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U.S. Democracy Fun Facts in History

Intro:

Welcome to daily fun facts where we discuss fun facts about this crazy world. Use these newfound facts to break the ice and start an interesting conversation.  Happy learning everyone!

Dialogue:

Brie:  Andrea, everyone seems to really be stressing out over the election.

Andrea:  Yes, it’s so close that I’m biting my nails.  I just want it to be over.

Brie:  I’m watching it closely myself.  I keep checking the news to see how many more votes have been counted.

Andrea:  Yes, it seems that everyone has their eyes glued to their screens hoping to find out which candidate will win the US presidency.  At my workplace, everyone is listening to the news on the radio while they work.  I can sense the anxiety in the air. 

Brie:   I know, I can’t seem to avert my eyes from my phone.  It makes me wonder, before TV and radio, how were elections reported?  Was there just as much drama and anticipation when the results were so close? Or is this just a modern-day phenomenon because of our easy access to the media?

Andrea:  For sure there was lots of anticipation, however, and this is a fun fact, the way the vote was conducted and how the results were announced were totally different in the past! Before the radio, television, and internet came to be, newspapers and other print publications were the main vehicles through which election information was distributed to US voters. From the 1850s to the 1870s, anxious residents would stand around newspaper offices in anticipation of the election results. Not because they wanted to buy newspapers, but because they knew that there the results would be written out on sheets of paper, and they couldn’t wait to see the outcome! 

Brie:  在过去没有收音机，电视，以及网络的年代，美国选民通常只能通过报纸和其他印刷出版物来获取选举信息。迫不及待的选民会聚集在报社旁等待，不是为了买报纸，而是为了第一时间知道选举结果。

Andrea:  Elections in the US have been reported in some other interesting ways as well throughout history.  According to the New York Times, to announce the 1904 presidential winner of the race between US President Theodore Roosevelt and challenger Alton Parker, the newspaper company beamed a light that could be seen from within a 30-mile radius into the sky from their building at the famous Times Square in New York City.  If the beam of light pointed to the West, residents knew that Roosevelt had been re-elected for another four years.  If it pointed to the East, then this meant his opponent had won! 

Brie:  在1904年，美国总统罗斯福与挑战者奥尔顿的总统竞选时，《纽约时报》别出心裁地在其纽约时代广场的大楼里，通过向四周发出30英里内可见的高亮光束，来向选民公布总统竞选结果。如果光束射向西边，就代表美国总统罗斯福连任成功；如果光束射向东边，那就意味着他的对手赢了。这个选举结果揭晓方式的确很有趣, but I wouldn’t want to wait for the sky to light up to find out who wins this election! 

Andrea:  Yah, I would be happy if they could just quickly bring to light the results of the election. 

Brie: From what you’ve said, there have been some interesting ways to announce elections in US history. But how about voting itself? Did US citizens all vote in private booths like they do now?

Andrea:  Actually, no!  In the very earliest days of voting, citizens were invited to voting parties.   And by parties, I don’t mean political parties.  I mean more like a carnival, where they would drink alcohol, have fun, and socialize, much like the celebratory get-togethers people have today when they find out that their chosen candidate has won.  To vote, the party-goers at these voting parties would shout out the name of their favorite candidate, so it was definitely not private at all.  

Brie:  原来在美国民主投票初期，只有拥有土地的有钱人才可以参与投票。那些名副其实的土豪们会收到类似狂欢节party的投票邀请函，在那里他们会喝酒，玩乐和社交。在投票过程中，土豪们会通过大声喊出他们最喜欢候选人的名字来进行投票。所以整个投票过程呢其实是没有任何隐私可言的，更比不上如今的匿名投票了。

Andrea: Exactly!  And at that time only white, land owning males were invited to the parties, because only they could vote.  In fact, the right to vote for women wasn’t made into federal law until 1920.  However, in 1807, the State of New Jersey became the only state to allow unmarried women to vote, but because men would dress-up as women to commit voting fraud, that right was eventually taken away.

Brie:  在1920年之前，美国女性的投票权是不被联邦法律所保护的。新泽西州是唯一一个，在1807年，开始允许未婚女性参与联邦投票的州，但是当时由于男性会打扮成女性来进行欺诈投票，该州女性的投票权最终还是被剥夺了。That’s sad that women didn’t have a chance to make their voices heard. They had to fight to eventually earn that right.

Andrea:  Yes, I’m very happy that my ancestors fought for my right to vote. This year the ballot has a lot of hot potatoes, and I want my opinion to matter!

Brie: Huh? Why would Americans care about an issue regarding hot potatoes?  I know that in the US a hot potato is a popular dish eaten by everyone, including members of all political parties! How are hot potatoes controversial?

Andrea:  When I say a hot potato, I don’t mean an actual potato.  I mean any issue that is politically sensitive, debatable, and embarrassing.  Actually, hot potato is also the name of a popular children’s game.  In that game, you pass around a potato in a circle while playing music. You don’t want to be the one caught holding the potato when the music stops!

Brie: Ah, I see what you’re trying to say!  Hot potato 在这里是指政治里那些敏感的，极具争议且令人窘迫的问题。这跟国内常说的“烫手山芋”是同一个意思。美国的Hot Potato游戏和中国民间流行的击鼓传花游戏也是非常相似的，美国游戏是放音乐传土豆，而中国游戏是击鼓传花朵！That game actually makes me think about what’s going on now.  With all the anxiety, it’s clear that for America, what’s truly stopped the music is this election! 

Close:

So, everyone, there’s your fun fact of the day!  Let’s go over some of the vocabulary and phrases from this dialogue.

Vocabulary:

Candidate  / ˈkæn dɪˌdeɪt /  候选人

Presidency  / ˈprɛz ɪ dən si / 总统职位

Avert  / əˈvɜrt /  避免

Anticipation/ ænˌtɪs əˈpeɪ ʃən /悬念

Phenomenon / fɪˈnɒm əˌnɒn /现象

Vehicle  /ˈvi hɪ kəl /  方法

Beam  / bim /  光束

Carnival  / ˈkɑr nə vəl /  狂欢节

Celebratory / ˈsɛl əˌbrətəri /  庆祝的

Get-together  / ˈgɛt təˌgɛð ər /  聚会，小聚

Party-goer/ ˈpɑr ti  ˈgoʊ ər / 参加聚会的人

Fraud  / frɔd /  作弊

Eventually  / ɪˈvɛn tʃu ə li /  最终地

Ancestor  / ˈæn sɛs tər /  祖先

Ballot  / ˈbæl ət /  选票

Controversial  / ˌkɒn trəˈvɜr ʃəl /  有争议的

People & Places:

Theodore Roosevelt  西奥多·罗斯福，美国第26任总统

Times Square  美国著名的纽约时代广场

Phrases:

Bring to light  使显现出来，使揭晓

Hot potato  烫手山芋

Stop the music  美国俗语，用来形容非常重要的事件或情况，以至于你暂停其它所有工作而将注意力仅仅专注于此。

Alright, join us next time for another fun fact to help break the ice! 好了，这就是我们今天的有趣常识分享，如果喜欢我们的话，请别忘了点击订阅支持我们！拜拜，咱们下期再见！

Photo Credit: Isabella and Louisa Fischer on Unsplash

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