(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. The most difficult national problem facing the administration of President Franklin Pierce was the situation in Kansas. The territory struggled with the issue of slavery. Pro-slavery settlers elected a representative to Congress. Then they won a majority of seats in the territorial legislature. An investigation found that people from the neighboring state of Missouri had voted in the elections illegally. Yet the results were accepted. The new Kansas lawmakers did not like the territorial governor. They demanded that President Pierce dismiss him. Pierce agreed. This week on our series, Ray Freeman and Steve Ember continue the story of the presidency of Franklin Pierce. And they talk about the presidential election of eighteen fifty-six.
Anti-slavery settlers in Kansas felt they could not get fair treatment from either the president or the new governor. So they took an extreme step. They formed their own government in opposition to the elected government of the territory. Their political group was known as the Free State Party. Party members wrote their own constitution and chose their own governor. President Pierce said the actions of the Free State Party seemed revolutionary. He warned against violence. He said if party members attacked any officials or property of the territory or the federal government, party leaders should be charged with treason. The president gave the pro-slavery governor of Kansas control of troops at two army bases in the territory. Many people feared that the governor would use the troops to arrest the leaders of the Free State government. Fighting between the two sides almost began when a Free State man was killed by a pro-slavery man. Free State settlers gathered in the town of Lawrence and organized a defense force. At the same time, hundreds of pro-slavery men crossed the border from Missouri. They planned to go to Lawrence and burn it to the ground. The pro-slavery governor and the Free State governor agreed to hold an emergency meeting. They negotiated a settlement, and the men on both sides went home. The truce did not last long.
In the weeks that followed, a number of attempts were made to stop or arrest the leaders of the Free State government. Pro-slavery officials urged private citizens to help. Once again, hundreds of men -- including many from Missouri -- gathered in Kansas. Once again, their target was the town of Lawrence. This time, however, there was no truce. The pro-slavery mob attacked and burned several buildings. A number of people were killed. The violence might have ended quickly. But one of the men defending the town believed that the battle against the forces of slavery must continue. And he believed that God had chosen him to lead it. The man was John Brown. John Brown heard that five Free State men had died in the attack on Lawrence. So he said five pro-slavery men must die in return. He led a group that seized and killed five people. The civil disorder in Kansas continued. Settlers were forced off their land. Houses were burned. More people were killed. The territory became known as "Bleeding Kansas." It was clear that there were deep differences between the northern and southern American states. The differences involved their economies, their systems of labor, and their way of life.
The civil disorder caused by these differences was the chief issue in the presidential election of eighteen fifty-six. Three political parties offered candidates: the Democrats, the Republicans and the Know-Nothings. The Whig Party did not offer a candidate. The party had gone out of existence by then. Its members had split over the question of slavery in the western territories. The split could not be healed. Most southern Whigs joined the Democratic Party. Most northern Whigs joined the Know-Nothing Party. The Know-Nothing Party began as a secret anti-immigrant organization. It feared that too many people from other countries were coming to live in the United States. Members did not want to admit that they belonged to the group. When asked, they said, "I know nothing." And that is how the organization got its name. The Democratic Party was led by President Franklin Pierce. Pierce wanted to run for re-election. Many northern Democrats, however, objected to his support of the pro-slavery legislature in Kansas. Other Democrats did not think he was the strongest candidate. As a result, Pierce faced competition for the party's nomination.
One opponent was Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois. Douglas had great political ability. He also had many political enemies. He was the man most responsible for gaining congressional approval of the bill that opened Kansas to slavery. Pierce's other opponent for the Democratic nomination was James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. Buchanan was a northerner who would probably leave the South alone. "I am not friendly to the idea of slavery," he said. "but the rights of the South -- under our constitution -- should have as much protection as the rights of any other part of our Union. " The Democratic Party met in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the first time a national political convention was held that far west. Candidates needed two-thirds of the votes to win the nomination. After several days of voting, no candidate had received enough. So, in an effort to unite the party, Stephen Douglas offered to withdraw. James Buchanan got his votes and the nomination. The Republican Party was a new political party. Its members opposed slavery for either moral or economic reasons.
Many Republicans were Abolitionists. They wanted to ban slavery everywhere in the United States. The majority of Republicans, however, were not Abolitionists. They had no interest in ending slave labor in the South. They simply did not want slavery to spread to other areas. The Republican Party held its presidential nominating convention in Philadelphia. For months, party members had spoken of just one man. He was John Fremont. Fremont had explored the American west. He had been a senator from California. He was young and exciting. Republicans thought he was the right man to lead their young and exciting party. The Know-Nothing Party had a divided nominating convention. Northern and southern members agreed on policies that denounced immigrants. But they split on the issue of slavery. Northern members opposed it. Southern members supported it. Delegates to the convention chose a candidate who seemed to support the party's policies. Yet he was not even a member of the party. He was a Whig, former president Millard Fillmore. Northern members refused to support Fillmore. They broke away from the Know-Nothing Party and supported the Republican candidate, John Fremont.
Fremont could not expect to win any votes in the slave states of the South. He would have to get all of his support in the North. He would have to win the votes of the big states, including Pennsylvania. And Pennsylvania was the home of the Democratic candidate, James Buchanan. Buchanan had said that the constitutional rights of the southern states should be protected. So he could expect to win some votes there. When all the votes were counted, Buchanan was elected. Now he would have to deal with the problems that presidents before him had not been able to solve. James Buchanan was sixty-five years old. He had served in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. He had served as secretary of state and as ambassador. He was a good diplomat. But he was not considered a strong political leader. Buchanan usually supported the southern position in the dispute about slavery. He said the North should stop interfering with the South. He even said the South had good reason to leave the Union, if northern Abolitionists continued their anti-slavery campaign. As president, Buchanan believed he could solve the slavery question by keeping the Abolitionists quiet. He wanted a cabinet that shared and supported this idea. We will tell about James Buchanan's administration in our next program.
重点解析
1.struggle with 与......斗争；与......作斗争
He is currently locked in a power struggle with his Prime Minister.
他目前陷入了一场同总理的权力之争当中。
2.at the same time 同时；另一方面；
I was afraid of her, but at the same time I really liked her.
我害怕她，但同时也确实喜欢她。
3.in return 作为交换；作替换
What did you give him in return?
你给他什么作为报答呢？
4.belong to 归于；归属
I used to belong to a youth club.
我过去是一个青年俱乐部的成员。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语之建国史话节目。总统富兰克林·皮尔斯政府面临最棘手的国家问题是堪萨斯州的局势，人们为这片领土是否允许蓄奴的问题而争执不休。支持奴隶制的定居者们选举出一名国会代表，他们赢得了领土立法机构的多数席位。一项调查发现，来自邻近密苏里州的人们在选举中出现非法投票。而选举结果还获得了认可。堪萨斯地区新的立法议员不喜欢该地区的执政官，他们要求总统皮尔斯解除其职务。皮尔斯表示同意。在本周的系列节目中，雷·弗里曼和史蒂夫·恩伯将继续讲述总统富兰克林·皮尔斯的故事，他们还将谈论1856年的总统选举。
堪萨斯州的反奴隶制定居者认为他们得不到总统和新州长的公正待遇，所以他们采取极端措施，组建自己的政府，反对该地区的民选政府。他们的政治团体被称为自由州党，政党成员撰写了自己的宪法，选举出自己的州长。总统皮尔斯说，自由州党的行动似乎是革命性的，他警告不要使用暴力，如果党员攻击该地区或联邦政府的任何官员或财产，该党领导人应被控叛国罪。总统让堪萨斯州支持奴隶制的州长在该地区的两个军事基地控制军队，许多人担心州长会动用军队逮捕自由州党政府的领导人。当自由州党的成员被支持奴隶制的人杀害时，双方的争斗几乎就处于剑拔弩张之势。自由州党的定居者聚集在劳伦斯镇，他们组织了一支防御部队。与此同时，数百名支持奴隶制的人从密苏里州越境。他们计划去劳伦斯，烧毁整个城镇。支持奴隶制的州长和自由州州长同意召开紧急会议，他们协商了一个解决方案，然后双方都回家了，但休战没有持续多久。
在接下来的几周里，政府曾多次试图阻止或逮捕自由州政府的领导人。支持奴隶制的官员敦促公民提供帮助，数以百计的人，其中包括许多来自密苏里州的人，再次聚集在堪萨斯州。他们再次把目标盯向劳伦斯镇。然而，这一次没有停战。支持奴隶制的暴徒袭击并烧毁了几座建筑物，许多人被杀。暴力事件应该很快就结束了。但是，一个守城者认为，与奴隶制的斗争必须继续下去。他相信上帝选择他来做领导者，这个人就是约翰·布朗。约翰·布朗听说五名来自自由州的人在袭击劳伦斯的战斗中丧生。所以他说，五名支持奴隶制的人必须死去，以此作为回报。他带领一个小队抓获并杀害了五个人。堪萨斯州的内乱还在继续，定居者被迫离开他们的土地。房子被烧毁，更多人惨遭杀害。人们称这片土地为“流血的堪萨斯”。很明显，美国北部和南部各州之间存在着严重的分歧。这些分歧涉及到他们的经济、劳动制度和生活方式。
这些分歧导致的内乱，是1856年总统选举中的主要问题。三个政党提供了候选人：民主党、共和党和一无所知党。辉格党没有提供候选人，那时该党已经不复存在。其成员在西部地区的奴隶制问题上意见分歧，这种分歧无法弥合。大多数南方辉格党人加入了民主党，大多数北方辉格党加入了一无所知党。一无所知党最初是一个秘密的反移民组织，它担心会有太多来自其他国家的人到美国生活。成员们不想承认他们属于该组织。当被问及时这个问题时，他们会说：“我什么都不知道。”这就是该组织名称的由来。民主党由总统富兰克林·皮尔斯领导，皮尔斯想参加连任竞选。然而，许多北方民主党人反对他支持堪萨斯州的亲奴隶制立法机构。而其他民主党人不认为他是最强劲的候选人。因此，皮尔斯面临着党内提名的竞争。
一位反对者是伊利诺伊州的参议员史蒂芬·道格拉斯。道格拉斯有很强的政治能力，也拥有许多政敌。使堪萨斯州允许实施奴隶制的法案可以在国会获得批准，很大程度都源于道格拉斯。皮尔斯的另一位民主党竞争对手是宾夕法尼亚州的詹姆斯·布坎南。布坎南是北方人，很可能会独自离开南方。他说：“我对奴隶制不抱有友善的态度。但是，根据宪法规定，南方拥有的各种权利应该和联邦其他任何地区的权利一样受到保护。”民主党在俄亥俄州辛辛那提市举行了会议，这是第一次在遥远的西部举行全国性的政治会议。候选人需要获得三分之二的选票才能赢得提名。经过几天的投票，没有一名候选人获得足够的选票。因此，为了团结党内成员，斯蒂芬·道格拉斯提出退出选举。詹姆斯·布坎南获得了他的选票，并赢得提名。共和党是一个新政党，其成员出于道德或经济原因反对奴隶制。
许多共和党人都是废奴主义者，他们想在美国各地禁止奴隶制。然而，大多数共和党人不是废奴主义者。他们对于结束南方的奴隶劳工问题不感兴趣，而只是不希望奴隶制扩沿到其他地区。共和党在费城举行了总统提名大会。几个月来，党员们谈论的都是一个人。他就是约翰·弗雷蒙特。弗里蒙特曾在美国西部地区探险，他曾是加利福尼亚州的参议员。他年轻、令人感到兴奋。共和党人认为他是领导他们年轻而振奋人心的政党的合适人选。一无所知党分开举行提名大会，北部和南部成员同意谴责移民的政策。但他们在奴隶制问题上意见分歧。北方成员反对奴隶制，而南方成员表示支持。大会代表选出了一位似乎支持该党政策的候选人。然而，他甚至都不是该党的成员，他就是辉格党的前总统米勒德·菲尔莫尔。北方成员拒绝支持菲尔莫尔，他们脱离了一无所知党，支持共和党候选人约翰·弗里蒙特。
弗里蒙特无法寄希望于在南方实行奴隶制的各州赢得任何选票，他必须得到北方的所有支持。他需要赢得包括宾夕法尼亚州在内的各个大州的选票，宾夕法尼亚州是民主党候选人詹姆斯·布坎南的家乡。布坎南曾说过，南方各州的宪法权利应该得到保护。所以，他预期可以在南方赢得一些选票。当所有的选票都计算出来后，布坎南当选。现在，他不得不处理几位前任总统无法解决的问题。65岁的詹姆斯·布坎南，曾在众议院和参议院任职，也曾担任国务卿和大使。他是位优秀的外交官，但人们不认为他是一位强有力的政治领袖。布坎南通常支持南方在奴隶制问题上的立场。他说，北方应该停止干涉南方，甚至还表示，如果北方废奴主义者继续进行反奴隶制运动，南方有充足的理由离开联邦。总统布坎南相信，他可以通过让废奴主义者保持沉默来解决奴隶制问题，他想要一个分享并支持该想法的内阁。我们将在下期节目中讲述詹姆斯·布坎南的政府。
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