VOA慢速英语2014 弗吉尼亚州脱离联盟,林肯对马里兰实行军事统治

 

Virginia Leaves Union, Lincoln Puts Maryland Under Military Rule 弗吉尼亚州脱离联盟,林肯对马里兰实行军事统治

From VOA Learning English, this is The Making of a Nation. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I’m Christopher Cruise¹.

In April 1861, years of disputes between North and South finally burst into civil war. Seven southern states had already left the Union. They set up a government they called the Confederate States of America. 

Other southern states soon joined the Confederacy.

Virginia leaves the Union

Virginia was the first state to secede², or separate, from the Union after the Civil War started. Virginia was an important state because of its location: just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. 

Virginia's decision to secede cost the Union a military commander of great ability. Robert E. Lee said he opposed secession and loved the Union. But Lee was a Virginian. He said he could not make war on his home state and resigned from the United States Army.

Lee did not really want to fight at all. But he agreed to command the Confederate forces of Virginia. 

Maryland blocks Union soldiers

President Lincoln became increasingly worried about Virginia’s forces. He thought they might try to capture Washington, DC in the early days of the war. So he ordered thousands of Union soldiers to the capital. 

To get to Washington, Union forces from the North had to pass through the state of Maryland. Many people there supported the Confederacy. 

The first train of Union troops passed without incident. But a mob³ blocked the rail line and threw stones at the second train. Shots were fired. Four soldiers and twelve civilians⁴ were killed. 

Maryland officials met to discuss the trouble. They believed there would be even more violence in the future. So they ordered railroad bridges outside the city of Baltimore destroyed. No more trains from the North could reach Washington. Soldiers would have to arrive in Maryland by boat and travel around Baltimore to reach the capital.

Still, with all these difficulties, 10,000 Union soldiers made it to Washington in the first few weeks of the Civil War. The city and government were safe. 

Lincoln orders military rule 

President Lincoln knew Confederate supporters in Maryland would continue to threaten Union troops and supplies. So he took an extremely unusual step for a U.S. president. He put much of Maryland under military rule. He gave military officers the power to arrest civilians believed to be hostile to the Union. And he gave the military the power to hold these suspects without trial. 

This order suspended two of the basic rights under the Constitution. One was the right to go free until officially charged. And the other was the right to a speedy trial. 

The chief justice of the United States wrote a letter to President Lincoln. He said the Constitution did not give the president the power to suspend the rights of citizens. 

Lincoln disagreed. He felt the situation facing the Union permitted him to take such strong measures. If he did not act, he believed, Maryland would secede. 

Maryland did not withdraw. But North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas did. There were now 11 states in the Confederacy. 

1 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。

2 secede   

v.退出，脱离

参考例句：

• They plotted to make the whole Mississippi Valley secede from the United States.他们阴谋策划使整个密西西比流域脱离美国。
• We won't allow Tibet to secede from China and become an independent nation.我们决不允许西藏脱离中国独立。

3 mob   

n.暴民，民众，暴徒；v.大举包围，乱挤，围攻

参考例句：

• The king was burned in effigy by the angry mob.国王的模拟像被愤怒的民众烧掉以泄心中的愤恨。
• An angry mob is attacking the palace.愤怒的暴徒在攻击王宫。

4 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。