THE MAKING OF A NATION 76 - Zachary Taylor

THE MAKING OF A NATION #76 - Zachary Taylor
By Frank Beardsley

Broadcast: Thursday, August 19, 2004

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VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

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The Whig party considered four men for its candidate in the presidential election of eighteen-forty-eight: Senator¹ Henry Clay of Kentucky, General Zachary Taylor, General Winfield Scott, and Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts.

Clay was seventy years old. He knew it would be his last chance to get into the White House. He worked hard to get the support of party leaders. But they did not give Clay their support. They wanted to win the election. And they felt they had a better chance for victory with a military hero like General Taylor.

VOICE TWO:

 
Zachary Taylor
Taylor was sixty-three years old. He had almost no formal education. He had spent almost forty years in the west as an Indian fighter and commander of small army posts.

A number of politicians did not believe he had the ability to be president. General Taylor's supporters put great energy into their campaign for his nomination². They tried to sell the idea that the old general was the only man who could defeat the candidate of the Democratic Party.

On the first vote of the convention³, Taylor got the most votes. But no candidate got the necessary majority. On the fourth vote, all of Webster's supporters and many of Clay's supporters gave their votes to Taylor. He finally won the Whig Party's nomination for president.

VOICE ONE:

The Democratic Party's candidate for president was Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan. Many Americans did not like either candidate, because of the candidates' policies on slavery. Lewis Cass saw nothing wrong with slavery if that was what the people wanted. Zachary Taylor was a slave-owner.

In Ohio, a group of men decided⁴ to form a new political party. They called it the "Free Soil Party," because they believed in free land for free settlers. They wanted no further spread of slavery.

The Free Soil leaders proposed a convention of all who supported their ideas. Ten-thousand people went to the convention in Buffalo⁵, New York. For two days, the delegates⁶ debated the slavery issue and discussed their choice of a candidate for president. They also worked on a platform -- a statement of their party's purpose.

VOICE TWO:

The platform declared that slavery was an institution of the states, not the nation. It said Congress had no right to help spread slavery by permitting it in the new western territories. The platform declared that the issue should be faced with firmness. No more slave states. No more slave territory. No more compromises with slavery, anywhere.

Convention delegates then voted on candidates. They chose former President Martin Van Buren as candidate for president.

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VOICE ONE:

The people of the nation voted on November seventh. It was the first time a presidential election was held on the same day in all parts of the country. Zachary Taylor won both the popular and electoral votes. He became the twelfth president of the United States.

Congress met a few weeks after the election, long before Taylor took office. It faced serious problems. Territorial⁷ governments were needed for the areas won in the war against Mexico. California, especially, needed help. Gold had been discovered in California. Thousands were moving there. A government was needed to protect the lives and property of the new population.

VOICE TWO:

The dispute over slavery had prevented Congress from acting⁸ earlier. Southerners wanted the right to take slaves into the new territories. Northerners wanted to keep slavery out. Then there was the question of laws forcing northern states to return escaped slaves to their owners. The laws were not always obeyed. Southerners wanted a new law that would be easier to enforce.

Congress found it difficult to act on these problems. The House of Representatives was controlled by members of the Free Soil Party, which opposed slavery. The Senate was controlled by southerners, who supported slavery. The two houses found it almost impossible to agree on anything.

Early in January, eighteen-forty-nine, a congressman⁹ proposed a bill to first limit, and then end, slavery in the District of Columbia. The bill would free all slaves in the district who were born after a certain time. It would permit the federal government to buy slaves and then free them.

VOICE ONE:

Opposition¹⁰ to the bill was strong. It was amended¹¹. The new bill would simply close all places in the District of Columbia where slaves were bought and sold.

 
John C. Calhoun
Southern congressmen disliked the bill, even as amended. They organized a committee representing every one of the southern states. Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina said the committee should write a declaration¹² explaining the position of the south. The committee agreed, and Calhoun wrote most of the declaration himself.

VOICE TWO:

The southern declaration accused the north of many aggressions. The south, it said, faced many dangers. Soon there would be enough free states to control both the House and the Senate. And then the constitution would be changed and all slaves would be freed. And this, said the southern declaration, would lead to bitter hostility¹³ and war between north and south. The declaration called on the people of the south to unite and be firm in their opposition to the north.

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VOICE ONE:

With this new firmness, southern lawmakers fought to make slavery legal in the new territories. They effectively blocked proposals for territorial governments in California and New Mexico.

Congress ended its session on March fourth, eighteen-forty-nine, without any progress. Zachary Taylor was sworn-in as president that same day. The new president believed it would be easier to get statehood for California and New Mexico than to create territorial governments for them. Taylor, as we have said, was a slave-holder. But he believed that both California and New Mexico should be free states.

VOICE TWO:

During these years around eighteen-fifty, the people of the United States were becoming more and more involved in the dispute over slavery. In the north, more people joined the anti-slavery campaign. Even those who did not wish to end slavery in the south felt that slavery should not spread further.

In the south, many people felt that the constitutional equality of fifteen southern states was being questioned. Sixteen-hundred-million dollars worth of slave property was threatened by Abolitionists. Southerners felt that if the campaign against slavery was successful, everything they believed in would be destroyed.

People hoped that President Taylor would be able to bring the north and south together again. But his message to Congress showed no signs of such leadership.

VOICE ONE:

Taylor asked Congress to give statehood to California immediately. He reported that California leaders had written a state constitution. The constitution banned slavery. Settlers from both the north and south supported the document.

The president also reported that the people of New Mexico would be asking for statehood soon. He said it would be best to let the people themselves decide if New Mexico would be a slave or free state. Taylor's opponents described these proposals as his "no action plan."

VOICE TWO:

President Taylor really had no policy. He could not support a bill to keep slavery out of the territories. That might start a quick revolt among the southern states. He could not support a bill to let slavery spread into the territories. That would make the north rise in anger.

Taylor tried to be neutral. He hoped the problem of slavery would solve itself. But the problem would not solve itself. The division between north and south grew wider. That will be our story next week.

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VOICE ONE:

You have been listening to the Special English program, THE MAKING OF A NATION. Your narrators were Doug Johnson and Faith Lapidus. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley.

1 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 convention   

n.惯例，习俗，常规，会议，大会

参考例句：

• How many delegates have checked in at the convention?大会已有多少代表报到？
• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

6 delegates   

代表，代表团成员( delegate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The conference was attended by delegates from 56 countries. 此次会议有来自56个国家的代表出席。
• Delegates expressed strong opposition to the plans. 代表强烈反对这些计划。

7 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

12 declaration   

n.宣布，宣告，宣言，声明（书），申报

参考例句：

• We read the declaration posted on the bulletin board.我们读了贴在布告板上的声明。
• At the recent convention a declaration was adopted.在最近举行的大会上通过了一项宣言。

13 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。