Thomas Jefferson:Complex

译 / 陈式方程

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

Today we are talking about Thomas Jefferson. Although he took office in 1801, he is still one of the country’s best-known and most popular presidents. You can see a memorial honoring him in Washington, DC.
今天，我们来谈谈托马斯·杰斐逊。尽管他是在1801年执政，（如今）他仍然是美国最著名以及最受欢迎的总统。在华盛顿特区，你可以看到纪念他的纪念碑。

Jefferson is often linked to the country’s history of self-government, separation of church and state, and public education.
杰斐逊经常与美国自治历史，政教（政府和教会）分离以及公共教育联系在一起。

Over time, Jefferson’s name also became linked to the continuation of slavery until the Civil War, and to the loss of land for Native Americans.
一直以来，杰斐逊的名字也和延续到内战的奴隶制，以及本土美国人的土地流失联系在一起。

Founding father 国父

Jefferson was born in 1743 and grew up in the hills and low mountains of Virginia. His family’s wealth enabled him to get an excellent education.
杰斐逊出生于1743年，在弗吉尼亚州的小山长大，家庭的富有让他得到了优质的教育。

Jefferson also learned to ride horses, dance and explore the natural world.
杰斐逊同时也学习了马术，舞蹈以及探索自然世界。

In the 1770s, Jefferson supported the American Revolution against Britain. He is probably most famous for being the lead writer of the Declaration of Independence.
1770年代，杰斐逊支持反抗英国的独立战争，他因作为独立宣言的主要起草人而名声大振。

Jefferson went on to hold many positions in the country’s new state and national governments. He served as governor of Virginia, a minister to France, secretary of state¹ for President George Washington, and the vice president under President John Adams.
在美国新成立之际以及国家政府机关，杰斐逊担任过多份职位。他担任过弗吉尼亚州州长（第二任），法国大使，乔治·华盛顿总统时期的国务卿（第一任）以及约翰·亚当斯总统时期的副总统（第二任）。

Virginia planter and slave owner 弗吉尼亚州的种植园主和奴隶主

Jefferson played an important part in the creation of the U.S. But he often wrote to friends about how he most wanted to retire from public service and return to his home in Virginia.
杰斐逊对于美国的建立起到了至关重要的作用。然而，他经常写信跟朋友说他最想做的事就是从公职退休，回到弗吉尼亚的家乡。

In the 1760s, he designed a house there that he called Monticello – the word means “little mountain” in Italian.
1760年代，他在弗吉尼亚设计了一个叫做蒙蒂塞洛的房子 — 意大利语是“小山”的意思。

About 130 slaves lived on Monticello’s grounds at any time. They worked in Jefferson’s home, farms, and on special projects, such as making cabinets and nails.
大约有130个奴隶一直生活在蒙蒂塞洛。这些奴隶在杰斐逊的家里，农场工作。另外还有一些特殊的工作，比如制作橱柜。

Jefferson owned about 600 slaves during his life. Yet he said he disliked slavery. He believed God would judge slave owners severely.
杰斐逊一生拥有大概600个奴隶。然而，他并不喜欢奴隶制，他认为上帝会狠狠地审判奴隶主。

And, of course, Jefferson himself wrote in the Declaration of Independence “all men are created equal” and have the right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
当然，杰斐逊在独立宣言当中也写道“人人生而平等”，并且拥有“生命，自由和追求幸福”的权利。

Yet Jefferson did not use his political power to end slavery. He expected future generations would permit slavery to end slowly across the country.
然而，杰斐逊在他执政时期并没有终止奴隶制。他期望将来能够在整个国家慢慢地结束奴隶制度。

Jefferson’s words and actions on slavery are contradictory². This conflict is especially evident because Jefferson likely had a long relationship with a slave at Monticello.
杰斐逊在奴隶制上的言行并不一致，这种不一致尤其体现在他很可能在蒙蒂塞洛长期与一个奴隶保持关系。

Her name was Sally Hemings. Evidence suggests that Jefferson was the father of her six children of record³.
她的名字叫莎丽·海明斯。证据显示，杰斐逊是她6个孩子的父亲。

Third U.S. president 第三任美国总统

In 1801, Thomas Jefferson left Monticello to become the third U.S. president. His inauguration⁴ was the first held in Washington, DC.
1801年，托马斯·杰斐逊离开蒙蒂塞洛去就职总统。他是第一个在华盛顿特区举办就职典礼的总统。

Jefferson’s government was a break from the earlier administrations. The first two presidents, George Washington and John Adams, supported a strong federal government. Jefferson, on the other hand, wanted to limit federal government.
杰斐逊政府对于早期的两届政府来说是一个突破。乔治·华盛顿和约翰·亚当斯两任总统主张强而有力的联邦政府。然而另一方面，杰斐逊想要限制联邦政府。

As president, Jefferson cut the national debt. He reduced the military. He disliked the power of the Supreme Court over the laws Congress made. And he rejected appearances that made the U.S. president look like a European king.
作为总统，杰斐逊削减国债（赤字），削减军队。他讨厌最高法院的权利凌驾于国会制定的法律之上，拒绝美国总统的形象看起来像欧洲国王。

One of the lasting images of Jefferson is of him receiving guests⁵ in old clothes and slippers⁶.
杰斐逊长期以来的形象就是穿着旧衣服和便鞋接待客人。

But as president, Jefferson also appeared strong and powerful when dealing with foreign nations. Jefferson increased American naval forces in the Mediterranean⁷ to guard against threats to American ships.
但是，杰斐逊作为总统在外交上一贯表现强硬。杰斐逊在地中海增加了美军海军力量来保护美国船只免受威胁。

And he permitted U.S. officials to buy a huge piece of land from France, even though the Louisiana Purchase added to the national debt and exceeded the power the Constitution gave the president.
另外，尽管路易斯安那购地案增加了国家债务，也超出了国会赋予总统的权利，但他还是通过美国官员从法国购买了大片土地。

In general, historians consider Jefferson’s first term as president a success. Voters did, too, because he easily won a second term.
一般来说，历史学家认为杰斐逊的第一任总统是成功的，选民也确实是这样认为的，因为他很轻松地连任了第二任总统。

But those last four years were difficult. Jefferson’s popularity suffered, especially when he stopped all American trade with Europe. Jefferson aimed to limit U.S. involvement in a war between Britain and France.
但是，后面四年的时光变得艰难起来。杰斐逊的民意在下降，尤其是当他阻止美国和欧洲贸易的时候。杰斐逊想通过阻止贸易来避免受到英法战争的牵连。

Instead, critics say he ruined the American economy.
然而，评论家认为他损害了美国经济。

Legacy 遗产

Critics also attacked both Jefferson’s political ideas and his personal qualities. George Washington worried that Jefferson would weaken the strong federal government he had worked hard to create.
评论家们攻击杰斐逊的政治思想和个人品质。乔治·华盛顿担心杰斐逊会削弱他苦心创造经营的强力的联邦政府。

And even friends suggested in their letters that Jefferson was too idealistic.
朋友们甚至在信件中暗示过他太过于理想主义。

Jefferson’s opponents also accused him of not being a Christian, although he said he was. However, he did not believe the government should make rules about religion.
杰斐逊的对手指控他不是一个基督教徒，尽管他认为自己是的。不过，他认为政府不应该约束宗教自由。

He wrote that the government should worry only about acts that hurt other people. He said it does not harm him if his neighbor says “there are 20 gods or no gods. It neither picks my pocket⁸ nor breaks my leg.”
他写道，政府只需担心损害他人的行为。如果他的邻居说“有20位上帝或没有上帝，这既没偷也没断腿”，所以这并不会损害到他。

Jefferson’s thinking on the separation of church and state remains important – and, in general, popular – in the U.S. today.
杰斐逊的政教分离思想直到今天在美国都很重要 — 总之，很流行。

However, Jefferson is linked to problems faced by Native Americans. He tried to get Indian nations to enter into treaties⁹ that ultimately took away their land. He wanted Native Americans to become more like European-Americans. His policies made them depend on the federal government.
然而，杰斐逊却面临着美洲原住民的问题。他试图让印第安人签订最终会夺去他们家园的条约，想要让美洲原住民变得更像欧裔美国人。这一政策使得他们更依赖联邦政府。

And Jefferson took no major action to end slavery, either in his personal life or as a public official.
杰斐逊在个人生活当中或作为公务人员都没有采取主要措施来终止奴隶制。

At the end of his life, Jefferson wrote proudly about his accomplishments. He said he wanted to be remembered for three things: writing the Declaration of Independence, supporting religious freedom, and creating the University of Virginia.
杰斐逊晚年写道，他为他的成就感到自豪。他希望人们记住他的三件事：起草了独立宣言，支持宗教自由，以及创建了弗吉尼亚大学。

For the most part, he is.
极大程度上，他是的。

Jefferson also supported free public education, especially for those who could not pay for school.
杰斐逊同样支持免费的公共教育，尤其是针对那些负担不起学费的人。

But his time at Monticello had many sorrows. His wife, Martha, had died in 1782 after difficulty in childbirth. Most of his children also died before him.
他住在蒙蒂塞洛的时候发生了许多不幸。他的妻子玛莎因难产死于1782年，几个孩子也都早于他去世。

In addition, the cost of improving and caring for Monticello, as well as the money he spent on fine wine and good food, had ruined him financially.
另外，改善和照顾蒙蒂塞洛宅邸的成本，以及在美酒佳肴上的开销，让他彻底破产。

Eventually, one of his daughters had to sell her father’s beloved Monticello and the slaves who lived there to pay his debts.
最终，他的一个女儿不得不卖掉她父亲钟爱的蒙蒂塞洛宅邸以及奴隶来偿还债务。

Jefferson died in his bed at the age of 83. The last detail of his life – which Americans love to tell – is that he passed away on America’s birthday, exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
杰斐逊83岁时在他的床上逝世。关于他一生当中最后被美国人津津乐道的是，他在签署独立宣言的50年后，也就是建国50周年当天去世了。

Editor’s note: A photo caption was corrected to say that the reconstructed cabin at Monticello shows the home of Sally Hemings’ brother and sister-in-law, not of Sally Hemings. Monticello is currently restoring a room historians believe Sally and and her children lived in for a time.
编者注：文章当中的一个照片标题说明，在蒙蒂塞洛重建的小屋显示了莎丽·海明斯的兄弟和嫂子的家，而不是莎丽·海明斯的家。蒙蒂塞洛目前正在恢复一个房间，历史学家认为莎丽和她的孩子在这个房间住过一段时间。

原文链接

https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/americas-presidents-jefferson/3744095.html

• Previous
  John Adams:Second
• Next
  James Madison:Scholar