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There has been spirited debate among historians over which of the 46 presidents of the United States ranks as the best.
在美国46位总统中，谁是最好的，历史学家对此一直争论不休。
There has also been spirited though somewhat more subdued debate over which of them was the worst.
关于谁是最糟糕的总统，也有激烈的辩论，尽管在某种程度上比较温和。
And boy have there been some bad ones, from James Buchanan, who essentially sat on his hands and watched as the nation tore itself apart and triggered the Civil War,
也有一些不好的总统，从詹姆斯·布坎南，他基本上袖手旁观，看着国家分裂并引发内战，
to Warren G Harding, who famously presided over one of the most corrupt administrations in history.
到沃伦·哈丁，他以主持历史上最腐败的政府之一而闻名。
But no debate about worse presidents of all time would be complete without mentioning John Tyler, the 10th President.
但是，如果不提到第十任总统约翰·泰勒，关于有史以来最糟糕的总统的辩论就不完整。
Tyler was never supposed to be president.
泰勒本来就不该当总统。
He assumed the office following the sudden death of his predecessor, the first time that had happened in American history.
他在前任总统突然去世后就任总统，这在美国历史上尚属首次。
It was just the first of a string of unprecedented events that would shape American politics for a generation.
这只是一系列前所未有的事件中的第一个，这些事件将影响一代美国人的政治。
Among other things, Tyler successfully derailed the legislative agenda of his own party, causing them to expel him from their ranks.
除此之外，泰勒成功地阻碍了他所在政党的立法议程，导致他们将他开除出党。
His obstinence irritated almost everyone in Washington, to the point, that he had few friends and entirely too many enemies.
他的固执惹恼了华盛顿几乎所有人，以至于他几乎没有朋友，敌人却很多。
He even most important achievement during his presidency adding taxes to the union, ultimately, triggered a war that caused the deaths of tens of thousands and set the stage for an even more destructive war a decade later.
他在总统任期内最重要的成就是向联邦增加税收，最终引发了一场导致数万人死亡的战争，并为十年后一场更具破坏性的战争奠定了基础。
And if that weren't bad enough, John Tyler managed to ruin his reputation even further at the end of his life when he advocated for succession.
如果这还不够糟糕的话，约翰·泰勒在他生命的最后，当他主张连任时，他的声誉进一步受损。
And he was elected to the Confederate Congress, causing many to view him as a traitor.
他被选入邦联国会，这使得很多人认为他是叛徒。
When he died it was accorded almost none of the honors usually given to a former president, and the historical outlook on his life and career has hardly been rehabilitated by the passage of time.
当他去世时，他几乎没有获得通常授予前总统的荣誉，而对他的生活和职业生涯的历史观也几乎没有随着时间的推移而恢复。
John Tyler was born on March, 29th, 1790 in the Tidewater region of southeastern Virginia.
约翰·泰勒于1790年3月29日出生在弗吉尼亚州东南部的泰德沃特地区。
The Tyler were one of the wealthiest families in the state, tracing their roots back to the colonial times and had a long history of public service.
泰勒家族是该州最富有的家族之一，其历史可以追溯到殖民时代，并拥有悠久的公共服务历史。
Tyler's father John Senior, known as judge Tyler, was no exception enjoying a distinguished political career that included a close friendship with Thomas Jefferson and election as governor of Virginia in 1808.
泰勒的父亲老约翰被称为泰勒法官，他也不例外地享有杰出的政治生涯，包括与托马斯·杰斐逊的亲密友谊，并于1808年当选为弗吉尼亚州州长。
From the start, John Tyler was raised to become everything his father was, a lawyer, a future politician,
从一开始，约翰·泰勒就被培养成一个和他父亲一样的人，一个律师，一个未来的政治家，
and above all, a perfect southern gentleman, concerned with his standing in society and his honor at all times.
最重要的是，一个完美的南方绅士，时刻关注自己的社会地位和荣誉。
Like many boys, John loved his father and wanted to make him proud, so he studied hard graduating from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg in 1807 when he was 17.
像许多男孩一样，约翰爱他的父亲，想让他感到骄傲，所以他努力学习，1807年从威廉斯堡的威廉与玛丽学院毕业，当时他17岁。
He passed the bar and became a lawyer at 19, technically, two years too young to sit the exam.
他19岁时通过了律师考试，成为了一名律师，严格来说，他还小了两岁，不能参加考试。
But it seems the examiner simply hadn't bothered to find out how old he was.
但考官似乎根本就没想过要知道他有多大年龄。
He began practicing as a lawyer in Richmond and he was good at it but his real passion was politics.
他开始在里士满当律师，他很擅长，但他真正的热情是政治。
In fact, the only reason he became a lawyer in the first place was because it was seen as a necessary prerequisite to becoming a politician.
事实上，他成为一名律师的唯一原因是，这被视为成为政治家的必要前提。
Politics would become the defining love of Tyler's life.
政治成为泰勒一生中最重要的爱好。
One that he was far more passionate about than his wife Letitia who he married in 1813.
他比1813年嫁于他的妻子莱蒂茨亚更热衷此事。
That was more about fulfilling the southern gentleman's obligation to marry well and produce children than any sense of romance.
这更多的是为了履行南方绅士的义务，婚结得好，生儿育女，而不是为了浪漫。
And produce they did eight of them between 1815 and 1830.
从1815年到1830年，他们一共生了8个孩子。
Tyler's first taste of politics came in 1811 when he was elected to the Virginia house of delegates, serving there for five years.
泰勒第一次接触政治是在1811年，当时他被选为弗吉尼亚州众议院代表，在那里工作了五年。
In 1816, he seized an opportunity to get himself elected to the United States House of Representatives and would thereafter spend half the year in Washington DC, tending to the people's business, which caused an unfortunate drop in the revenues of his own business.
1816年，他抓住机会当选为美国众议院议员，此后他将在华盛顿特区度过半年的时间，关心人民的事情，这导致他自己的收入不幸下降。
It was difficult to maintain a thriving legal practice at home when he spent so much time away and revenues at his plantation suffered when he wasn't there personally supervising it.
他长时间不在家，很难在家里维持自己的律师业务，他不在家里亲自监督，他的种植园的收入也会受到影响。
Tyler would spend much of his life in debt, relying on borrowing money from friends and from the bank to keep himself afloat.
泰勒一生的大部分时间都在债务中度过，依靠从朋友和银行借钱来维持生活。
In Congress, Tyler became more well known for what he opposed than what he supported.
在国会，泰勒反对的东西比支持的东西更出名。
Almost from the moment of its founding, there had been an argument about which entity should have more power in the United States:
几乎从国会成立的那一刻起，就有一个关于哪个实体应该在美国拥有更多权力的争论:
The federal government or the individual states that divided up the country.
联邦政府或分割国家的各个州。
Tyler came down firmly on the side of state's rights and in this, like with most everything else, he emulated his father.
泰勒坚定地站在州权利的一边，在这一点上，就像在大多数其他事情上一样，他模仿他的父亲。
Judge Tyler had tried unsuccessfully to prevent Virginia from ratifying the Constitution back in 1787.
泰勒法官曾在1787年试图阻止弗吉尼亚州批准宪法，但没有成功。
And when that failed, he became what was known as a Constructionist.
阻拦失败后，他成为了著名的建构主义者。
Constructionists believed that the federal government can't do anything that isn't explicitly permitted to them by the Constitution.
建构主义者认为，联邦政府不能做任何宪法没有明确允许他们做的事情。
Their opponents variously known as the consolidationists or centralists believed that the federal government can do anything that isn't specifically prohibited by the Constitution.
他们的反对者被称为统一主义者或中央主义者，他们认为联邦政府可以做任何宪法没有特别禁止的事情。
These two arguments have dominated American politics for almost 250 years and will likely keep doing so into the future.
这两种观点主导了美国政治近250年，并可能在未来继续下去。
