American History Series: US Gets a New President in 1837, and a Depression
Martin Van Buren said ”over-banking and over-trading” caused the economic crisis. Business owners said the government was to blame. Transcript of radio broadcast:
07 January 2009
Welcome to the MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.
Martin Van Buren was sworn-in as the eighth president of the United States in eighteen thirty-seven. Not long after he took office, the United States suffered an economic depression.
Many state banks had printed more money than they could guarantee with gold or silver. As more paper money came into use, the value fell. Prices rose sharply. Some people could not buy food or other necessities. In a short time, the demand on banks to exchange paper money for gold and silver grew too 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.
VOICE TWO:
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.
VOICE ONE:
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.
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VOICE TWO:
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.
VOICE ONE:
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.
The Treasury put the money in private banks. President Van Buren wanted to end this situation. He wanted a law to permit the Treasury to keep government money in its own secure places.
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.
VOICE TWO:
President Van Buren tried again the following year to get approval for an independent Treasury. Again, the proposal was defeated.
Finally, in June, eighteen-forty, Congress passed a law permitting the Treasury Department to hold government money itself. Van Buren signed the bill. The economic depression of eighteen thirty-seven lasted for six years. It was the major problem — but not the only problem — during Van Buren’s one term as president.
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VOICE ONE:
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 eighteen thirty-seven, Canadian soldiers crossed the Niagara River and seized the boat. One American was killed in the fight.
VOICE TWO:
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.
VOICE ONE:
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 seventeen eighty-three 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.
VOICE TWO:
In eighteen thirty-eight, 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.
VOICE ONE:
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 depression. The economy had fallen apart because of the hard money policies of former President Andrew Jackson, and the opposition to those policies by businessmen and bankers. And Van Buren did nothing to change those policies.
VOICE TWO:
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 eighteen forty will be our story in the next program of THE MAKING OF A NATION.
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ANNOUNCER:
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 THE MAKING OF A NATION – an American history series in VOA Special English.
This is program #66 of THE MAKING OF A NATION
Project Aims to Help Scientists Predict Tornadoes
Also: How job loss affects a person’s health. And a report on hands-only CPR. Transcript of radio broadcast:
08 June 2009
VOICE ONE:
This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I’m Barbara Klein.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Bob Doughty. On our show this week, we will tell about what is being called the world’s largest tornado experiment. We also will tell how a job loss can affect your health. And, we tell about a simple way to save lives.
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VOICE ONE:
Tornadoes are one of the most violent weather events on Earth. Each year, the severe winds of tornadoes kill many people. The storms have been known to carry homes, cars and trees from one place to another. And they can also destroy anything in their path.
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A tornado is a violently turning tube of air suspended from a thick cloud. It extends from a thunderstorm in the sky down to the ground. The shape is like a funnel: wide at the top, narrower at the bottom.
Tornadoes form when winds blowing in different directions meet in the cloud and begin to turn in circles. Warm air rising from below causes the wind tube to reach toward the ground. Because of their circular movement, these severe windstorms are also known as twisters.
VOICE ONE:
Tornadoes have been observed on every continent except Antarctica. But weather experts say they are most common is the United States. Each year, the United States has more than one thousand tornadoes.
These storms can happen any time of the year. But most happen from late winter to the middle of summer. There is a second high season in November.
During spring, warm air moves north and mixes with cold air remaining from winter. In November, the opposite happens. Cold weather moves south and combines with the last of the warm air from summer.
VOICE TWO:
Tornadoes can strike with little or no warning. Weather experts operate warning systems to tell people about possible tornadoes. But the storms often move too fast for people to flee. Last year, tornadoes killed more than one hundred people in the United States.
Most injuries happen when flying objects hit people. Experts say the best place to be is in a small room, without windows, in the middle of the lowest part of a building.
VOICE ONE:
Last month, American scientists began work on a project aimed at improving the ability to predict tornadoes. The project is said to be the largest tornado study in history. It is called Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment Two. The shorter name is VORTEX2.
The project covers an area of nearly one thousand five hundred kilometers in the central United States. This area, from west Texas to southwest Minnesota, is where the most violent tornadoes usually happen. It is known as “Tornado Alley.”
VOICE TWO:
VORTEX2 involves a team of nearly one hundred people, many of them scientists. They are using radars and other equipment to learn more about how, why and where tornadoes form. The team is using forty cars and trucks to chase tornadoes, dropping measuring instruments in their paths. In addition, unmanned aircraft are collecting information from inside storms.
The project costs more than eleven million dollars. Most of the money is coming from America’s National Science Foundation.
VOICE ONE:
The first Vortex project took place in nineteen ninety-four and nineteen ninety-five. The results helped scientists better understand supercells. They are the severe thunderstorms that produce the most deadly and destructive tornadoes. This time, scientists hope to learn more about the formation, wind speed and shape of tornadoes.
The study is to continue through June thirteenth. A second part of the study is planned for early next year. You can follow reports from scientists on the project at tornadoscientists.blogspot.com.
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VOICE TWO:
You are listening to the VOA Special English program SCIENCE IN THE NEWS. With Barbara Klein, I’m Bob Doughty in Washington.
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Millions of Americans have lost their jobs as a result of the current recession. A new study shows that losing your job can increase your risk of developing health problems. These include heart disease, heart attack, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Earlier studies have shown a link between job loss and worsened health. However it was unclear to researchers whether unemployment caused poor health, or whether poor health led to job loss. The new study sought to discover the answer to this.
VOICE ONE:
Kate Strully carried out the study while she was at the Harvard School of Public Health. Currently, Miz Strully is a sociologist at State University of New York. She examined information from the United States Panel of Study of Income Dynamics. This study asks people across the country each year about their health and employment.
Miz Strully examined information about more than eight thousand people. They were questioned in nineteen ninety-nine, two thousand one and two thousand three. Miz Strully noted whether the subjects were employed and then looked at their health eighteen months later.
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The sociologist says she was looking for individuals who reported becoming jobless for reasons out of their control, such as a factory closing. She found that such individuals who did not have health problems were eighty percent more likely to report a new health problem after losing their job.
The most common problems were high blood pressure or other conditions linked to heart disease. Among all workers, the possibility of someone reporting fair or poor health rose forty-four percent after job loss and workplace closure.
The study’s findings were reported in the publication Demography.
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VOICE ONE:
If a person’s heart stops, would you know how to perform CPR? CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, can save a life and reduce the risk of brain damage from loss of oxygen. With traditional CPR, you give two breathes to force air into the lungs. Then you push hard on the chest thirty times. You repeat these two steps until the victim wakes up or medical help arrives.
But people may worry about getting sick from blowing into a stranger’s mouth. Also, the training is easy to forget, especially during an emergency. And those without training may not do anything for fear that they will do something wrong.
VOICE TWO:
Last year, the American Heart Association reformed its guidelines for CPR. The group now calls for hands-only CPR for adults who suddenly collapse. Here is how it works.
A person has collapsed unconscious on the ground. The victim has lost color in the face and does not appear to be breathing. These are signs of cardiac arrest. This is the time to begin CPR.
Place your hands, one on top of the other, on the center of the chest. Push hard and fast. Aim for a rate of about one hundred compressions each minute. Chest compressions keep the blood flowing to the brain, heart and other organs.
VOICE ONE:
Guidelines from two thousand five said only untrained people should use hands-only CPR. Those with training were told to use traditional CPR. But now the heart association says everyone should use hands-only CPR unless they feel strong about their ability to do rescue breathing.
The rules were reformed after three studies showed that the hands-only method was just as effective as traditional CPR. Scientists say enough oxygen remains in a person’s system for several minutes after breathing stops.
VOICE TWO:
But the experts say you should still use traditional CPR with a combination of breaths and compressions on babies and children. Traditional CPR should also be used for adults found already unconscious and not breathing normally. And traditional CPR should be used for any victims of drowning or collapse from breathing problems.
These are all examples where CPR with mouth-to-mouth breathing may be more helpful that hands-only CPR. Because there are many of these cases, people should still learn CPR with mouth-to-mouth.
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VOICE ONE:
This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Caty Weaver and Brianna Blake, who was also our producer. I’m Barbara Klein.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Bob Doughty. Read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Listen again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
US History: ‘The Fresh Air of Liberty and Union’
Daniel Webster calls for support of the Compromise of 1850 to save the Union. Third of four parts. Transcript of radio broadcast:
01 April 2009
ANNOUNCER:
Welcome to the MAKING OF A NATION — American history in VOA Special English.
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
In eighteen fifty, 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.
VOICE ONE:
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.”
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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.
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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.”
VOICE TWO:
Next, Webster spoke about the Abolition societies. These were organizations that demanded an end to slavery everywhere in the country.
“I do not think that Abolition societies are useful,” Webster said. “At the same time, I believe that thousands of their members are honest and good citizens who feel they must do something for liberty. However, their interference with the South has produced trouble.”
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.
VOICE ONE:
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.
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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.
VOICE ONE:
Daniel WebsterIn 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.”
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VOICE TWO:
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 eighteen fifty probably helped delay that crisis.
VOICE ONE:
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.
VOICE TWO:
John C. Calhoun
John C. Calhoun
Seward then criticized another senator, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. He denounced Calhoun’s demands for a political balance between the North and South. He said this would change the United States from a united, national democracy to an alliance of independent states. In such a system, he said, the minority would be able to veto actions of the majority.
VOICE ONE:
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.
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VOICE TWO:
Hopes for the compromise increased after the death of John C. Calhoun on the last day of March, eighteen-fifty. 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.”
VOICE ONE:
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.
VOICE TWO:
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.
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ANNOUNCER:
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 THE MAKING OF A NATION — an American history series in VOA Special English.
This is program #78 of THE MAKING OF A NATION
