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VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English.

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By eighteen-sixty-three, America's northern states and southern states had been fighting a bitter, bloody civil war for two years. Both sides felt the pressure of the costly struggle.

The south was beginning to suffer from a lack of supplies and men for its armies. The north was beginning to suffer from a lack of fighting spirit.

There are more than 200 programs in the complete series, which starts over again every five years. Most of the shows were produced a long time ago. This explains why a few words here and there may sound a little dated. In fact, the series has even outlived some of the announcers. But we know from our audience that THE MAKING OF A NATION is the most popular of the feature programs in VOA Special English.

VOA Special English is a radio, TV and Internet service of the Voice of America. Programs are written with a limited vocabulary and are read at a slower speed. The purpose is to help people improve their American English as they learn about news and other subjects.