Inventing the American presidency - Kenneth C. Davis

Transcriber: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

翻译人员: Tess Li 校对人员: Ying Li

The Oval Office,

椭圆形办公室、

Inauguration Day,

总统就职日、

Rose Garden signings,

在白宫玫瑰园签署法案、

特工们

and secret service agents

with dark sunglasses and cool wrist radios.

戴着墨镜和很酷的手腕式无线电话。

For a moment, forget all of it.

稍等，先别想这些了。

Toss out everything you know about the President.

忘掉您对总统的一切认知吧。

Now, start over.

现在，重新开始。

What would you do if you had to invent the President?

如果由您来设计总统一职，您将如何完成？

That was the question facing the 55 men

这曾是摆在 55个人面前的一个问题。

who got together in secret

他们秘密聚集，

to draw up the plans for a new American government

共同设计一个全新的美国政府。

in the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia,

那是在1787年夏天的费城，

in the same place where the Declaration of Independence

这个在此之前11年

had been written eleven years earlier.

诞生过独立宣言的地方。

Declaring independence had been risky business,

宣布独立极具风险，

demanding ferocious courage

需要超然的勇气，

that put lives and fortunes in jeopardy.

因为一旦失败，人们的生命和财富都将至于危境。

But, inventing a new government was no field day either,

设计一个全新的政府也并不轻松。

especially when it's summer

特别是在夏天，

and you're in scratchy suits,

你套着面料粗糙的西装，

and the windows are closed

坐在窗户紧闭的房间里，

because you don't want anybody

以免房间内的对话

to hear what you are saying,

被外人听见。

and the air conditioning doesn't work

房间里也没有空调，

because it won't be invented for nearly 200 years.

因为空调是在200多年后才被发明出来。

And, when you don't agree on things,

特别是意见不合时，

it gets even hotter.

房间里的气氛就更热了。

For the framers, the question they argued over most

制宪者们

while writing the Constitution

在制定宪法

and creating three branches of government

和设计三权分立的政府时，

had to do with the executive department.

争论最多的就是如何设计行政机关。

One man or three to do the job?

该由一个人还是三个人来负责？

How long should he serve?

任期多长？

What would he really do?

工作职责具体是哪些？

Who would pick him?

谁来选拔？

How to get rid of him

如何罢免？

if he's doing a bad job or he's a crook?

如果政绩不佳或品行不端，该怎么处理？

And, of course, they all meant him,

当然，他们谈论的对象只限于男性，

and he would be a white man.

而且是白人男性。

The idea of a woman

由女性、

or an African American, for instance,

或是非洲裔的美国人

holding this high office

来居此高位

was not a glimmer in their eyes.

根本不在他们的考虑范围内。

But the framers knew they needed

但制宪者们清楚，他们需要

someone who could take charge,

一个能掌控局面的人，

especially in a crisis, like an invasion or a rebellion,

特别是能处理危机，例如遭遇入侵、叛乱，

or negotiating treaties.

或面对谈判时。

Congress was not very good

国会并不擅于

at making such important decisions

做出这些重要的决定，

without debates and delays.

因为国会需要漫长的辩论才能形成一致意见。

But the framers thought America needed a man

但制宪者们认为美国需要一位男性，

who was decisive and could act quickly.

具备决策力和执行力。

They called it energy and dispatch.

他们将之称为精力和迅速处理的能力。

One thing they were dead-set against:

还有一件事情让他们坚定不移地捍卫，

there would be no king.

那就是不能设立国王。

They had fought a war against a country with a monarch

他们用战争推翻了君主王朝，

and were afraid that one man

所有害怕再有任何一个人

with unchecked powers, in charge of an army,

拥有不被制衡的权力去控制军队，

could take over the country.

进而统治国家。

Instead, they settled on a president

于是，他们同意设置一个总统，

and laid out his powers in Article 2 of the Constitution.

并在宪法第二条列明了总统的权力。

But who would choose him?

但总统由谁选出？

Not the people, they were too liable to be misled

大众太容易被误导，

as one framer worried.

因此一位制宪者有这样的担忧。

Not the legislature, that would lead to cabal and factions.

立法者可能制造阴谋和派别，也不能选举总统。

Got it: electors, wise, informed men

最后，他们想到应该由聪明、博闻的男性担任选举人，

who have time to make a good decision.

因为这些人时间充裕，可以做出一个好的决定。

And if they didn't produce a winner,

但如果他们也选不出一个人选，

then the decision would go to one

那么选举就需要由

of the other branches of government, the Congress.

政府其他部门，国会来完成。

The House of Representatives would step in

众议院将介入，

and make the choice,

并做出决定。

which they did in 1801 and 1825.

1801年和1825年的总统选举就是这样完成的。

In the long, hot summer of 1787,

在1787年那个炎热又漫长的夏天，

compromises were made to invent the presidency,

关于总统一职的设计充满了各种妥协，

like counting slaves as 3/5 of a person,

例如，将奴隶计算为3/5个人，

giving the President command of the army

赋予总统统帅军队的权利，

but Congress the power to declare war,

但国会才有权利宣布开战，

and unlimited four-year terms.

以及总统任期为4年，但连任次数不设限。

Since then, some of those compromises have been amended

虽然这些折中方案在后来的日子里不时被修订，

and the men in office have sometimes been too strong or too weak.

历任总统的权力也是时强时弱，

But, if you could start from scratch,

但如果当时由您来从头开始设计总统一职，

how would you redesign the Oval Office?

您会提出哪些不同的想法呢？