(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. Franklin Pierce was elected the fourteenth president in eighteen fifty-two. He was forty-eight years old, one of America's youngest presidents. Pierce was the compromise candidate of the Democratic Party. He won the nomination on the forty-ninth ballot at the party's convention. He then won a big victory in the general election over the candidate of the Whig Party, General Winfield Scott. One of Pierce's friends, the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, helped him with his campaign. This week in our series, Steve Ember and Shirley Griffith talk about the presidency of Franklin Pierce.
Franklin Pierce was from the northeastern state of New Hampshire. He was a lawyer and former state lawmaker. He also had served in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. He became an officer in the Army during America's war with Mexico in the late eighteen forties. Pierce had been a public official for more than twenty years when he became president. Yet he was not a strong leader. He also faced a difficult situation in his personal life. Two of his children had died when they were babies. A third child was killed in a train accident shortly before Pierce was inaugurated. In addition, his wife Jane did not like the city of Washington. She did not support her husband's campaign for president. Years earlier, she had urged him to resign from the Senate and return to New Hampshire. She did not want to go back to Washington, even to be first lady. When her husband was elected, she agreed to live there. But she rarely saw anyone. One of her close friends took her place at public events. Franklin Pierce was a young man. And his inauguration speech was about a young America. He promised strong support for expanding the territory of the United States. He also promised a strong foreign policy.
In his foreign policy, President Pierce successfully negotiated with Britain to gain American fishing rights along the coast of Canada. However, he was unsuccessful in an attempt to buy Cuba from Spain. One of the most important developments in foreign policy during Pierce's administration actually began earlier. Former president Millard Fillmore had sent Navy Commodore Matthew Perry to Asia. Perry finally sailed into Tokyo Bay in eighteen fifty-three. His arrival led to the establishment of diplomatic and trade relations between the United States and Japan. National issues presented President Pierce with more difficult decisions. The Compromise of eighteen fifty had settled the dispute over slavery in the western territories. But it did not end slavery. There was still a chance that the North and South would go to war over the issue. Another question linked slavery and the western territories. Where should the United States build its new railroads. As America grew and white settlers moved west, many felt a great need for good transportation. They wanted railroads that reached across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Engineers decided that four new rail lines would be possible.
One could cross the northern part of the country, connecting the cities of Saint Paul and Seattle. Another could cross the middle, connecting Saint Louis and San Francisco. A third could connect Memphis and San Francisco. And a fourth could be far to the south, connecting New Orleans and San Diego. Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois proposed that three lines be built. He said the government could give land to the railroad companies. The companies could then sell the land to get the money they needed to build the lines. A Senate committee discussed the situation. It decided that building three railroads at the same time would be too difficult. It proposed that only one be built. But which one? Many congressmen believed that a southern line would be best. There would be little snow in winter. And the railroad would cross lands already organized as states or official territories. A northern or central line would face severe winter weather. And it would have to cross a wild area called Nebraska. Nebraska was neither a state nor a territory. In trying to settle the question of railroads, the issue of slavery rose once again. Nebraska lay north of the Missouri compromise line, which had been established in eighteen twenty. Slavery was not permitted there. The state of Missouri lay next to Nebraska. Missouri was a slave state. Slave-holders in Missouri did not want the Nebraska area to become a free territory. They were afraid their slaves would flee to it. They felt threatened by the free states and free territories all around them.
For years, Congressmen from Missouri had defeated all attempts to make Nebraska an official territory. When Congress met in eighteen fifty-three, it considered a new bill on Nebraska. Instead of creating one large territory, the bill would create two. The northern part would be called the Nebraska territory. The southern part would be called the Kansas territory. The proposal to split them was called the Kansas-Nebraska bill. The bill did not clearly say if slavery would be legal, or illegal, in the two new territories. The purpose of the Kansas-Nebraska bill reportedly was to settle differences among opposing railroad interests in the area. Yet many Americans believed the real purpose was to permit the spread of slavery. A group of anti-slavery Senators denounced the bill. They said it was part of a southern plan to spread slavery wherever possible. They also said it was being used by Senator Stephen Douglas for political purposes. They said he was trying to gain southern support for himself in the next presidential election. When the Senate began debate on the Kansas-Nebraska bill, Stephen Douglas was the first to defend it.
Douglas said the bill would give people in the Kansas and Nebraska territories the right to decide if slavery would be permitted. He said the same right had been given to people in New Mexico and Utah by the compromise of eighteen fifty. And he said that same right was meant for people of all future territories. In the past, he noted, the national government had tried to divide free states from slave states by a line across a map. He said a geographical line was not the answer. He said the people of a state or territory had the right to decide for themselves. Douglas argued that the compromise of eighteen fifty took the place of the earlier Missouri compromise of eighteen twenty. The new Kansas-Nebraska bill, he said, simply recognized the fact that the Missouri compromise was dead. Opponents of the Kansas-Nebraska bill quickly rejected the Senator's argument. They said Douglas was not honest in his statements about the eighteen fifty compromise. True, they said, the compromise gave the people of Utah and New Mexico the right to decide about slavery. But they said it did not give that right to the people of all future territories.
Opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska bill was extremely strong in the northern United States. In city after city, big public meetings were held. Businessmen organized many of the meetings. They were angry at Senator Douglas because he had re-opened the dispute about slavery. They feared that the dispute would hurt the economy. Northern churchmen also united against the Kansas-Nebraska bill. Thousands signed protests and sent them to Congress. Senator Douglas criticized the churchmen. He said they should stay out of politics. In the southern United States, the Kansas-Nebraska bill caused little excitement. Most southerners were not greatly interested in it. They believed it might help the cause of slavery. But they also believed it might lead to trouble. Senate debate on the bill continued for more than a month. Senator Stephen Douglas was sure it would be approved. We will continue the story of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and the administration of President Franklin Pierce, next time.
重点解析
1.resign from 辞职；辞去......职务
They are intending to resign from the committee.
他们打算辞去委员会中的职务。
2.next to 紧邻；在......旁边
She sat down next to him on the sofa.
她紧挨着他在沙发上坐下了。
3.lead to 导致；引起
This can lead to bodily weakness and muscle wastage.
这样可能会导致身体虚弱和肌肉萎缩。
4.be interested in 对......感兴趣；对某方面感兴趣
I thought she might be interested in Paula's proposal.
我觉得她对葆拉的提议可能会感兴趣。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。1852年，富兰克林·皮尔斯当选第十四任总统。他当时四十八岁，是美国最年轻的总统之一。皮尔斯是民主党的折衷候选人。他在政党大会第四十九次投票中赢得提名。随后，他在大选中战胜了辉格党候选人温菲尔德·斯科特将军。皮尔斯的一位朋友，作家纳撒尼尔·霍桑，在竞选中给予他帮助。在本周的系列节目中，史蒂夫·恩伯和雪莉·格里菲斯将讲述富兰克林·皮尔斯在总统任期内发生的故事。
富兰克林·皮尔斯来自美国东北部的新罕布什尔州，他曾是一名律师，也是前州议员。他还曾在美国参议院和众议院任职。19世纪40年代末，他在美国与墨西哥的战争中成为一名军官。皮尔斯当上总统时，已经做了二十多年的公职人员。然而，他并不是一个强有力的领导人。他个人生活也面临着困境。他的两个孩子在小时候就过世了，皮尔斯出任总统前不久，第三个孩子在火车事故中丧生。此外，他的妻子简不喜欢华盛顿，她不支持丈夫竞选总统。几年前，她曾敦促他辞去参议院职务，返回新罕布什尔州。她不想回华盛顿，也不想当第一夫人。丈夫当选后，她同意住到华盛顿。但她很少见任何人。她的一位密友代她出席公共活动。个年轻人，其就职演说描绘的是一个年轻的美国。他承诺坚定支持扩展美国领土。他还承诺实行强有力的外交政策。
总统皮尔斯在外交政策上，成功地与英国谈判，以获得美国在加拿大海岸的捕鱼权。他试图从西班牙手中把古巴买下来，但没有成功。皮尔斯当政期间，最重要的外交政策发展实际上开始得更早。前总统米勒德·菲尔莫尔已派遣海军准将马修·佩里前往亚洲。佩里在1853年终于驶入东京湾，他的到来使美日之间建立了外交和贸易关系。国家事务使总统皮尔斯更难做出决定。1850年折衷法案解决了西部领地的奴隶制争端。但它并没有终结奴隶制。在这个问题上，南北双方仍有可能爆发战争。另一个与奴隶制和西部领土相关的问题是，美国应该在哪里修建新的铁路？随着美国的发展和白人移民向西部迁移，许多人感到急需良好的交通工具。他们想要能从大西洋到太平洋横穿大陆的铁路。工程师们认为有可能修建四条新的铁路。
一条铁路可以穿过美国北部，连接圣保罗和西雅图。另一条横跨中部地区，连接圣路易斯和旧金山。第三条连接孟菲斯和旧金山。第四条建在较远的南部地区，连接新奥尔良和圣地亚哥。伊利诺伊州的民主党参议员史蒂芬·道格拉斯建议修建三条铁路。他说政府可以把土地拨给铁路公司。然后，铁路公司出售土地，以获得修建铁路所需的资金。参议院委员会讨论了这一情况，委员会认为同时修建三条铁路太困难，建议只建造一条。但是修哪一条呢？许多国会议员认为最好修建南线铁路。在那里，冬天很少下雪。铁路穿过的地区，已作为州或官方领土进行管理。北部或中部线路将面临严冬天气的考验，还必须穿过一片叫做内布拉斯加州的荒野。内布拉斯加州既不是一个州，也不是美国领土。为了解决修建铁的路问题，奴隶制问题再次显现。内布拉斯加州位于1820年划立的密苏里妥协线以北，奴隶制在那里是不允许。密苏里州紧邻内布拉斯加州，密苏里州支持蓄奴。密苏里州的奴隶主不希望内布拉斯加州成为自由区，他们担心奴隶会逃到那里去。他们感受到来自周围自由州和自由领土的威胁。
多年来，来自密苏里州的国会议员挫败了所有试图令内布拉斯加州成为官方领土的企图。国会在1853年举行会议时，审议了一项关于内布拉斯加州的新法案。该法案将开辟两片领土，而不是一片大领土。北部将叫作内布拉斯加州，南部叫作堪萨斯州，并提出用堪萨斯-内布拉斯加州法案分割两部分领土。该法案没有明确指出奴隶制在两片新领地内是否合法。据报道，堪萨斯-内布拉斯加州法案旨在解决该地区反对铁路利益的分歧。然而，许多美国人认为，其真正目的是允许奴隶制扩沿。一群反对奴隶制的参议员谴责该法案。他们说，这是南方尽可能扩展奴隶制计划的一部分。还表示，参议员史蒂芬·道格拉斯将其用于政治目的。他在下一届总统选举中试图获得南方人的支持。参议院就堪萨斯-内布拉斯加州法案展开辩论时，史蒂芬·道格拉斯是第一个为其辩护的人。
道格拉斯说，该法案将赋予堪萨斯州和内布拉斯加州地区的人民决定是否允许执行奴隶制的权利。他说，1850年折衷法案赋予新墨西哥州和犹他州人民同样的权利。他说，同样的权利也适用于未来美国所获得的所有领土上的人民。他指出，在过去，国家政府曾试图在地图上划出分界线，将自由州与奴隶州分开。他说地理界线不是答案，一个国家或地区的人民有权自行决定。道格拉斯认为，1850年折衷法案取代了早期密苏里州1820年的折衷法案。他说，新的堪萨斯-内布拉斯加州法案只是承认密苏里州折衷法案已经失效。
反对堪萨斯-内布拉斯加州法案的人很快就驳斥了参议员的论点，他们说道格拉斯就1850年折衷法案声明中的描述不属实。他们说，这一折衷法案确实给予犹他州和新墨西哥州人民决定奴隶制的权利，但并没有赋予未来美国所获得的所有领土上的人民这一权利。反对堪萨斯-内布拉斯加州法案的呼声在美国北部非常强烈，大型会议在一个又一个城市接连举行。商人们组织了许多会议，他们对参议员道格拉斯感到很生气，因为他重新开启了有关奴隶制的争论，他们担心这场争论会损害经济。北方教会人士也联合起来反对堪萨斯-内布拉斯加州法案，数千人签署了抗议书，并将其送交国会。参议员道格拉斯批评了教士，他表示他们应该远离政治。在美国南部，堪萨斯-内布拉斯加州法案没有引起轰动。大多数南方人对它不太感兴趣，他们认为这可能有助于奴隶制发展，但他们也相信它可能会招致麻烦。参议院对该法案的辩论持续了一个多月，参议员史蒂芬·道格拉斯确信它能够获批。我们将在下期节目中，继续讲述堪萨斯-内布拉斯加州法案和总统富兰克林·皮尔斯执政的故事。
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