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VOA建国史话(翻译+字幕+讲解):密苏里妥协法案的签订

时间:2019-03-04 18:54:00 来源:可可英语编辑:kelly 可可英语APP下载 | 可可官方微信:ikekenet

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In the spring of eighteen twenty, President James Monroe was coming to the end of his first four years as president.
1820年春天，美国总统詹姆斯·门罗即将结束总统任期。

He wanted to be elected again. But he faced a difficult decision.
他想再次当选。但他面临着一个艰难的抉择。

Congress, after much debate between the North and the South, had approved a bill giving statehood to Missouri.
经过南北双方的激烈辩论，国会通过了一项给予密苏里州州地位的法案。

Missouri was part of the Louisiana territory. Southern lawmakers wanted Missouri to permit slavery.
密苏里州是路易斯安那州的一部分。南方的国会议员希望密苏里州允许奴隶制存在。

Northerners wanted no slaves in Missouri.
北方的人不希望密苏里州出现奴隶制。

A compromise was reached. Missouri could have slaves.
双方达成了妥协。密苏里州可以有奴隶。

But nowhere else in the northern part of the Louisiana territory would slavery be permitted.
但是路易斯安那州北部其他任何地方都不得出现奴隶制。

Now, Sarah Long and Steve Ember continue our story of the presidency of James Monroe.
现在，萨拉·朗和史蒂夫·恩伯继续为您讲述总统詹姆斯·门罗的故事。

Many southerners were not satisfied. The compromise closed the door against slavery entering large new areas of land.
南方的许多人并不满意这项妥协法案，因为它禁止奴隶制进入新的大片土地

Southerners -- like all other Americans -- had a right to settle in the new territory.
和其他所有美国人一样，南方人有权在新的领土上定居。

President Monroe was a slave-owner. He understood the feelings of the South.
门罗总统是奴隶主，他理解南方人民的感情。

His friends urged him to veto the compromise bill, because it limited slavery in the territory.
他的朋友敦促他否决这项法案，因为它限制了该地区的奴隶制。

Monroe believed the compromise was wrong -- but not because it kept slaves out of the territory.
门罗认为该法案是错误的，但并不是因为它将奴隶拒之门外。

The president did not believe the Constitution gave Congress the right to make such conditions.
总统不相信宪法赋予国会这样的权利。

Monroe even wrote a veto message explaining why he could not approve the compromise.
门罗甚至写了一封否决信，解释他不能批准这项法案的原因。

But he did not use the veto. He also understood the strong feelings of those opposed to slavery.
但他没有使用否决权。他也理解那些反对奴隶制的人的强烈感情。

He believed there might be civil war if he rejected the compromise. So Monroe signed the bill.
他认为如果他拒绝妥协，可能会发生内战。所以门罗在法案上签了字。

Missouri had permission to enter the union as a slave state.
密苏里州获准以蓄奴州的身份加入联邦。

The crisis seemed ended. But a few months later, a new problem developed.
危机似乎已经结束。但是几个月后，一个新的问题出现了。

Missouri wrote a state constitution that it sent to Congress for approval.
密苏里州起草了一部州宪法，并送交国会批准。

One part of this constitution did not permit free black men to enter the state.
这部宪法的部分不允许自由的黑人进入该州。

The constitution was immediately opposed by a number of congressmen.
这部宪法立即遭到一些国会议员的反对。

They charged that it violated the United States constitution.
他们指控该宪法违反了美国宪法。

The United States Constitution said citizens of each state had the rights of citizens of each of the other states.
美国宪法规定，每个州的公民都享有其他州公民的权利。

And since free black men were citizens of some states, they should have the right to be citizens of Missouri.
由于自由黑人是一些州的公民，他们有权成为密苏里州的公民。

The debate over this lasted several months.
关于这一点的辩论持续了几个月。

Former House speaker Henry Clay finally proposed a compromise that both sides accepted.
前众议院议长亨利·克莱最终提出了一个双方都接受的妥协法案。

Missouri could become a state if its legislature would make this promise:
如果它的立法机关做出这样的承诺，那么密苏里州可以成为一个州，

it would never pass any law that would violate the rights of any citizen of another state.
承诺是该州永远不会通过任何侵犯他国公民权利的法律。

This second compromise ended the dispute over slavery in Missouri and the Louisiana territory.
第二次妥协给密苏里州和路易斯安那州关于奴隶制的争论划上了问号。

The compromise of eighteen twenty settled the crisis of slavery for more than twenty years.
1820年的妥协解决了奴隶制长达20多年的危机。

But everyone knew that the settlement was only temporary.
但每个人都知道，和解只是暂时的。

Thomas Jefferson used these words to explain his feelings about the compromise:
托马斯·杰斐逊用这些话来解释他对妥协的感受：

"This question -- like a fire bell in the night -- awakened and filled me with terror.
“这个问题——就像夜间的火警铃——把我惊醒，使我充满了恐惧。

I understood it at once as the threat of death to the union. It is hushed, indeed, for the moment.
我立刻明白这是对联邦的死亡威胁。的确，目前是一片沉寂。

"But," said Jefferson, "this is a reprieve only. Not a final settlement."
“但是，”杰斐逊说，“这只是暂时的，这不是最终的解决法案。”

Monroe's decision to approve the compromise did not hurt his election chances in eighteen twenty.
门罗同意妥协的决定并没有影响他在1820年的选举。

There was at this time really only one party -- the Republican -- and he was its leader.
当时只有一个政党——共和党——而门罗是这个政党的领袖。

The opposition Federalist Party was dead. It was no longer an election threat.
反对党联邦党已经没有希望了，不再是选举的威胁。

Monroe was the only presidential candidate in the election of eighteen twenty. He received the vote of every elector, but one.
门罗是1820年大选中唯一的总统候选人。除了一位选举人外，他得到了每位选举人的选票。

William Plumer of New Hampshire voted for John Quincy Adams.
新罕布什尔州的威廉·普卢默把票投给了约翰·昆西·亚当斯。

He explained later that George Washington had been the only president to get all the electoral votes.
他后来解释说，乔治·华盛顿是唯一一位获得全部选举人票的总统。

Plumer said he did not want anyone to share this honor given to Washington.
普卢默表示，他不希望任何人与华盛顿分享这项荣誉。

Monroe's first four years as president had been successful. He had increased the size of the United States.
门罗担任总统的前四年是成功的。他扩大了美国的版图。

Florida now was part of the country. And the problem of slavery had been temporarily settled.
佛罗里达现在是这个国家的一部分。奴隶制的问题暂时得到了解决。

There had been economic problems -- some of the worst in the nation's history. But the situation was getting better.
美国历史上曾经出现过的最严重的经济问题有所好转。

The nation was growing. As it grew, new problems developed between its different sections.
国家在发展壮大，随之而来的是各地区之间新问题的出现。

There were really three separate areas with very different interests.
三个地区的业务重点很不一样。

The northeastern states had become the industrial center of the nation.
东北部各州已成为美国的工业中心。

The southern states were agricultural with large farms that produced cotton, rice and tobacco.
南方各州是农业大国，拥有生产棉花、大米和烟草的大型农场。

Much of the work on these farms was done by slave labor.
这些农场的大部分工作是由奴隶完成的。

The western states were areas of small farms where grain was produced with free labor.
西部各州都是小农场，谷物都是由自由劳动力生产的。

It was a place where a man could make a new start. Could build a new life. The land did not cost much.
这是一个可以重新开始新生活的地方，地价不贵。

And the fruits of a man's labor were his own.
人们自食其力，自给自足。

This division of the nation into different sections with opposing interests ended the one-party system of Monroe's administration.
把国家分成利益各不相同的地区结束了门罗政府的一党制。

The industrial Northeast wanted high taxes on imported products to protect its industry from foreign competition.
工业发达的东北地区希望对进口产品征收高额关税，以保护其工业免受外国竞争。

This part of the country also believed the national government should pay for roads and waterways to get their products to markets.
该地区还认为，国家政府应该为公路和水路运输支付费用，使其产品进入市场。

The South did not agree to high import taxes. These taxes raised the prices on all goods.
南方人不同意征收高额进口税，这样提高了所有商品的价格。

And import taxes on foreign goods might cause foreign nations to raise import taxes on southern cotton and tobacco.
对外国商品征收进口税可能会导致外国提高对南方棉花和烟草的进口税。

The South also opposed spending federal money for roads and canals.
南方也反对用联邦政府的资金修建公路和运河。

The mountains through the southern Atlantic states would make road-building difficult and canals impossible.
穿越大西洋南部各州的山脉将使修路变得困难，运河也不可能完成。

The western states supported government aid in the building of roads and canals.
西部各州支持政府出资修建公路和运河。

The Ohio and Mississippi rivers were the only inexpensive transportation systems for moving their products to markets.
俄亥俄河和密西西比河是将产品运往市场的唯一廉价运输系统。

The westerners also supported high taxes on imports, because they believed such taxes would raise the prices of their agricultural products.
西方人也支持对进口商品征收高额关税，因为他们相信这样会提高农产品的价格。

The separate interests of these different sections produced an exciting presidential election campaign in eighteen twenty-four.
1824年，不同地区之间的利益促成了一场激动人心的总统竞选活动。

Each section had at least one candidate. Several had more than one. The campaign began almost as soon as Monroe was elected for the second time.
每个地区至少有一名候选人。有几个地区不止一个。几乎在门罗第二次当选时，竞选活动就开始了。

At one time, as many as sixteen men thought of themselves as presidential possibilities.
有一段时间，多达16个人认为自己有可能成为总统。

By eighteen twenty-two, the number had been reduced to six men.
到1822年，这个数字已经减少到6个人。

Three of them were members of Monroe's cabinet:
其中三人是门罗的内阁成员：

Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, Treasury Secretary William Crawford, and Secretary of War John C. Calhoun.
这三个人是国务卿约翰·昆西·亚当斯，财政部长威廉·克劳福德以及战争部长约翰·C·卡尔霍恩。

Adams was the only northern candidate. He was an extremely able man.
亚当斯是北方唯一的候选人，他是一个非常能干的人。

There were few jobs in government he could not do, and do well. But he was not the kind of man that people liked.
几乎没有他完不成的事情，他都能做得很好，但他不是人们喜欢的那一种。

He was cold, questioning, and had a sharp tongue. His father was John Adams, the second president of the United States.
他态度冷淡，爱发问，说话尖刻。他的父亲是美国第二任总统约翰·亚当斯。

Treasury Secretary Crawford was a southerner -- born in Virginia -- and a large landowner in Georgia.
财政部长克劳福德是南方人，出生在弗吉尼亚州，是乔治亚州的大地主。

Crawford had received some votes when the Republicans chose Monroe as their presidential candidate in eighteen sixteen.
当共和党人在1816年选择门罗作为他们的总统候选人时，克劳福德得到了一些选票。

He was a good politician and supported by most southern Republicans.
他是一位优秀的政治家，得到了大多数南方共和党人的支持。

War Secretary Calhoun also was a southern candidate. But he had much less support than Crawford.
战争部长卡尔霍恩也是南方候选人之一，但是他得到的支持比克劳福德少得多。

His home state -- South Carolina -- first named another man as its candidate. When that man died, they named Calhoun.
他的家乡南卡罗来纳州首先提名另一名男子作为候选人。那人死了，他们就给他起名叫卡尔霍恩。

The West had two candidates in the election of eighteen twenty-four.
在1824年的选举中，西部有两位候选人。

One was Henry Clay of Kentucky -- "Harry of the West" -- a great lawyer, congressman, speaker of the House and senator.
一个是肯塔基州的亨利·克莱——“西部的哈里”——一位伟大的律师、国会议员、众议院议长和参议员。

The other was Andrew Jackson -- "Old Hickory" -- the hero of New Orleans.
另一位是安德鲁·杰克逊——“老胡桃木”——新奥尔良的英雄（1812年新奥尔良战役）。

Jackson was poorly educated, knew little about government, and had a terrible temper. He was a fighter, a man of the people.
杰克逊没有受过良好的教育，对政府知之甚少，脾气暴躁，他是一名战士，平民出身。

The sixth candidate was Dewitt Clinton of New York. He was governor of that state and leader of the commission that built the Erie Canal.
第六个候选人是纽约的德威特·克林顿，他是纽约州的州长和伊利运河委员会的领袖。

But New York presidential electors were chosen by the legislature, which was controlled by Clinton's enemies. So Clinton's chances were poor.
但纽约州的总统选举人是由克林顿的政敌控制的立法机构选出的。所以克林顿机会渺茫。

Treasury Secretary Crawford was clearly the leading candidate two years before the election.
在选举前两年，财政部长克劳福德肯定是候选人的首选。

But he had a serious illness in the autumn of eighteen twenty-three. He could not meet with the cabinet for months.
但是他在1823年秋天得了一场重病，好几个月没能与内阁见面。

He could not sign official papers.
他不能签署官方文件。

Crawford did go back to work. But he was only a shadow of the man he had been.
克劳福德确实回去工作了。但他已经不复从前了。

"He walks slowly, like a blind man," wrote one reporter.
“他走得很慢，像个盲人，”一名记者写道。

So that took secretary Crawford out as a possible candidate for the coming election.
因此，克劳福德国务卿有可能成为下届选举的候选人。

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1.Treasury Secretary 财政部长
The US Treasury secretary and the head of the Federal Reserve appeared before the senate banking committee this afternoon.
美国财政部长和美联储主席出席了今天下午的参议院银行业委员会会议(u[1zm6CTHOxXK。
2.presidential candidate 总统候选人
He said she never supported any particular presidential candidate.
他说她从未支持过任一总统候选人9Oe_4o.Fp~zB*CVlr7。
3.at least 至少
But, you should go at least once.
但是你至少应该去一次rGyx,9-NFSe。
4.debate over 就……争论
Finally, you can settle that debate over the tallest building in Uganda.
最后，您可以结束在乌干达关于最高建筑标准的辩论~@ET&@Ss9y!Jm。

lILrU+*0q&hlrc[q]ELdSca~Mgfzos9BD)4T5]

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重点单词		查看全部解释
extremely	[iks'tri:mli]	想一想再看 adv. 极其，非常	联想记忆 X 单词extremely 联想记忆： extreme极端的+ly表副词，通常放在形容词后→过分地
dispute	[di'spju:t]	想一想再看 v. 争论，争议，辩驳，质疑 n. 争论，争吵	联想记忆 X 单词dispute 联想记忆： dis反+pute认为，思考→过来思考→反驳
territory	['teritəri]	想一想再看 n. 领土，版图，领域，范围	联想记忆 X 单词territory 联想记忆： terr土地+itory表示场所、范围→地的范围→领土，领域
temporarily	['tempərerili]	想一想再看 adv. 暂时地，临时地
cabinet	['kæbinit]	想一想再看 n. 橱柜，内阁 adj. 私人的	联想记忆 X 单词cabinet 联想记忆：象cab（出租车）一样有门，里边有net（网格）－储藏柜
protect	[prə'tekt]	想一想再看 vt. 保护，投保	联想记忆 X 单词protect 联想记忆： pro在前面+tect盖上→在前面盖上→保护；防止
controlled	[kən'trəuld]	想一想再看 adj. 受约束的；克制的；受控制的 v. 控制；指挥；
opposition	[.ɔpə'ziʃən]	想一想再看 n. 反对，敌对，在野党
particular	[pə'tikjulə]	想一想再看 adj. 特殊的，特别的，特定的，挑剔的 n.	联想记忆 X 单词particular 联想记忆： part部分+icuar有…的→有自己的部分→特别的；各自的
impossible	[im'pɔsəbl]	想一想再看 adj. 不可能的，做不到的 adj.	联想记忆 X 单词impossible 联想记忆： im不，无，非+plssible可能的→不可能的