THE MAKING OF A NATION 97 - Abraham Lincoln, Part 2

THE MAKING OF A NATION #97 - Abraham Lincoln, Part 2
By Frank Beardsley

Broadcast: Thursday, January 13, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English.

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On a cold and cloudy day in March, eighteen-sixty-one, Abraham Lincoln became the sixteenth president of the United States. In his inaugural¹ speech, the new president announced the policy he would follow toward the southern states that had left the Union.

Lincoln said no state had a legal right to secede³. He said the Union could not be broken. He said he would enforce federal laws in every state. And he promised not to surrender any federal property in the states that seceded⁴. Lincoln said if force was necessary to protect the Union, then force would be used.

His policy was soon tested.

VOICE TWO:

 
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On his second day as President, Lincoln received some bad news from Fort Sumter at Charleston, South Carolina. Major Robert Anderson, the commander of the small United States force at Sumter, wrote that his food supplies were low. At most, said Anderson, there was enough food for forty days. Unless he and his men received more supplies, they would have to leave the fort.

Lincoln wanted to keep Fort Sumter. It was one of the few United States forts in the south still held by federal forces. And he had promised not to give up any federal property in the states that seceded.

VOICE ONE:

But getting food to Fort Sumter would be a very difficult job. The fort was built on an island in Charleston Harbor. It was surrounded by southern artillery⁶. Southern gunboats guarded the port.

To get supplies to Anderson and his men, a ship would have to fight its way to Sumter. Such a battle was sure to begin a bitter civil war. There also was the danger that fighting would cause slave states still in the Union to secede and join the southern Confederacy.

VOICE TWO:

The Army Chief, General [Winfield] Scott, warned Lincoln that it was too late to get supplies to Fort Sumter. He said southern defenses around the fort were so strong that a major military effort would be necessary. He said it would take months to prepare the warships⁷ and soldiers for such an effort. Major Anderson and his men at Sumter, he said, could not wait that long.

There was another plan, however, that might work. It was proposed to Lincoln by Captain Gustavus Fox of the Navy Department.

Captain Fox said soldiers and supplies could be sent down to Charleston in ships. Outside the entrance to the harbor, on a dark night, they could be put into small boats and pulled by tugs⁸ to the fort. Fox said a few warships could be sent to prevent southern gunboats from interfering⁹.

VOICE ONE:

Lincoln liked this plan. He asked his cabinet for advice. If it were possible to send supplies to Sumter, he asked, would it be wise to do so?

Postmaster General [Montgomery] Blair was the only member of the cabinet to answer 'yes'. Treasury¹⁰ Secretary [Salmon] Chase was for the plan only if Lincoln was sure it would not mean war. Secretary of State [William] Seward and the others opposed it. They said it would be better to withdraw Major Anderson and his men. They felt that now was not the time to start a civil war.

This opposition¹¹ in the cabinet caused Lincoln to postpone¹² action on the Fox plan. But he sent two men separately to Charleston to get him information on the situation there. One was Captain Fox. The other was a close friend, Ward² Lamon.

VOICE TWO:

In Charleston, Fox met with Governor [Francis] Pickens. He explained that he wished to talk with Major Anderson, not to give him orders, but to find out what the situation really was. Governor Pickens agreed. A Confederate boat carried Fox to Sumter. Anderson told Fox that the last of the food would be gone on April fifteenth.

Ward Lamon went to Charleston after Fox returned to Washington. He, too, met with Governor Pickens and Major Anderson. The South Carolina Governor asked Lamon to give Lincoln this message:

"Nothing can prevent war except a decision by the President of the United States to accept the secession of the south. If an attempt is made to put more men in Fort Sumter, a war cry will be sounded from every hilltop and valley in the south."

Lamon reported to Lincoln that the arrival of even a boat load of food at sumter would lead to fighting.

VOICE ONE:

At the end of March, Lincoln held another cabinet meeting and again asked what should be done about Fort Sumter. Should an attempt be made to get supplies to Major Anderson. This time, three members of the cabinet voted 'yes' and three voted 'no'.

When the meeting ended, Lincoln wrote an order for the Secretary of War. He told him to prepare to move men and supplies by sea to Fort Sumter. He said they should be ready to sail as early as April sixth -- only one week away.

VOICE TWO:

On April fourth, Lincoln called Captain Fox to the White House. He told him that the government was ready to take supplies to Fort Sumter. He said Fox would lead the attempt.

Later in the meeting, Toombs urged Davis not to attack the fort.

"Mr. President," he said, "at this time it is suicide -- murder -- and will lose us every friend in the north. You will strike a hornets' nest which extends from mountains to oceans. Millions now quiet will swarm¹³ out and sting us to death. It is not necessary. It puts us in the wrong. It will kill us!"

VOICE TWO:

On April tenth, Jefferson Davis sent his decision to the Confederate commander at Charleston, General Pierre Beauregard. He told Beauregard to demand the surrender of Fort Sumter. If Major Anderson refused, then the general was to destroy the fort.

The surrender demand was carried to Sumter the next day by a group of Confederate officers. They said Anderson and his men must leave the fort. But they could take with them their weapons and property. And they were offered transportation to any United States port they named.

VOICE ONE:

Anderson rejected the demand. As he walked with the Confederate officers back to their boat, he asked if General Beauregard would open fire on Sumter immediately. No, they said, he would be told later when the shooting would start. Anderson then told the southerners, "If you do not shell us to pieces, hunger will force us out in a few days."

General Beauregard informed the Confederate government in Montgomery that Anderson refused to surrender. He also reported the major's statement that Sumter had only enough food for a few more days.

VOICE TWO:

New orders were sent to Beauregard. Jefferson Davis said there was no need to attack the fort if hunger would soon force the United States soldiers to leave. But he said Anderson must say exactly when he and his men would leave. And he said Anderson must promise not to fire on Confederate forces. If anderson agreed to this, then Confederate guns would remain silent.

This offer was carried to Fort Sumter a few minutes before midnight, April eleventh.

Anderson discussed the offer with his officers and then wrote his answer. He would leave the fort on April fifteenth if the Confederates made no hostile act against Fort Sumter or against the United States flag. He would not leave, however, if before then he received new orders or supplies.

VOICE ONE:

This did not satisfy the three confederate officers who brought Beauregard's message. They handed Anderson a short note. It said: "We have the honor to inform you that General Beauregard will open fire on Fort Sumter in one hour -- at twenty minutes after four on the morning of April twelfth, eighteen-sixty-one."

The major shook hands with Beauregard's representatives, and they left the fort. Anderson and his officers woke their men and told them to prepare for battle.

At Fort Johnson, across the harbor, Confederate gunners also were getting ready. These men would fire the first shot at Sumter. That explosion would signal the other guns surrounding the fort to open fire.

VOICE TWO:

You have been listening to the Special English program, THE MAKING OF A NATION. Your narrators were Jack¹⁴ Moyles and Jack Weitzel. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley. THE MAKING OF A NATION can be heard Thursdays.

1 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

2 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

3 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。

4 seceded   

v.脱离，退出( secede的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Republic of Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903. 巴拿马共和国于1903年脱离哥伦比亚。
• One of the states has seceded from the federation. 有一个州已从联邦中退出。 来自辞典例句

5 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

6 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

7 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

8 tugs   

n.猛拉( tug的名词复数 )；猛拖；拖船v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The raucous sirens of the tugs came in from the river. 河上传来拖轮发出的沙哑的汽笛声。 来自辞典例句
• As I near the North Tower, the wind tugs at my role. 当我接近北塔的时候，风牵动着我的平衡杆。 来自辞典例句

9 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

10 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

11 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。

12 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

13 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

14 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。