Officials called out the militia, ordering the men of Charles Town to get ready to go to the aid of Harpers
Ferry.

Soon after sunrise, men began arriving at Harpers Ferry from other towns in the area. They took positions
above the armory and started shooting at it.

The militia from Charles Town arrived at the Maryland end of the Potomac bridge. They charged across,
forcing Brown's men on the bridge to flee to the armory. Only one of Brown's men was hit. He was killed
instantly.

Brown saw that he was surrounded. His only hope was to try to negotiate a ceasefire and offer to release
his thirty hostages, if the militia would let him and his men go free. Brown sent out one of his men and
one of the prisoners with a white flag. The excited crowd refused to recognize the white flag. They seized
Brown's man and carried him away.

Brown moved his men and the most important of his hostages into a small brick building at the armory.
Then he sent out two more of his men with a prisoner to try to negotiate a ceasefire. One of them was his
son, Watson.

This time, the crowd opened fire. Watson and the other raider were wounded. Their prisoner escaped to
safety. Watson was able to crawl back to the armory.

One of the youngest of Brown's men, William Leeman, tried to escape. He ran from the armory and
jumped into the Potomac, planning to swim across the river. He did not get far. A group of militia saw

him and began shooting. Leeman was forced to hide behind a rock in the middle of the river. Two men
went out to the rock with guns and shot him. His body lay in the river for two days.

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After the mayor's death, a mob went to the hotel where one of Brown's men had been held since he was
seized earlier in the day.

They pulled him from the hotel and took him to the bridge over the river. Several members of the mob put
guns to his head and fired. They pushed his body off the bridge and into the water.

Across town, three of Brown's men were in trouble at the gun factory. The factory was built on an island
in the Shenandoah River.

The island was now surrounded by militia. Forty of the soldiers attacked the factory from three sides.
They pushed the three raiders back to a small building next to the river. The three men fought as long as
possible. Then they jumped through a window into the river.

They tried to swim to safety. Men with guns were waiting for them. Bullets fell around the three like rain.
One man was hit. He died instantly. Another was wounded. He was pulled to land and left to die. The
third man escaped death. He was captured and held for trial.

All through the afternoon and evening, Brown's men at the armory continued to exchange shots with the
militia. Several more on both sides were killed or wounded. One of those was another of Brown's sons,
Oliver. He was shot and seriously wounded.

Night fell. Then, a militia officer, Captain Sinn, walked up to the small building held by Brown. He
shouted to the men inside that he wished to talk. Brown opened the door and let him in. For almost an
hour, the two men talked. They talked about slavery and the right to rebel against the government.
Brown was furious that the crowd outside had refused to honor his white flag of truce earlier in the day.
He told Sinn that his men could have killed unarmed men and women, but did not do so.

"That is not quite correct," Captain Sinn said. "Mayor Beckham had no gun when he was shot."
"Then I can only say I am most sad to hear it," said Brown.

"Men who take up guns against the government," said Sinn, "must expect to be shot down like dogs."
In Washington, President Buchanan and Secretary of War John Floyd did not learn of the rebellion at
Harpers Ferry until after ten o'clock that morning. The president wanted immediate action.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Harry Monroe and Jack Moyles.
Transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and archives of our programs can be found, along with historical images, at
voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>A Failed Attempt to Raise a Rebel Army of </b>

<b>Slaves</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

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They seized a gun factory and a federal supply center where military equipment was kept. They planned
to use the guns and equipment to organize a rebel army of slaves.

This week in our series, Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant tell us what happened to John Brown after he
seized Harpers Ferry.

The president of the United States in 1859 was James Buchanan. When Buchanan learned of the attack,
he wanted immediate action. He sent a force of Marines to Harpers Ferry, under the command of Army
Colonel Robert E. Lee.

John Brown had attacked with about twenty men. Several, including two of his sons, had been killed by

local militia. He and his remaining men withdrew to a small brick building. The attack had failed. Not one
slave had come to Harpers Ferry to help Brown.

The few whom his men had freed had refused to fight when the shooting started. Brown could not
understand the fear that kept the slaves from fighting for their freedom.

Brown and his men were trapped inside the brick building. They held a few hostages whom they hoped to
exchange for their freedom.

Colonel Lee wrote a message to John Brown demanding his surrender. He did not think Brown would
surrender peaceably. So, he planned to attack as soon as Brown rejected the message. He felt this was the
surest way to save the lives of the hostages.

As expected, Brown refused to surrender. He said he and his men had the right to go free. As soon as
Brown spoke, the signal was given. The Marines attacked.

They broke open a small hole in the door of the brick building. One by one, the Marines moved through
the hole. They fought hand-to-hand against the men inside. After a brief fight, they won. John Brown's
rebellion was crushed.

A few hours after Brown was captured, the Governor of Virginia and three Congressmen arrived in
Harpers Ferry. They wanted to question Brown. Brown had been wounded in the final attack. He was
weak from the loss of blood. But he welcomed the chance to explain his actions.

The officials first asked where Brown got the money to organize his raid. Brown said he raised most of it
himself. He refused to give the names of any of his supporters. Then the officials asked why Brown had
come to Harpers Ferry. "We came to free the slaves," Brown said, "and only that."

He continued: "I think that you are guilty of a great wrong against God and humanity. I believe anyone
would be perfectly right to interfere with you, so far as to free those you wickedly hold in slavery. I think

I did right. You had better -- all you people of the South -- prepare yourselves for a settlement sooner than
you are prepared for it.

"You may get rid of me very easily. I am nearly gone now. But this question is still to be settled -- this
Negro question, I mean. That is not yet ended."

The raid on Harpers Ferry increased the bitterness of the national dispute over slavery. Members of the
Democratic Party called the raid a plot by the Republican Party. Republican leaders denied the charge.
They said the raid was the work of one man -- one madman -- John Brown. Still, they said, he had acted
for good reason: to end slavery in America.

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North was responsible for the raid. They believed all northerners wanted a slave rebellion in the South.
And it was such a rebellion that southerners feared more than anything else.

New measures were approved throughout the South to prevent this. Military law was declared in some
areas. Slave owners threatened to beat or hang any Negro who even looked rebellious.

The fear of a slave rebellion united the people of the South. For years, rich slave owners had talked of
taking the southern states out of the Union to save their way of life. But those who had no slaves opposed
the idea of disunion.

John Brown's raid changed that. After his attack on Harpers Ferry, the south spoke with one voice. All
southerners declared that they would fight to protect their homes from a Negro rebellion or from another
attack by men like Brown. Feelings were especially high in Virginia, the state in which the raid took
place. Virginians wanted Brown punished quickly to show what would happen to anyone who tried to
lead a Negro rebellion.

There was some question whether Brown should be tried in a federal court or a state court. Brown's raid
took place within the borders of a state. But the property he seized belonged to the federal government.
The Governor of Virginia decided to try Brown in a state court. He believed a federal court trial would

take too long. If Brown were not brought to trial quickly, he said, people might attack the jail and kill
him.

Brown was being held in Charles Town, a few kilometers from Harpers Ferry. The court there named two
lawyers to defend him. A doctor examined Brown. He reported that Brown's wounds were not serious
enough to prevent the trial from starting. Brown lay in a bed in the courtroom throughout the trial.
John Brown's lawyers tried to show that his family had a history of madness. They tried to prove that
Brown, too, was mad. They asked the court to declare him innocent because of insanity. Brown protested.
He said the lawyers were just trying to save his life. He did not want such a defense. The matter of
insanity was dropped.

Brown's lawyers then argued that he was not guilty of the three crimes with which he was charged.
First, they said, he could not be guilty of treason against Virginia, because he was not a citizen of

Virginia. Second, he could not be guilty of plotting a slave rebellion, because he had never incited slaves
against their owners. And third, he could not be guilty of murder, because he had killed only in
self-defense.

The trial lasted five days. The jury found John Brown guilty of all three charges.

The judge asked Brown if he wanted to make a statement before being sentenced. Brown did. He declared
that he had not planned to start a slave rebellion. He said he only wanted to free some slaves and take
them to Canada.

Brown's statement was strong. But it was not true. He had, in fact, planned to organize an army of slaves
to fight for their freedom. He acted in the belief that slaves throughout the south would rise up against
their owners and join him.

Brown's words did not move the judge. He said he could find no reason to question the jury's decision that
Brown was guilty. He sentenced Brown to be hanged.

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Brown himself did not want to escape. He said he could do more to destroy slavery by hanging than by
staying alive.

John Brown was executed on December second, 1859. His death created a wave of public emotion
throughout the country. In the North, people mourned.

One man wrote: "The events of the last month or two have done more to build northern opposition to
slavery than anything which has ever happened before, than all the anti-slavery pamphlets and books that
have ever been written."

In the south, people cheered. But their happiness at Brown's punishment was mixed with anger at those
who honored him. As the nation prepared for a presidential election year, the South renewed its promise
to defend slavery -- or leave the Union.

That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant.
Transcripts of our programs can be found along with MP3s, podcasts and historical images at

voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Hopes, Fears and the Election of 1860</b>

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Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.
Eighteen sixty was a year of mixed feelings of hope and fear.

Americans had hope for the future, because they would be electing a new president. But they had fear that
even a new president could not hold the nation together. The states of the South were very close to
leaving the Union over the issue of slavery.

This week in our series, Tony Riggs and Frank Oliver talk about the candidates and the issues in the
election of 1860.

After four years as president, James Buchanan decided not to run again. Buchanan was a Democrat. His
party, like the nation, was split over slavery. Southern Democrats wanted the party to support slavery.
Northern Democrats refused.

The opposition Republican Party expected to gain votes from dissatisfied Democrats. Republicans had
become stronger since the last presidential election in 1856. They felt their candidate would win in 1860.
The Democratic nominating convention opened in April in Charleston, South Carolina. Senator Stephen
Douglas of Illinois was the leading candidate. He had the support of a majority of convention delegates.
But he did not have the two-thirds majority needed to win the nomination.

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The Southern Democrats who opposed Stephen Douglas were led by William Yancey of Alabama.
Yancey wanted to get a pro-slavery statement into the party's platform. He was sure Douglas would not
accept the nomination based on such a platform.

If Yancey failed to get the statement he wanted, he would take Southern Democrats out of the convention.
And out of the party.

The committee on resolutions considered three platforms. One platform declared that the people of a
territory had the right to decide if slavery would be legal or illegal. The second declared that the Supreme
Court had that right. And the third declared that no one did -- that slavery was legal everywhere.

William Yancey spoke to the convention in support of the pro-slavery platform. He said pro-slavery
Democrats did not want to destroy the union. But he said someone had to make clear to anti-slavery

Democrats that the union would be dissolved if the constitutional rights of slave owners were not
honored.

Yancey spoke of the danger of a great slave rebellion. He described it as a sleeping volcano that
threatened the lives, property, and honor of the people of the South. He said the actions of the North
might cause that volcano to explode.

Another convention delegate answered Yancey's speech. He said Northern Democrats were tired of
defending the interests of the South. "Now," he said, "Yancey tells us we must agree that slavery is right.
He orders us to hide our faces and eat dirt. Gentlemen of the South," he said, "you mistake us. We will not
do it!"

In this atmosphere of tension, it was clear that a pro-slavery platform would not be approved. The

Alabama delegation announced that, therefore, it must withdraw. The delegations from the other six states
of the Deep South -- Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas -- did the same.
Those fifty men organized their own convention. They approved a pro-slavery platform, but did not
nominate anyone for president. They agreed to meet again a few weeks later in Richmond, Virginia.
The Northern Democrats postponed their nomination, too. They agreed to meet again in Baltimore,
Maryland.

The Republican Party held its presidential nominating convention in Chicago, Illinois. There was no
question who was the leading candidate. He was the best-known Republican in the country at that time:
Senator William Seward of New York.

The Republican platform seemed to contain something for everyone.

For those opposed to slavery, the platform rejected the idea that slave owners had a constitutional right to
take slaves into new territories. For foreign-born Americans, it supported their right to full citizenship.
For manufacturers, it proposed a new tax on imports to protect American industry. And for those in the

northwest, it called for free land for settlers, and federal aid to build roads and canals.

Delegates approved the platform with loud cheers. They would return the next day to nominate their
candidate for president.

William Seward was sure he would win the nomination. If not on the first vote, he thought, then on the
second. But there was some opposition to Seward. And his campaign organization failed to see its
strength.

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The Republican convention voted three times. Lincoln gained support on each ballot. But neither he nor
Seward received enough votes for the nomination. Then, before a fourth vote could be taken, a delegate
from Ohio asked to speak. The big room became silent. "Mr. chairman," he said, "I rise to announce the
change of four votes of Ohio to Mr. Lincoln."

That was enough to give Abraham Lincoln the Republican nomination for president.

One month later, the Democrats re-opened their nominating convention. Most of the Southern Democrats
who walked out of the first meeting came back. Many of their seats at the convention had been given to
new delegates. So a new dispute arose over which delegates had the right to be there.

A compromise plan split the seats between old and new delegates. But most of the Southerners rejected it.
One by one, a majority of each Southern delegation walked out. The remaining Democrats then voted for
a candidate. They chose Stephen Douglas.

Southern Democrats nominated their own candidate, John Breckinridge of Kentucky. And a group called
the Constitutional Union Party nominated John Bell.

The election campaign opened in the summer of 1860. Lincoln was not well-known. So the Republican
Party published many books and pamphlets about him. They told the story of a poor farm boy who
educated himself and, through hard work and honesty, had become a candidate for president.

Lincoln's supporters organized a loud and colorful campaign, complete with marching bands and signs.
Lincoln himself was silent. He said, "It has been my decision since becoming a candidate to make no
speeches. I am here only to see you and to let you see me. "

In fact, it was Lincoln's assistants who had advised him to say nothing. They believed he had said enough
in the past to make clear his position on the important issues.

Stephen Douglas, on the other hand, campaigned very hard. His health was poor. And he had trouble
getting money. But that did not stop him from speaking in almost every state.

Within a few weeks, however, Douglas recognized that he had no real hope of winning. His position on
slavery had cost him all support in the South.

Douglas believed that, of the other candidates, Abraham Lincoln had the best chance of winning the
presidential election. He also believed pro-slavery extremists would use Lincoln's election as an excuse to
take Southern states out of the union. So he turned his efforts to a campaign for the union itself.

He said, "The election of a man to the presidency by the American people, under the Constitution, is no
reason for any attempt to dissolve this glorious nation."

Election day was November sixth. The popular vote was close between Lincoln and Douglas. But the
electoral vote was not. Lincoln received one hundred eighty. Breckinridge received seventy-two. Bell
received thirty-nine. And Douglas received just twelve.

Abraham Lincoln would be the new president of the United States.

He would enter office facing the most serious crisis in American history. For, before his inauguration,
southern states finally acted on their threats. They began to leave the union.

That will be our story next week.

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voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> - an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Lincoln Takes Presidency of a Nation in Crisis</b>

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Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election in November of 1860. When he took office several

months later, he faced the most serious crisis in American history. The southern states had finally acted on
their earlier threats. They had begun to leave the Union over the issue of slavery.

This week in our series, Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant talk about this critical time in American history.
The southern states did not want Abraham Lincoln to win the election of 1860. Lincoln was a Republican.
And the Republican Party opposed slavery. Lincoln never said he wanted to end slavery in the South. He
did not believe anyone had the right to do so. Yet he did not want to see slavery spread to other parts of
the United States.

Lincoln told southerners: "You think slavery is right and should be extended, while we think it is wrong
and should be limited. That, I suppose, is the trouble. It surely is the only important difference between
us."

Pro-slavery extremists felt this difference was enough. And they were sure Lincoln and his Republicans
would soon win control of Congress and the Supreme Court. Before long, they thought, the Constitution
would be changed. Slavery would become illegal everywhere.

Even if this did not happen, southerners were worried. Unless slavery could spread, they said, the slave
population in the South would become too large. In time, blacks and whites would battle for control. One
or the other would be destroyed.

So even before the presidential election, southerners began discussing what they would do if Abraham
Lincoln won.

Early in October, the governor of South Carolina, William Gist, wrote letters to the governors of other
southern states. He said they should agree on what action to take if Lincoln became president.

Gist said South Carolina would call a state convention as soon as the election results were made official.
If any state decided to leave the Union, he said, South Carolina would follow. If no other state decided to
leave, then South Carolina would secede by itself.

Governor Gist received mixed answers.

Two states -- Alabama and Mississippi -- said they would not secede alone. But they said they would join
others that made this decision. Two more states -- Louisiana and Georgia -- said they would not secede
unless the north acted against them. And one state -- North Carolina -- said it had not yet decided what to
do.

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Abraham Lincoln was elected president on November sixth, 1860. South Carolina exploded with

excitement at the news. To many of the people there, Lincoln's victory was a signal that ended the state's
ties to the Union. To them, it was the beginning of southern independence.

Both United States Senators from South Carolina resigned. So did a federal judge and the collector of
federal taxes. United States flags were lowered. State flags were raised in their place.

The state legislature agreed to open a convention on December seventeenth. The convention would make

the final decision on leaving the Union. Several other southern states did the same.

This idea of leaving the Union -- secession -- split North and South just as much as slavery. Southerners
claimed they had the right to secede peacefully. Northerners disagreed. They said secession was treason.
They said it would lead to civil war.

In the months before Lincoln's inauguration, President James Buchanan tried to deal with the situation.
First he proposed a convention of all the states. The purpose of the convention would be to work out
differences between North and South. The southern members of Buchanan's cabinet rejected this idea.
The second proposal was a strong policy statement on secession. The statement would include an opinion
by the attorney general. It said the government could use force, if necessary, to keep states in the Union.
The southern cabinet members rejected this idea, too.

President Buchanan had to settle for a moderate policy statement on secession.

It said the president could send troops into a state to help federal marshals enforce the rulings of federal
courts. But if federal judges resigned, there would be no federal court rulings to enforce. Therefore, to
send troops to a state where federal officers had resigned -- such as South Carolina -- would be an act of
war against the state. And only Congress had the constitutional power to declare war.

Buchanan accepted this statement. He was only too happy to let Congress decide what to do.
There was little chance that Congress could do anything. Congressmen from both North and South
already had made decisions that could not, and would not, be changed easily.

Most of the congressmen from states in the deep south supported secession. They did not want to remain
in the Union. Many congressmen from states in the North had been elected because they promised to keep
slavery from spreading to the western territories. They did not plan to break their promises.

A few lawmakers hoped President Buchanan, in his yearly message to Congress, might propose a
compromise.

Buchanan began by denouncing northern Abolitionists. He said they were responsible for the present
problem. Their interference, he said, had created a great fear of slave rebellions in the South.

Then Buchanan called on the South to accept the election of Abraham Lincoln. He said the election of a
citizen to the office of president should not be a reason for dissolving the Union. Buchanan declared that
the constitution gave no state the right to leave. But, he admitted, if a state did secede, there was little the
federal government could do.

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He said the amendment should recognize the right to own slaves as property in states where slavery was
permitted. It should protect this right in all territories until the territories became states. And it should end
all state laws that interfered with the return of escaped slaves to their owners.

No one liked President Buchanan's message to Congress. Northerners did not like his declaration of
federal weakness in the face of secession. Southerners did not like his declaration that secession was
unconstitutional.

The message did nothing to change the situation. Soon after it was read to Congress, South Carolina
opened its secession convention.

Delegates to the convention would make the final decision if South Carolina would remain in the Union
or secede. There was little question how they would vote.

A committee wrote a secession resolution. The resolution said simply that the people of South Carolina
were ending the agreement of 1788 in which the state had approved the Constitution of the United States.
It said the Union existing between South Carolina and the United States of America was being dissolved.
The committee offered the resolution to the convention on December twentieth, 1860. There was no
debate. The delegates voted immediately. No one voted against it.

South Carolina had seceded. But what must it do now. There was the problem of property in South

Carolina owned by the federal government. The convention continued to meet to work out details of
South Carolina's new position in the world.

That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found, along with historical images, at
voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>South Carolina Leaves Union, Tensions Increase</b>

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Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

South Carolina withdrew from the United States on December 20, 1860. The state seceded because a
Republican, Abraham Lincoln, had been elected president. The Republicans were a new party, and
Lincoln was the first to be elected president. They wanted to stop slavery from spreading into the western
territories.

Southern states believed they had a constitutional right to take property -- including slaves -- anywhere.
They also feared that any interference with slavery would end their way of life.

This week in our series, Frank Oliver and Larry West tell what happened after South Carolina left the
Union.

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of Charleston. Fort Moultrie had fewer than seventy soldiers. Castle Pinckney had only one. And Fort
Sumter -- which was still being built -- had none.

The commander of the forts asked for more men. Without them, he said, he could not defend the forts.
The army refused. It told the commander to defend the forts as best he could.

He was told to do nothing that might cause South Carolina to attack. If South Carolina attacked, or
planned to attack, then he could move his men into the fort that would be easiest to defend. That would
probably be the new one, Fort Sumter.

The governor of South Carolina planned to stop any movement of federal troops. He ordered state
soldiers to stop every boat in Charleston Harbor. They were to permit no United States troops to reach
Fort Sumter. If any boat carrying troops refused to stop, the state soldiers were to sink it and seize the
fort.

Six days after South Carolina seceded from the Union, the commander of Charleston's forts decided to
move his men to Fort Sumter. They would move as soon as it was dark.

The federal troops crossed the port in small boats. The state soldiers did not see them. The governor was
furious when he learned what had happened. He demanded that the federal troops leave Fort Sumter. The
commander said they would stay.

The governor then ordered state soldiers to seize the other two forts in Charleston Harbor. And he ordered
the state flag raised over all other federal property in the city.

President James Buchanan, who would leave office in just a few months, was forced to deal with the
situation. His cabinet was deeply divided on the issue. The southerners wanted him to recognize South
Carolina and order all federal troops out of Charleston Harbor. The northerners said he must not give up
any federal property or rights.

The president agreed to meet with three representatives from South Carolina. They had come to

Washington to negotiate the future of federal property in their state. The attorney general said the meeting

was a mistake.

"These gentlemen," he said, "claim to be ambassadors of South Carolina. This is foolish. They cannot be
ambassadors. They are lawbreakers, traitors, and should be arrested. You cannot negotiate with them."
The attorney general and the secretary of state threatened to resign if President Buchanan gave in to South
Carolina's demands. The president finally agreed not to give in.

He said he would keep federal troops in Charleston Harbor. And he said Fort Sumter would be defended
against all hostile action. On the last day of 1860, he ordered 200 troops and extra supplies sent to Fort
Sumter.

The War Department wanted to keep the operation secret. So the troops and supplies were put on a fast
civilian ship, instead of a slower warship. It was thought that a civilian ship could get into Charleston
Harbor before state forces could act.

But a southern Senator learned of the operation. He warned the governor of South Carolina. When the
ship arrived in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina soldiers were waiting.

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The commander of federal troops at Fort Sumter had a difficult decision to make. He had received

permission to defend the fort, if attacked. But his orders said nothing about defending ships. He knew that
if he opened fire, the United States and South Carolina would be at war.

The decision was made for him. South Carolina's cannons finally hit the ship. The ship slowed, then
turned back to sea. It returned north with all the troops and supplies.

The commander of Fort Sumter sent a message to the governor of South Carolina.

"Your forces," he wrote, "fired this morning on a civilian ship flying the flag of my government. Since I
have not been informed that South Carolina declared war on the United States, I can only believe that this

hostile act was done without your knowledge or permission. For this reason -- and only this -- I did not
fire on your guns."

If, the commander said, the governor had approved the shelling, it would be an act of war. And he would
be forced to close the Port of Charleston. No ship would be permitted to enter or leave.

The governor's answer came back within hours. He said South Carolina was now independent. He said the
attempt by the United States to strengthen its force at Fort Sumter was clearly an act of aggression. And
he demanded that the commander surrender.

During the crisis over Fort Sumter, Congress tried to find a compromise that might prevent war.

Lawmakers proposed a new line across the country. South of the line, slavery would be permitted. North
of the line, slavery would be illegal.

Many Republicans supported the proposal, even though the Republican Party opposed the spread of
slavery into the western territories.

One Republican, however, rejected the idea completely. He was Abraham Lincoln, who would take office
as president in March. Lincoln said there could be no compromise on extending slavery. "If there is," he
said, "then all our hard work is lost. If trouble comes, it is better to let it come now than at some later
time."

The trouble would come soon. One by one, the states of the South seceded.

By February first, 1861, six states had followed South Carolina out of the Union. A few days later,
representatives from the states met in Montgomery, Alabama. Their job was to create a new nation. It
would be an independent republic called the Confederate States of America.

The convention approved a constitution for the new nation. The document was like the Constitution of the

United States, but with major changes. The southern constitution gave greater importance to the rights of
states. And it said there could be no laws against slavery.

The convention named former United States Senator Jefferson Davis to be president of the Confederate
States of America.

Davis did not want civil war. But he was not afraid of it. He said: "Our separation from the old Union is
complete. The time for compromise has passed. Should others try to change our decision with force, they
will smell southern gunpowder and feel the steel of southern swords."

Jefferson Davis left his farm in Mississippi to become president of the Confederate States of America on
February eleventh. On that same day, Abraham Lincoln left his home in Illinois to become president of
the United States.

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"I now leave, not knowing when -- or whether ever -- I may return. The task before me is greater than that
which rested upon our first president. Without the help of God, I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I
cannot fail. Let us hope that all yet will be well."

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Frank Oliver and Larry West.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found, along with historical images, at
voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American
history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Lincoln Names a Cabinet</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

By February first, 1861, seven southern states had withdrawn from the United States of America. They

created their own independent nation -- the Confederate States of America. The South seceded because
Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, had been elected president. Southerners believed he would support a
constitutional ban on slavery. They were afraid their way of life would soon end.

This week in our series, Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe discuss the beginning of Abraham Lincoln's
presidency.

President-elect Lincoln traveled by train from his home in Illinois to Washington, D.C. Along the way, he
stopped to make speeches. As he got closer to Washington, he was warned that a mob was planning to
attack the train. He had to continue his trip in secret.

Lincoln arrived in Washington nine days before his inauguration. It was a busy time. He talked with many
people, including delegates to a peace convention. Every state was represented at the convention, except
the states that had seceded. The delegates urged Lincoln to support slavery. They urged him not to go to
war over the issue.

Lincoln said only that he would faithfully execute the duties of President of all the United States. He said
he would protect and defend the American Constitution.

While Lincoln waited for inauguration day, he chose the members of his cabinet. He wanted men
representing all opposing groups in the Republican Party. He hoped this would unite the party and give
him support in the difficult years ahead.

Lincoln chose William Seward as secretary of state, Salmon Chase as Treasury secretary, Gideon Welles
as Navy secretary and Montgomery Blair as postmaster general.

Seward did not like Chase, Welles or Blair. He told Lincoln that he could not serve in the cabinet with
them. He said they would never be able to work together. Lincoln answered that he would be happy to
make Seward ambassador to Britain, instead of secretary of state. Seward gave up the argument and
agreed to join the cabinet.

Inauguration Day was the fourth of March. President-elect Lincoln rode to the ceremony with outgoing
President James Buchanan. Buchanan was ready to give up his power. He told Lincoln: "If you are as
happy to get into the White House as I am to get out of it, you must be the happiest man alive!"

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He had worked hard on the speech. He wanted to say clearly what his policy would be on slavery and
secession. These were the issues which divided the country. These were the issues which were leading the
country to civil war.

This is what Lincoln said:

"There seems to be some fear among the people of the southern states, that because a Republican
administration is coming to power, their property and their peace and personal security are threatened.
There has never been any reasonable cause for such fears. In fact, much evidence to the contrary has
existed, open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all my published speeches.

"In one of those speeches, I declared that I had no purpose -- directly or indirectly -- to interfere with the
institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I said I believed I had no legal right to do so, and no
wish to do so.

"This statement is still true. I can only say that the property, peace, and security of no part of the country
are to be in any way endangered by the incoming administration."

Lincoln noted that seventy-two years had passed since the first president was inaugurated. Since then, he
said, 15 men had led the nation through many dangers, generally with great success. He went on:

"I now begin the same job under great difficulty. The breaking up of the federal Union -- before, only
threatened -- now, is attempted. I believe that under universal law and the Constitution, the Union of these
states is permanent. This is shown by the history of the Union itself.

"The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed, in fact, by the Articles of Association in
1774. It was continued by the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It grew further under the Articles of
Confederation in 1778. And finally, in 1787, one of the declared reasons for establishing the Constitution
of the United States was to form 'a more perfect Union'.

"I therefore believe that, in view of the Constitution and the laws, the Union is not broken. I shall make
sure, as the Constitution orders me to do, that the laws of the Union are obeyed in all the states. In doing
this, there needs to be no bloodshed or violence. And there shall be none, unless it be forced upon the
national government.

"The power given to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to
the government, and to collect the taxes. But beyond what is necessary for these purposes, there will be no
invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere."

Lincoln then repeated some statements he had made during his campaign for president. He used them to
explain the differences between North and South.

One part of the country, he said, believes slavery is right and should be extended. The other part believes
slavery is wrong and should not be extended. This, he said, was the only important dispute.

Lincoln admitted that, even if the dispute could be settled peacefully, there were those who wanted to see
the Union destroyed. He said his words were not meant for them. They were meant only for those people
who really loved the Union. He said:

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"Is it possible to make those relations better after separation than before. Can aliens make treaties easier
than friends can make laws. Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can be
enforced among friends.

"My countrymen -- one and all -- think calmly and well upon this subject. Nothing valuable can be lost by
taking time.

"In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen -- and not in mine -- is the great issue of civil war. The
government will not attack you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors.

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though emotion may have damaged them, it
must not break our ties of love."

Abraham Lincoln then placed his hand on the Christian holy book, the Bible. The Chief Justice of the
United States then spoke the presidential oath. Lincoln repeated the words. And the United States had a
new president.

Lincoln's first crisis came quickly. It was a problem left unsolved by the out-going president.

Lincoln had to decide immediately what to do about the federal fort in the harbor of Charleston, South
Carolina: Fort Sumter. The fort was surrounded by southern artillery. Southern gunboats guarded the
harbor. The federal troops inside Fort Sumter were getting dangerously low on food. But any attempt to
send more men or supplies would be seen as an act of war -- civil war.

That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are online, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us at twitter.com/voalearnenglish. Join us again next week
for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Lincoln's Policy on South Is Soon Tested</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

On a cold and cloudy day in March of 1861, Abraham Lincoln became the sixteenth president of the
United States. In his inaugural speech, the new president announced the policy that he would follow
toward the southern states that had left the Union.

Lincoln said no state had a legal right to secede -- the Union could not be broken. He said he would
enforce federal laws in every state. And he promised not to surrender any federal property in the states
that seceded. Lincoln said if force was necessary to protect the Union, then force would be used. His
policy was soon tested.

This week in our series, Jack Weitzel and Jack Moyles discuss the dispute over the federal base that was
being built at Fort Sumter.

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Lincoln wanted to keep Fort Sumter. It was one of the few United States forts in the south still held by
federal forces. And he had promised not to give up any federal property in the states that seceded.
But getting food to Fort Sumter would be a very difficult job. The fort was built on an island in
Charleston Harbor. It was surrounded by southern artillery. Southern gunboats guarded the port.

To get supplies to Anderson and his men, a ship would have to fight its way to Sumter. Such a battle was
sure to begin a bitter civil war. There also was the danger that fighting would cause slave states still in the
Union to secede and join the southern Confederacy.

The Army chief, General [Winfield] Scott, warned Lincoln that it was too late to get supplies to Fort
Sumter. He said southern defenses around the fort were so strong that a major military effort would be
necessary. He said it would take months to prepare the warships and soldiers for such an effort. Major
Anderson and his men at Sumter, he said, could not wait that long.

There was another plan, however, that might work. It was proposed to Lincoln by Captain Gustavus Fox
of the Navy Department.

Captain Fox said soldiers and supplies could be sent down to Charleston in ships. Outside the entrance to
the harbor, on a dark night, they could be put into small boats and pulled by tugs to the fort. Fox said a
few warships could be sent to prevent southern gunboats from interfering.

Lincoln liked this plan. He asked his cabinet for advice. If it were possible to send supplies to Sumter, he
asked, would it be wise to do so?

Postmaster General [Montgomery] Blair was the only member of the cabinet to answer 'yes'. Treasury
Secretary [Salmon] Chase was for the plan only if Lincoln was sure it would not mean war. Secretary of
State [William] Seward and the others opposed it. They said it would be better to withdraw Major
Anderson and his men. They felt that now was not the time to start a civil war.

This opposition in the cabinet caused Lincoln to postpone action on the Fox plan. But he sent two men
separately to Charleston to get him information on the situation there. One was Captain Fox. The other
was a close friend, Ward Lamon.

In Charleston, Fox met with Governor [Francis] Pickens. He explained that he wished to talk with Major
Anderson, not to give him orders, but to find out what the situation really was. Governor Pickens agreed.
A Confederate boat carried Fox to Sumter. Anderson told Fox that the last of the food would be gone on
April fifteenth.

Ward Lamon went to Charleston after Fox returned to Washington. He, too, met with Governor Pickens
and Major Anderson. The South Carolina Governor asked Lamon to give Lincoln this message:

"Nothing can prevent war except a decision by the President of the United States to accept the secession
of the South. If an attempt is made to put more men in Fort Sumter, a war cry will be sounded from every
hilltop and valley in the South."

Lamon reported to Lincoln that the arrival of even a boat load of food at Sumter would lead to fighting.

At the end of March, Lincoln held another cabinet meeting and again asked what should be done about
Fort Sumter. Should an attempt be made to get supplies to Major Anderson? This time, three members of
the cabinet voted 'yes' and three voted 'no'.

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On April fourth, Lincoln called Captain Fox to the White House. He told him that the government was
ready to take supplies to Fort Sumter. He said Fox would lead the attempt.

Lincoln showed Fox a message he was sending to Governor Pickens in South Carolina. It read: "This is
to inform you that an attempt will be made to supply Fort Sumter with food only. If this attempt is not
opposed, no effort will be made to throw in men, arms or ammunition."

Governor Pickens received the message on April Eight. He immediately sent it by telegraph to
Confederate President Jefferson Davis at Montgomery, Alabama.

Davis called a meeting of his cabinet to discuss what should be done. He asked if Fort Sumter should be
seized before supplies could arrive.

Former United States Senator Robert Toombs of Georgia was the Confederate secretary of state. He told
Davis, "Firing upon that fort will begin a civil war greater than any the world has ever seen. I cannot
advise you."

Later in the meeting, Toombs urged Davis not to attack the fort.

"Mr. President," he said, "at this time it is suicide -- murder -- and will lose us every friend in the North.
You will strike a hornets' nest which extends from mountains to oceans. Millions now quiet will swarm
out and sting us to death. It is not necessary. It puts us in the wrong. It will kill us!"

On April tenth, Jefferson Davis sent his decision to the Confederate commander at Charleston, General
Pierre Beauregard. He told Beauregard to demand the surrender of Fort Sumter. If Major Anderson
refused, then the general was to destroy the fort.

The surrender demand was carried to Sumter the next day by a group of Confederate officers. They said
Anderson and his men must leave the fort. But they could take with them their weapons and property.
And they were offered transportation to any United States port they named.

Anderson rejected the demand. As he walked with the Confederate officers back to their boat, he asked if
General Beauregard would open fire on Sumter immediately. No, they said, he would be told later when
the shooting would start. Anderson then told the southerners, "If you do not shell us to pieces, hunger will
force us out in a few days."

General Beauregard informed the Confederate government in Montgomery that Anderson refused to
surrender. He also reported the major's statement that Sumter had only enough food for a few more days.
New orders were sent to Beauregard. Jefferson Davis said there was no need to attack the fort if hunger
would soon force the United States soldiers to leave. But he said Anderson must say exactly when he and
his men would leave. And he said Anderson must promise not to fire on Confederate forces. If Anderson
agreed to this, then Confederate guns would remain silent.

This offer was carried to Fort Sumter a few minutes before midnight, April eleventh.

Anderson discussed the offer with his officers and then wrote his answer. He would leave the fort on
April fifteenth if the Confederates made no hostile act against Fort Sumter or against the United States
flag. He would not leave, however, if before then he received new orders or supplies.

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The major shook hands with Beauregard's representatives, and they left the fort. Anderson and his officers
woke their men and told them to prepare for battle.

At Fort Johnson, across the harbor, Confederate gunners also were getting ready. These men would fire
the first shot at Sumter. That explosion would signal the other guns surrounding the fort to open fire.
Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Jack Weitzel and Jack Moyles. You can
find transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, along with historical images, at

voaspecialenglish.com. And you can follow us at twitter.com/voalearnenglish. Join us again next week
for <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> -- an American history series in VOA Special English.

<b>The Civil War Begins</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

Just before sunrise on April twelfth, 1861, the first shot was fired in the American Civil War. A heavy
mortar roared, sending a shell high over the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina. The shell dropped and
exploded above Fort Sumter, a United States military base on an island in the harbor.

The explosion was a signal for all Confederate guns surrounding the fort to open fire. Shell after shell
smashed into the fort. The booming of the cannons woke the people of Charleston. They rushed to the
harbor and cheered as the bursting shells lighted the dark sky.

This week in our series, Jack Moyles and Stuart Spencer tell about the attack on Fort Sumter.

Confederate leaders ordered the attack after President Abraham Lincoln refused to withdraw the small
force of American soldiers at Sumter. Food supplies at the fort were very low. And southerners expected
hunger would force the soldiers to leave. But Lincoln announced he was sending a ship to Fort Sumter
with food.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered his commander in Charleston, General [Pierre]
Beauregard, to destroy the fort before the food could arrive.

The attack started from Fort Johnson across the harbor from Sumter. A Virginia congressman, Roger
Pryor, was visiting Fort Johnson when the order to fire was given. The fort's commander asked Pryor if he

would like the honor of firing the mortar that would begin the attack. "No," answered Pryor, and his voice
shook. "I cannot fire the first gun of the war."

But others could. And the attack began.

At Fort Sumter, Major Robert Anderson and his men waited three hours before firing back at the
Confederate guns.

Anderson could not use his most powerful cannons. They were in the open at the top of the fort, where
there was no protection for the gunners. Too many of his small force would be lost if he tried to fire these
guns.

So Anderson had his men fire the smaller cannon from better-protected positions. These, however, did not
do much damage to the Confederate guns.

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The smoke was seen by United States navy ships a few miles outside Charleston Harbor. They had come
with the ship bringing food for the men at Sumter. There were soldiers on these ships. But they could not
reach the fort to help Major Anderson. Confederate boats blocked the entrance to the harbor. And

confederate guns could destroy any ship that tried to enter.

The commander of the naval force, Captain [Gustavus] Fox, had hoped to move the soldiers to Sumter in
small boats. But the sea was so rough that the small boats could not be used. Fox could only watch and
hope for calmer seas.

Confederate shells continued to smash into Sumter throughout the night and into the morning of the
second day. The fires at Fort Sumter burned higher. And smoke filled the rooms where soldiers still tried
to fire their cannons.

About noon, three men arrived at the fort in a small boat. One of them was Louis Wigfall, a former United

States senator from Texas, now a Confederate officer. He asked to see Major Anderson.

"I come from General Beauregard," he said. "It is time to put a stop to this, sir. The flames are raging all
around you. And you have defended your flag bravely. Will you leave, sir?" Wigfall asked.

Major Anderson was ready to stop fighting. His men had done all that could be expected of them. They
had fought well against a much stronger enemy. Anderson said he would surrender, if he and his men
could leave with honor.

Wigfall agreed. He told Anderson to lower his flag and the firing would stop.

Down came the United States flag. And up went the white flag of surrender. The battle of Fort Sumter
was over.

More than four-thousand shells had been fired during the thirty-three hours of fighting. But no one on
either side was killed. One United States soldier, however, was killed the next day when a cannon
exploded as Anderson's men prepared to leave the fort.

The news of Anderson's surrender reached Washington late Saturday, April thirteenth. President Lincoln
and his cabinet met the next day and wrote a declaration that the president would announce on Monday.
In it, Lincoln said powerful forces had seized control in seven states of the South. He said these forces
were too strong to be stopped by courts or policemen. Lincoln said troops were needed. He requested that
the states send him seventy-five thousand soldiers. He said these men would be used to get control of forts
and other federal property seized from the Union.

Lincoln knew he had the support of his own party. He also wanted northern Democrats to give him full
support. So, Sunday evening, a Republican congressman visited the top Democrat of the North, Senator
Stephen Douglas.

The congressman urged Douglas to go to the White House and tell Lincoln that he would do all he could

to help put down the rebellion in the south. At first, Douglas refused. He said Lincoln had removed
Democrats -- friends of his -- from government jobs and had given the jobs to Republicans. Douglas said
he didn't like this. Anyway, he said, Lincoln probably did not want his advice.

The congressman, George Ashmun, urged Douglas to forget party politics. He said Lincoln and the
country needed the Senator's help. Douglas finally agreed to talk with Lincoln. He and Ashmun went
immediately to the White House.

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Douglas said he agreed with every word of it except, he said, seventy-five thousand soldiers would not be
enough. Remembering his problems with southern extremists, he urged Lincoln to ask for two-hundred
thousand men. He told the president, "You do not know the dishonest purposes of those men as well as I
do."

Lincoln and Douglas talked for two hours. Then the Senator gave a statement for the newspapers. He said
he still opposed the administration on political questions. But, he said, he completely supported Lincoln's
efforts to protect the Union.

Douglas was to live for only a few more months. He spent this time working for the Union. He traveled
through the states of the northwest, making many speeches. Douglas urged Democrats everywhere to
support the Republican government. He told them, "There can be no neutrals in this war -- only patriots or
traitors."

Throughout the north, thousands of men rushed to answer Lincoln's call for troops. Within two days, a
military group from Boston left for Washington. Other groups formed quickly in northern cities and
began training for war.

Lincoln received a different answer, however, from the border states between North and South.
Virginia's governor said he would not send troops to help the North get control of the South. North
Carolina's governor said the request violated the Constitution. He would have no part of it. Tennessee said
it would not send one man to help force southern states back into the Union. But it said it would send fifty

thousand troops to defend southern rights.

Lincoln got the same answer from the governors of Kentucky, Arkansas, and Missouri. For several days,
it seemed that all these states would secede and join the southern confederacy.

Lincoln worried most about Virginia, the powerful state just across the Potomac River from Washington.
A secession convention already was meeting at the state capital. On April seventeenth, the convention
voted to take Virginia out of the Union.

Virginia's vote to secede forced an American army officer to make a most difficult decision. The officer
was Colonel Robert E. Lee, a citizen of Virginia.

The army's top commander, General Winfield Scott, had called Lee to Washington. Scott believed Lee
was the best officer in the army. Lincoln agreed. He asked Lee to take General Scott's job, to become the
army chief.

Lee was offered the job on the same day that Virginia left the Union. He felt strong ties to his state. But
he also loved the Union.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Jack Moyles and Stuart Spencer.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts are online, along with historical pictures, at voaspecialenglish.com. You
can also follow our programs at twitter.com/voalearnenglish. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING</b>
<b>OF A NATION</b> -- an American history series in VOA Special English.

<b>The Civil War's First Days</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

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Years of disagreement between the North and the South finally burst into civil war in April of 1861.
Seven states in the South had withdrawn from the Union. Soldiers of the new Confederate States of

America shelled the Union base at Fort Sumter, built on an island in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina.
They captured Fort Sumter after two days.

President Abraham Lincoln asked the states of the Union for seventy-five thousand soldiers to help end
the southern rebellion. Northern states quickly sent forces to Washington. But border states -- those
between the North and the South -- refused to send any. Some prepared to leave the Union and join the
Confederacy.

This week in our series, Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith describe the first days of the American Civil
War.

The first state to secede after the start of the Civil War was Virginia. It was an important state because of
its location. It was just across the Potomac River from Washington.

Virginia's decision to secede cost the Union a military commander of great ability. He was Robert E. Lee.
Lee was a Virginian and had served in the United States Army for more than thirty years. Lincoln asked
him to be head of the army when General Winfield Scott retired.

Lee said he could not accept the job. He said he opposed secession and loved the Union. But, he said, he
could not make war on his home state. Lee resigned from the army. He did not really want to fight at all.
But soon after his resignation, he agreed to command the forces of Virginia.

Virginia's forces moved quickly after the state seceded. A group of one thousand soldiers went to Harpers
Ferry, Virginia, where the Union army had a gun factory and arsenal. It was the same town where

abolitionist John Brown had tried to start a slave rebellion a few years before.

The United States force at Harpers Ferry was small. The soldiers could not defend the town against the
Virginians, so they left. Before marching away, the soldiers set fire to the gun factory and arsenal.

The fire did not destroy all the equipment at the gun factory. When the Virginians captured the town, they
sent the equipment south, where it was used to make guns for Confederate soldiers.

Virginia's forces also moved against the United States' biggest navy base, which was at Norfolk, Virginia.
Once again, the Union force withdrew. Before leaving, it burned every building and sank every ship.
President Lincoln was becoming increasingly worried about Virginia's military moves. He was afraid
Confederate forces in Virginia might try to capture Washington in the first days of the war. After all, the
Confederate secretary of war had declared that the Confederate flag would fly over the Capitol building
before the first of May.

Washington was not strongly defended. It did not have enough soldiers to stop any real attempt by
Confederate forces to seize the city. It was extremely important to get more soldiers to Washington as
quickly as possible.

Thousands of men were on their way to Washington. But they could not get there quickly.

Troop trains had to pass through the state of Maryland to get to Washington from the North. Many people
in the state supported the Confederacy. The governor, however, did not. He refused to call a meeting of
the state legislature. He was afraid it might vote to secede. He wanted to keep Maryland neutral.

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A mob blocked the rail line and threw stones at the train. Shots were fired. Four soldiers and twelve
civilians were killed.

State and city officials met to discuss the trouble. They agreed that there would be even more violence in
the future. So they ordered railroad bridges outside Baltimore destroyed. No more trains from the North
could reach Washington that way.

President Lincoln told the officials of the great need to get more soldiers to the capital. He agreed that
they did not have to pass through Baltimore. But he wanted them to be able to land safely at Annapolis, a
city on the Chesapeake Bay.

Landing at Annapolis would be easy. Getting to the capital would not. Supporters of the Confederacy had
damaged trains, rail lines and bridges between the two cities. The first soldiers to land at Annapolis had to
repair everything as they moved ahead.

Still, with all these difficulties, ten-thousand troops made it to Washington in the first few weeks of the
Civil War. The city and government were safe.

President Lincoln worried about the presence of Confederate supporters in Maryland. He knew they
would continue to be a threat to the movement of Union troops and supplies.

Lincoln wanted to restrict the activities of the Confederate supporters. So he took an extremely unusual
step for an American president. He put much of Maryland under military rule. He gave military officers
the power to arrest civilians believed to be hostile to the Union. And he gave them the power to hold these
suspects without trial.

This order suspended two of the basic rights under the Constitution. One was the right to go free until
officially charged. And the other was the right to a speedy trial.

The chief justice of the United States wrote a letter to President Lincoln. He said the Constitution did not
give the president the power to suspend the rights of citizens. Lincoln disagreed. He felt the situation
facing the Union permitted him to take such strong measures. If he had not acted, he believed, Maryland
would have seceded.

Maryland did not withdraw. But North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas did. There were now eleven
states in the Confederacy. There could be two more. No one knew how long Kentucky and Missouri
would remain in the Union. Both supported the southern rebels.

President Lincoln treated Kentucky carefully. He did not want the state to secede. Nor did he want it to
remain neutral. Kentucky reached from the mountains of Virginia to the Mississippi River. As a neutral

state, Kentucky could block northern troops from much of the South. Lincoln wanted it firmly on the side
of the Union.

The president did not use force in Kentucky, as he had done in Maryland. Instead, he sent people to
Kentucky to organize support for the Union. Newspapers were urged to publish pro-union statements.
Home guard forces were formed. They received their weapons and supplies from Lincoln's

administration.

Lincoln hoped that, in time, these efforts would win Kentucky's support for his war effort.

In Missouri, the governor tried hard to take the state out of the Union. He called a convention to decide
the question. A majority of the delegates refused to vote for secession.

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The United States army finally seized government buildings in the state capital. They forced state
officials, including the governor, to flee. Missouri would remain in the Union.

The capital of the Confederate states of America was located far south in Montgomery, Alabama. Within
the first few weeks of the Civil War, the Confederate Congress voted to move the capital farther north to
Richmond, Virginia. They believed Virginia would be an important battlefield in the war. They were
right.

Two days before Confederate President Jefferson Davis left for Richmond, Union troops invaded
Virginia. They left Washington, crossed the Potomac River, and seized the towns of Arlington and
Alexandria.

No shots were fired. Confederate forces withdrew as Union troops moved forward. Within a month,
thousands more Union soldiers were in Virginia. They were to prepare for a major battle at a place called
Manassas Junction, or Bull Run.

That will be our story next week.

Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith.
Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts are online, along with historical images, at voaspecialenglish.com. You
can also follow our programs at twitter.com/voalearnenglish. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING</b>
<b>OF A NATION</b> -- an American history series in VOA Special English.

<b>The North Loses the First Major Battle of the </b>

<b>War</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

The battle between the North and the South spread in the summer of 1861. Union soldiers fought
pro-southern rioters in the streets of Baltimore and Saint Louis. A Confederate supporter shot and killed a
young officer from the North. Untrained soldiers from both sides fought in the mountains of western
Virginia.

So far, though, the fighting had not claimed many lives. But very soon, the battle would become fierce.
This week in our series, Frank Oliver and Jack Weitzel continue the story of the American Civil War.
The old general who commanded the Union forces, Winfield Scott, did not want to rush his men into
battle.

Scott believed it would be a long war. He planned to spend the first year of it getting ready to fight. He
had an army of thousands of men, and it would get much larger in coming months. But this army was not
trained. His soldiers were civilians who knew nothing about fighting a war. General Scott needed time to
make soldiers of these men.

He also needed time to organize a supply system to get to his forces the guns, bullets, food, and clothing

they would need. Without supplies, his army could not fight very long.

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were even greater than those of the Union. The South had much less industry and fewer railroads. It could
not produce as much military equipment, and it could not transport supplies as easily as the North could.
In the early months of the war, Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president, did not even have guns enough
for the men in his army.

Those who demanded immediate action expected a short war. They said Scott should take the army and
march to Richmond. They were sure that if Union forces seized the Confederate capital, the southern
rebellion would end.

Northern newspapers took up the cry, "On to Richmond!" Political leaders began pressing for a quick
northern victory. Public pressure forced the army to act.

For more than a month, General Irvin McDowell had been building a Union army in northern Virginia,
just across the Potomac River from Washington. He had more than thirty thousand men at bases in
Arlington and Alexandria. Late in June, McDowell received orders: "March against the Confederate
Army of General Pierre Beauregard."

Beauregard had twenty thousand soldiers at Manassas Junction, a railroad village in Virginia less than
fifty kilometers from Washington. McDowell planned to move on Manassas Junction July ninth, but was
delayed for more than a week.

He planned the attack carefully. McDowell was worried that another large Confederate force west of
Manassas Junction might join Beauregard's army.

This force, led by General Joe Johnston, was in the Shenandoah Valley near Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
Across from Harpers Ferry, in Maryland, was a Union army almost twice the size of Johnston's. It was
ordered to put pressure on Johnston's force to prevent it from helping Beauregard.

General Beauregard received early warning from Confederate spies that McDowell would attack. Much
of his information came from a woman, Mrs. Rose O'Neal Greenhow. Mrs. Greenhow, a widow, was an
important woman in Washington. She knew almost all the top government officials. And she had friends
in almost every department of the government.

The beautiful Mrs. Greenhow also had some very special friends. One was Senator Henry Wilson of
Massachusetts. He was chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs. Another special friend was
Thomas Jordan, a Confederate colonel in Beauregard's army.

Jordan asked Mrs. Greenhow, soon after the war started, to be a spy for the South. She agreed and sent
much valuable information about Union military plans.

Early in July, she sent word to Beauregard that he would be attacked soon. She also sent a map used by
the Senate Military Affairs Committee showing how the Union army would reach Manassas Junction.
Then, on the morning of July sixteenth, Mrs. Greenhow wrote a nine-word message. She gave it to a man
to carry to Beauregard. The Confederate general received it that evening. It said: "Order given for

McDowell to march upon Manassas tonight."

Beauregard sent a telegram to Richmond. He told the Confederate government that McDowell was on the
way. He asked that Johnston's ten thousand-man force in the Shenandoah Valley join him for battle. He
was told to expect Johnston's help.

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Johnston knew he could not defeat Patterson. So he decided to trick him.

While most of his army withdrew and prepared to join Beauregard, Johnston sent a small force to attack
Patterson's army. Patterson believed Johnston was attacking with all his troops. He stopped moving
forward and prepared to defend against what seemed to be a strong Confederate attack.

By the time the trick was discovered, Johnston and most of his troops were at Manassas.

General McDowell's huge Union army left Arlington on the afternoon of July sixteenth. It was a hot day,
and the road was dusty. The march was not well organized, and the men traveled slowly. They stopped at
every stream to drink and wash the dust from their faces. Some of the soldiers left the road to pick fruits
and berries from bushes along the way.

To some of those who watched this army pass, the lines of soldiers in bright clothes looked like a long
circus parade.

Most of these men had not been soldiers long. Their bodies were soft, and they tired quickly. It took them
four days to travel the forty-five kilometers to Centreville, the final town before Bull Run. The battle
would start the next morning -- Sunday, July twenty-first.

The road from Washington was crowded early Sunday morning with horses and wagons bringing people
to watch the great battle.

Hundreds of men and women watched the fight from a hill near Centreville. Below them was Bull Run.
But the battleground was covered so thickly with trees that the crowds saw little of the fighting. They
could, however, see the smoke of battle. And they could hear the sounds of shots and exploding shells.
From time to time, Union officers would ride up the hill to report what a great victory their troops were
winning.

In the first few hours of the battle, Union forces were winning. McDowell had moved most of his men to
the left side of Beauregard's army. They attacked with artillery and pushed the Confederate forces back. It
seemed that the Confederate defense would break. Some of the southern soldiers began to run. But others
stood and fought.

One Confederate officer, trying to prevent his troops from moving back, pointed to a group led by
General T. J. Jackson of Virginia. "Look!" He shouted. "There is Jackson, standing like a stone wall!
Fight like the Virginians!"

The Confederate troops refused to break.

The fighting was fierce. The air was full of flying bullets. A newsman wrote that the whole valley was
boiling with dust and smoke. A Confederate soldier told his friend, "Them Yankees are just marching up
and being shot to hell."

Neither side would give up. Then, a large group of Johnston's troops arrived by train and joined in the
fight. Suddenly, Union soldiers stopped fighting and began pulling back. General McDowell and his
officers tried to stop the retreat, but failed. Their men wanted no more fighting.

The fleeing Union soldiers threw down their guns and equipment, thinking only of escape. Many did not
stop until they reached Washington.

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Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. The narrators were Frank Oliver and Jack Weitzel. Our
series can be found online with transcripts, podcasts and historical images at voaspecialenglish.com. You
can also follow our programs at twitter.com/voalearnenglish. Join us again next week for <b>THE MAKING</b>
<b>OF A NATION</b> -- an American history series in VOA Special English.

<b>Lincoln Names a General to Defend Washington</b>

Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.)

Welcome to <b>THE MAKING OF A NATION</b> – American history in VOA Special English.

In July of 1861, Union soldiers from the North and Confederate soldiers from the South fought the first
major battle in the American Civil War. They clashed at Manassas, or Bull Run, Virginia, less than fifty
kilometers from Washington.

The Union soldiers fought fiercely. But two large Confederate forces broke the Union attack.

This week in our series, Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant tell about some of the other early battles of the
Civil War.

Northerners had expected to win the battle of Bull Run. They believed the Confederacy would fall if the
Union won a big military victory early in the war. Now, however, there was great fear that southern
soldiers would seize Washington. The Union needed to build and train an army quickly.

President Abraham Lincoln named General George McClellan to do this. McClellan was thirty-four years
old.

The young general had two important tasks. He must defend Washington from attack. And he must build
an army to strike at enemy forces in Virginia. McClellan wasted no time. He put thousands of troops into
position around the city. And he built forty-eight forts.

After this rush of activity, however, little more happened for a long time. McClellan told his wife: "I shall
take my own time to make an army that will be sure of success. As soon as I feel my army is

well-organized and well-trained and strong enough, I will force the rebels to a battle."

McClellan kept making excuses for why he would not move against the enemy. His excuses became a
continuing source of trouble for President Lincoln. The public, the press, and politicians all demanded
that McClellan do something. They wanted to win the war, and win it right away.

McClellan commanded the biggest army in the Union, the Army of the Potomac. But it was not the only
army. Others were battling Confederate forces in the West.

The Confederates had moved up through Tennessee into the border state of Kentucky. They built forts
and other defensive positions across the southern part of the state. They also blocked as many railroads
and rivers as they could.

Their job was to keep Union forces from invading the South through Kentucky. One of the Union
generals in the area was Ulysses Grant.

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Grant began to drink too much alcohol. He began to be a problem. In 1854, he was asked to leave the
army. When the Civil War started, Grant organized a group of unpaid soldiers in Illinois. With the help of
a member of Congress, he was named a general.

All of the other Union Generals knew Ulysses Grant. Few had any faith in his abilities. They were sure he
would always fail.

Grant, however, had faith in himself and his men. He believed he could force Confederate soldiers to
withdraw from both Kentucky and Tennessee. Then he would be free to march directly into the Deep
South -- Mississippi.

Two Confederate forts stood in Grant's way. They were in Tennessee, close to the Kentucky border.
United States Navy gunboats captured the first, Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River. That fort was easy to
attack and not well-defended. The fighting was over by the time Grant and his men got there.

The second, Fort Donelson, was nearby on the Cumberland River. It was stronger and defended by twenty
thousand soldiers. Grant surrounded the fort and let the navy gunboats shell it. The fighting there lasted
several days.

At one point, the Confederates tried to break out of the fort and escape. They opened a hole in the Union
line and began to retreat. Suddenly, however, their commanding officer decided it would be wrong to
retreat. He ordered them back to the fort.

After that, there was no choice. The Confederates would have to surrender.

The commanding officer sent a message to General Grant. "What were the terms of surrender?" Grant's

answer was simple. "No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender."

The Confederates gave up Fort Donelson. Grant took 14,000 prisoners.

It was the greatest Union victory since the start of the war. Ulysses Grant was a hero. Newspapers called
him "Unconditional Surrender" Grant.

After the Union victory at Fort Donelson, Confederate forces withdrew from Tennessee. They moved
farther south and began to re-group at Corinth, Mississippi.

Confederate Generals hoped to build one big army to stop Ulysses Grant. They would have to move fast.
Grant was marching toward Corinth with forty thousand men. Another thirty-five thousand, under the
command of Don Buell, were to meet him on the way.

Grant arrived in the area first. He waited for Buell thirty kilometers from Corinth, near a small country
meeting hall called Shiloh Church.

Confederate General Albert Sydney Johnston was waiting, too. He had more than forty thousand men,
about the same as Grant. And he was expecting another twenty thousand. But when he learned that Grant
was nearby, he decided not to wait. He would attack immediately.

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The fighting at Shiloh was the bitterest of the war. It was not one battle, but many. Groups of men fought
each other all across the wide battlefield. From a distance, they shot at each other. Close up, they cut each
other with knives. The earth became red with blood. The dead and wounded soon lay everywhere.

At first, the Confederates pushed Grant's army back. They had only to break through one more line and
victory would be theirs. But in the thick of the struggle, General Johnston was shot in the leg. The bullet
cut through an artery. Johnston bled to death before help arrived. Any hope for a southern victory at
Shiloh died with him.

By the time the fighting began again the next day, General Buell had arrived to help Grant. The
Confederate army retreated. The Union army let it go.

Shiloh. The word itself came to mean death and destruction.

The battle of Shiloh had brought home to the American people -- both of the North and South -- the
horror of war. It was the first time so many men -- one hundred thousand -- had fought against each other
in the western world. It was the American people's first real taste of the bloodiness of modern warfare.
As one soldier who fought there said: "It was too shocking, too horrible. I hope to God that I may never
see such things again."

The North won the battle of Shiloh. But it paid a very high price for victory. More than thirteen thousand
union soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing. On the Confederate side, more than ten thousand
soldiers were killed or wounded.

The North celebrated the news of its victory. But joy quickly turned to anger when the public learned of
the heavy losses. People blamed General Grant. They demanded that President Lincoln dismiss him.
Lincoln thought of the two men who were now his top military commanders: McClellan and Grant. They
were so different. McClellan organized an army, and then did nothing. Grant organized an army, and
moved.

Lincoln said of Grant: "I cannot do without this man. He fights."
We will continue our story of the Civil War next week.

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On completing this paper, i am specially grateful to my supervisor

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