(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English. Now, we continue the story of America's fourteenth president, Franklin Pierce. Pierce was elected in eighteen fifty-two. He was a compromise candidate of the Democratic Party. He was well-liked. But he was not considered a strong leader. The eighteen fifties were an increasingly tense time in the United States. Most of the population lived east of the Mississippi River. But more and more people were moving west. As western areas became populated, they became official territories, and then new states. What kind of laws would these new territories and states have? Would the laws be decided by the Congress in Washington? Or would they be voted on by the people living in them? The biggest legal question affecting western lands was slavery. This week in our series, Rich Kleinfeldt and Shirley Griffith tell more about the long disputed issue of slavery and the Kansas-Missouri bill.
Owning another human being was legal in many parts of the United States at that time. Slaves were considered property, like furniture and farm animals. People who owned negro slaves wanted to take all their property -- including the slaves -- with them when they moved west. People who opposed slavery did not want it to spread. Some of them considered slavery a moral issue. They believed it violated the laws of God. An increasing number of white Americans, however, saw slavery as an economic issue. They wanted new states to be free from slavery, so they would not have to compete with slave labor. The United States had been established as a democracy. Yet slavery existed. America's early leaders knew that trying to end slavery probably would split the nation in two. So they looked for compromises. They decided it was better to save the Union...even if it was not perfect...than to watch the Union end. Like other presidents, Franklin Pierce hoped to avoid the issue. He also believed that earlier legislation had settled the debate. In eighteen twenty, Congress had passed the Missouri Compromise. It extended a line across the map of the United States. South of the line, slavery was legal. North of the line, slavery was not legal, except in Missouri. Thirty years later, another political compromise made the situation less clear.
The compromise of eighteen fifty made slavery a local issue, instead of a national issue, in several western territories. It said the people in those territories had the right to decide for themselves if slavery would be legal or illegal. Within a few years, that law caused a new debate in Congress. Lawmakers argued: was the peoples' right to decide the issue of slavery restricted only to the territories named in the compromise of eighteen fifty? Or was the right extended to the people of all future territories? The answer came in eighteen fifty-four. In that year, Congress debated a proposal to create two territories from one large area in the west. The northern part would be known as the Nebraska territory. The southern part would be known as the Kansas territory. Settlers in both new territories would have the right to decide the question of slavery. President Pierce did not like the Kansas-Nebraska bill. He feared it would re-open the bitter, national debate about slavery. He did not want to have to deal with the results. Tensions were increasing. Violence was increasingly possible. The Kansas-Nebraska bill had a lot of support in the Senate. It passed easily. The bill had less support in the House of Representatives. The vote there was close, but the measure passed. President Pierce finally agreed to sign it. In exchange, congressional leaders promised to approve several presidential appointments.
Supporters of the Kansas-Nebraska bill celebrated their victory. They fired cannons as the city of Washington was waking to a new day. Two senators who opposed the bill heard the noise as they walked down the steps of the capitol building. One of them said: "They celebrate a victory now. But the echoes they awake will never rest until slavery itself is dead." The new bill gave the people of Kansas and Nebraska the right to decide if slavery would be legal or illegal. The vote would depend on who settled in the territories. It was not likely that people who owned slaves would settle in Nebraska. However, there was a good chance that they would settle in Kansas. Groups in the South organized quickly to help pro-slavery settlers move to Kansas. At the same time, groups in the North helped free-state settlers move there, too. Some of the northern groups were companies called emigrant aid societies. Shares of these companies were sold to the public. The money was used to help build towns and farms in Kansas. Owners of the companies hoped to make a lot of money from the development. The southern effort to settle Kansas was led mostly by slave-owning farmers in Missouri. They believed that peace in Missouri depended on what happened in Kansas. They did not want to live next to a territory where slavery was not legal.
In Washington, President Pierce announced the appointment of Andrew Reeder to be governor of the Kansas territory. Pro-slavery settlers urged Reeder to hold immediate elections for a territorial legislature. They believed they were in the majority. They wanted a vote before too many free-state settlers moved in. The legislature would have the power to keep the territory open to slavery and, in time, help it become a slave state. Governor Reeder rejected the demands. He decided to hold an election, but only for a territorial representative to the national Congress. On election day, hundreds of men from Missouri crossed the border into Kansas. They voted illegally, and the pro-slavery candidate won. The same thing happened when Kansas finally held an election for a legislature. Governor Reeder took steps to make the voting fair. His efforts were not completely successful. Once again, men from Missouri crossed the border into Kansas. Many of them carried guns. They forced election officials to count their illegal votes. As a result, almost every pro-slavery candidate was elected to the new legislature.
The governor ordered an investigation. The investigation showed evidence of wrong-doing in six areas, and new elections were held in those areas. This time, when only legal votes were counted, many of the pro-slavery candidates were defeated. Yet there were still enough pro-slavery candidates to have a majority. Andrew Reeder was governor of a bitterly divided territory. He wanted to warn President Pierce about what was happening. Reeder went to Washington. He met with Pierce almost every day for two weeks. He described how pro-slavery groups in Missouri were interfering in Kansas. He said if the state of Missouri refused to deal with the trouble-makers, then the national government must deal with them. He asked the president to do something.
Pierce agreed that Kansas was a serious problem. He seemed ready to act. So Reeder returned home and opened the first meeting of the territorial legislature. The pro-slavery majority quickly voted to move to a town close to the Missouri border. It also approved several pro-slavery measures. Governor Reeder vetoed these bills. But there were enough votes to reject his veto and pass the new laws. The Kansas legislature also sent a message to President Pierce. It wanted him to remove Andrew Reeder as governor. Political pressure was strong, and the president agreed. He named a new governor, Wilson Shannon. Shannon supported the pro-slavery laws of the legislature. He also said Kansas should become a slave state, like Missouri. Free-state leaders were extremely angry. They felt they could not get fair treatment from either the president or the new governor. So they took an unusual step. They met and formed their own government in opposition to the elected government of the territory. It would not be long before the situation in Kansas became violent. That will be our story next week.
重点解析
1.extend to 延伸到，扩展到
The main stem will extend to around 12ft, if left to develop naturally.
如果任其自然生长，主干可以长到约12英尺。
2.deal with 处理；对付
You'll deal with it personally? Good.
你将亲自处理这件事吗？太好了。
3.take steps 采取步骤；采取行动
She is not content with her present lot and wishes to take steps to improve it.
她对自己目前的生活并不满意，希望能采取措施改善它。
4.refuse to 拒绝；不肯
Officials refuse to divulge details of the negotiations.
官员们拒绝透露谈判的细节。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。我们今天将继续讲述美国第十四任总统富兰克林·皮尔斯的故事。皮尔斯于1852年当选总统，他是民主党的折衷候选人。皮尔斯很受欢迎，但人们不认为他是位强有力的领导人。19世纪50年代，美国局势日益紧张。大多数人生活在密西西比河以东，但是越来越多的人向西部迁移。随着西部地区人口增加，这些区域成为官方领地，然后变为新的州。这些新领地和各州实行什么样的法律？华盛顿的国会来决定这些法律吗？或是由住在那里的居民投票决定吗？影响西部地区最重要的法律问题是奴隶制。本周，里奇·克林费德和雪莉·格里菲斯将讲述有关奴隶制问题长期存在的争议和堪萨斯-内布拉斯加州法案的更多内容。
当时，在美国许多地方拥有另一个人是合法的。奴隶被视为财产，就像家具和农场动物。那些拥有黑人奴隶的人，想在他们向西迁移的时候带走包括奴隶在内的所有财产。反对奴隶制的人不希望奴隶制蔓延。其中一些人认为奴隶制是道德问题。他们认为这违反了上帝的法律。然而，越来越多的美国白人将奴隶制视为经济问题，他们希望新的州摆脱奴隶制。因此，他们不必与奴隶劳工竞争。美国被确立为民主国家，然而奴隶制存在。美国早期的领导人知道，试图终结奴隶制可能会导致美国一分为二。所以，他们寻求折衷方案。他们认为即使联邦并不完美，但拯救联邦比眼见联邦瓦解要好......富兰克林·皮尔斯像其他总统一样，希望避免这个问题。他还相信先前的立法已经解决了这场辩论。1820年，国会通过了密苏里州折衷法案。该法案在美国地图上画了一条线。在此线以南地区，奴隶制是合法的。以北地区，除密苏里州外，奴隶制是非法的。30年后，另一项政治折衷法案使情况变得不那么明朗。
1850年折衷法案使奴隶制在几个西部地区成为地方性问题，而不是国家性问题。法案表示，这些地区的人民有权自己决定奴隶制是否合法。几年之内，这项法案在国会引发新的辩论。立法者辩称：人民决定奴隶制问题的权利是否仅限于1850年折衷法案中指定的领土？还是这种权利延伸至未来美国所获得的所有领土上的人民？答案在1854年揭晓，在那一年，国会讨论了一项提议，即从西部一大片区域创建两块领土。北部区域称为内布拉斯加州，南部称为堪萨斯州。两块新领地的定居者都有权决定奴隶制问题。总统皮尔斯不喜欢堪萨斯-内布拉斯加州法案。他担心这会在全国范围内，重新引发关于奴隶制的激烈辩论。他不想处理事态的结果。紧张局势日益加剧，发生暴力事件的可能性越来越大。堪萨斯-内布拉斯加州法案在参议院得到了大量支持，轻松获批。该法案在众议院得到的支持较少，投票结果很接近，但通过了这项措施。总统皮尔斯最终同意签字。作为交换，国会领导人承诺将批准几项总统的任命令.
堪萨斯-内布拉斯加州法案的支持者庆祝他们获得的胜利。当华盛顿市迎来新的一天时，他们鸣炮庆祝。两位反对该法案的参议员走下国会大厦的台阶时，听到了炮声。其中一个人说：“现在，他们在庆祝胜利。但由此唤醒的回声直有到奴隶制消亡后才能停止。”新法案赋予堪萨斯和内布拉斯加州人民决定奴隶制是否合法的权利，投票将取决于谁在这些地区定居。拥有奴隶的人不太可能在内布拉斯加州定居。然而，他们很有可能在堪萨斯定居。南方的一些组织迅速组织起来，帮助支持奴隶制的定居者搬到堪萨斯州。与此同时，北方的团体也帮助自由州的定居者搬到了那里。人们把一些北方团体称为移民援助协会，这些公司的股票被公开出售。这笔钱被用来帮助在堪萨斯州建设城镇和农场。这些公司的所有者希望从开发中赚到很多钱。向南部定居堪萨斯州的尝试，主要是由密苏里州拥有奴隶的农民领导的。他们认为密苏里州的和平取决于在堪萨斯州发生的事情。他们不想住在奴隶制不合法的领地旁边。
在华盛顿，总统皮尔斯宣布任命安德鲁·里德为堪萨斯州州长。支持奴隶制的定居者敦促里德立即举行领土立法机构选举。他们认为他们占有大多数选票，想在太多的自由州定居者搬来前举行投票。立法机构将有权保持在该地区执行奴隶制，并及时帮助其成为允许蓄奴的州。州长里德拒绝了这些要求，他决定举行一次选举，但只有全国代表大会的领土代表参加。在选举日，密苏里州的数百名男子越过边界进入堪萨斯州。他们非法投票，致使支持奴隶制的候选人获胜。堪萨斯州最终举行立法机构选举时，发生了同样的事情。州长里德采取措施保持投票的公平性。他的努力没能顺利成功，密苏里州的人再次越过边界进入堪萨斯州。他们中的许多人携带枪支，强迫选举官员统计他们的非法选票。结果，几乎所有支持奴隶制的候选人都被选入新的立法机构。
州长下令进行调查。调查显示，在六个地区存在不正当行为，并在这些地区举行了新的选举。这一次，只有合法的选票被计算在内，许多支持奴隶制的候选人被击败。然而，仍然有足够的支持奴隶制的候选人以得到获胜票数。安德鲁·里德身为一个分裂州的州长。他很想提醒总统皮尔斯这里所发生的事情。里德前往华盛顿，在两周时间里，他几乎每天都和皮尔斯见面。他描述了密苏里州支持奴隶制的团体如何干涉堪萨斯州。他说，如果密苏里州拒绝与制造麻烦的人打交道，那么国家政府必须进行处理。他要求总统采取行动。
皮尔斯同意堪萨斯是一个严重的问题，他似乎准备好行动了。于是，里德回去后召开了领土立法机构的第一次会议。支持奴隶制的大多数人很快投票，决定搬到密苏里州边界附近的一个城镇，同时还批准了一些支持奴隶制的措施。里德州长否决了这些法案，但是有足够的票数否定了他的否决，使新法案获批。堪萨斯州的立法机构也向总统皮尔斯发出信息，想让他撤换安德鲁·里德的州长职务。总统在巨大的政治压力下表示同意，他任命了一位新州长威尔逊·香农。香农对立法机构支持奴隶制的法律给与支持。他还说，堪萨斯州应该像密苏里州一样成为一个允许奴隶制存在的州。自由州领导人非常愤怒，他们觉得无论是总统还是新州长，都无法给与他们公正的待遇。所以，他们采取了一个不寻常的步骤。他们会面并组建了自己的政府，反对该领地的民选政府。不久，堪萨斯州的局势就转变为暴力事件。这将是我们下周要讲述的故事。
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