Round-the-clock ads on radio and television.

廣播和電視上，全天候播出廣告

The phone rings. It's a robo-call from the president, or his opponent,

電話響了 是總統或他對手的語音拜票

asking for your money, and your vote.

要你捐錢、要你投票

And while you're at it, watch their YouTube videos and like them on Facebook.

順便看他們的 YouTube 影片 或在他們的臉書上按讚

Election time. We all know the look and feel of modern campaigns.

選舉到了，我們都知道 現在選戰是怎麼樣

But what was it like in the early days of the Republic, when, say,

但共和國早期的選戰是怎樣的呢？

George Washington ran for office?

喬治華盛頓 (George Washington) 是怎麼競選的？

Well, in fact, he didn't run.

其實他並沒有競選

When Washington became the first president in 1789,

華盛頓在 1789 年成為第一任總統

there were no political parties, no conventions or primaries,

當時沒有政黨、 沒有全國代表大會及初選、

no campaign, no election season.

沒有競選活動、 沒有選舉季節、

Not really any candidates.

也沒有真正的候選人

Even the year was odd.

連年分也很奇怪

Literally. 1789 was the only presidential election ever held in an odd year.

事實上，1789 是唯一 在奇數年舉行的總統大選

After the framers invented the constitution and the presidency 225 years ago,

225 年前，立憲者建立了 憲法與總統制度

the country set about the business of choosing its first executive.

國家開始要選出第一任經理人

Agreeing with Ben Franklin, many people thought "The first man at the helm will be a good one,"

許多人同意富蘭克林的看法： 「第一位掌舵者得是個優秀的人」

and by that, Franklin meant George Washington.

富蘭克林指的就是喬治華盛頓

Greatest hero of the Revolution, Washington presided over the convention that created the constitution,

最偉大的革命英雄 主持大會創立憲法

rarely speaking. He never discussed the job of president,

很少被提及的是 他從未討論過總統職務

or of wanting it. And when the first presidential election took place,

或表示想當總統… 第一屆總統大選開始時

it was a crazy-quilt affair, with many hands stitching the pattern.

就像在縫百衲被— 許多雙手同時縫上布塊

Under the new constitution, each state was given a number of electors.

在新憲法下，每州都有數名選舉人

who would cast a vote for two names.

一張選票可以選兩個人

The man with the most votes would be president,

得到最多票的當總統

the second-place finisher was vice president.

第二高票的當副總統

Ah, but who picked the electors? That was left up to the states.

選舉人是怎麼產生的呢？ 由各州自行決定

Six of them let the people decide, or at least white men over 21 who owned property.

有六個州交由人民—至少是 21 歲以上有置產的男性白人來決定

In New Jersey, some women voted, a right later taken away.

在紐澤西州，有些女性可以投票 後來女性投票權才被取消

But in other states, the legislature picked the electors.

其他州則由州議會決定選舉人

At that time, many people thought democracy was one step away from mob rule

當時許多人認為 民主和暴民統治只有一步之隔

and a decision this important should be left to wiser men.

這麼重要的事，應讓有智慧的人決定

These electors then voted for president.

這些選舉人，投票選出總統

All the states had to do was get their votes in on time.

各州須將選票準時送達

But there were glitches.

但有些小意外

Only 10 of the 13 states voted.

十三州中，只有十州投票

Rhode Island and North Carolina hadn't ratified the constitution and couldn't vote.

羅得島和北卡羅萊納州 尚未批准憲法，無法投票

New York missed the deadline for naming its electors, and also was not counted.

紐約州來不及在期限內 選出選舉人，所以也不算

When the votes were tallied, it was unanimous.

計票時，全數無異議通過

George Washington won easily. John Adams trailed far behind, finishing second, and became the vice president.

華盛頓輕鬆獲勝，亞當斯遠遠落後 票數第二，成了副總統

Told of his victory, George Washington was not surprised.

當華盛頓得知勝利時，他並不驚訝

At Mount Vernon, his bags were already packed.

在維農山莊 (Mount Vernon) 家中 他的行李早就打包好了

He moved to New York City, the nation's temporary capital,

他搬到紐約市—當時的臨時首都

and he would have to figure out just what a president was supposed to do.

還得弄清楚總統的職權

Since that first election, American democracy and elections have come a long way.

從首次大選至今，美國的 民主與選舉已走過漫漫長路

The constitution has been changed to open up voting to more people:

憲法修改，讓更多人有投票權

black men, women, Native Americans, and eighteen-year-olds included.

黑人、女性、原住民、 十八歲以上都能投票

Getting that basic right extended to all those people has been a long, hard struggle.

經歷了漫長艱苦的奮鬥，才讓 投票這項基本權利擴及所有這些人

So when you think you can't stand any more of those lawn signs,

所以當你覺得 再也無法忍受草坪標語…

and TV ads, just remember:

和電視廣告時，請記住：

the right to vote wasn't always for everyone,

並非人人一直有投票權

and that's a piece of history worth knowing.

這是段值得了解的歷史